Lou MC Yelps a Lot

For those of you familiar with my #ChinatownCrawl UYE (Unofficial Yelp Event), there is a scenery change. You won't see my UYE on Yelp Event page at the beginning of my announcement. In a perfect world, my Yelper friends receive notification on the app when I create an event and interested in an event. But lately, I don't see any response after the UYE page sitting there for 2 weeks. I guess there are too many notifications on their app. You may not know this. It's very time consuming to use Yelp Event page to invite my Yelper Friends. On average, it takes about 2 to 3 hours to "share" my event to everyone lives in Houston from Event page. This share actually sends an email to their personal email address. But some people are invisible most of time or they don't check emails as often or get notified with incoming emails. Then, I have to use another method to get their attention - private message, compliments or check-in message. Other than that, they are ...

Did you know my Chinatown Crawl UYE (Unofficial Yelp Event) made one year? It started with a trial last May during Asian Heritage Month Celebration . The response and popularity were increasing on Yelp and Facebook. Managing guests list has been a chore using Yelp Events. I am experimenting a new system by posting my meetup on more event sites like Google and invited Google Local Guides to attend. Extended my invitation to Local Guides The hardest part of hosting a popular meetup event is attendance headcount. It has always been above my original expectation. But by how much? Finding a suitable restaurant with enough seating is important. When my count of 18 guests at December's Night Market UYE grew to 22. Sherry at Yummy Kitchen was able to find solution at the last minute. Again at February's Hotpot UYE , 12 guests became 16. I had to rely on restaurant to accommodate expandable crowd. Speaking of accommodation, creating a good relationship to restaurant owner ...

One of these days, you will see my name attached to a business review or photo on Google Maps . Yes. I'm actively adding reviews, photos and answers to help growing of the community around me. My profile name is Luis M Chen, not Luis Chen. I was adding photos to Six Ping Bakery and I found a tocayo on other photos. Ain't  it confusing? I just want to make a distinction between another Luis Chen and me. So, I changed my profile banner to blue TexDem screen. It came from my visit to Alamodome last June. People asked if I post same photos and reviews from Yelp to Google Maps. The answer is no. Since I don't know my audience, the reviews on Google Maps are shorter. Besides, most people don't like to read long reviews on a small screen. About the photos, I will apply the same courtesy of avoiding people's faces and license plates. I will, however, use photos from Yelp Tips on Google Maps. It's because Tips are not visible on desktop version and not readi...

All of the sudden, my Yelp friend list got so big. Wait, who the #%$* and that *#@$ from my Facebook are now my Yelp friends. Then, I went checking on my settings. Oh, no, I don't like this idea. I want this feature to be permanently un-checked. Not everyone on my Facebook with a Yelp account is Yelp active. In fact, my Yelp friends on Facebook is more active than those Facebook friends with Yelp account in general. I keep my Yelp friend list small is because the ease of sending invitations to my UYE's and other events. The current process is very time consuming, unless HQ changes the invitation style. I created a  step by step instruction on my blog . I guess HQ was responding to some people complained about they still having trouble to invite FB friends. Then, I noticed the request screen has changed. Below is a capture from desktop compared to the app, The request from Facebook appeared differently. I'm happy to get my control back.

I began to notice this magazine called The Weekly Yelp http://www.yelp.com/weekly_yelp . It's pretty neat, I started to follow the topics published every Wednesday.  It's very different from ROTD. There are 5 businesses featured each week. Only one review get picked from each business. I don't know how long this has been in existence. According to the Houston's Weekly, it started on November 4, 2015. I find some reviewers are very talented but they aren't Elites. I hope they become Elites one day. The Weekly Yelp is best viewed on computer. I prefer reading The Weekly Yelp on a computer. I can't handle long review on narrow phone screen, even when my phone is bigger than before.

Not sure when this Black Friday frenzy started with me. I think I can better off stay at home next year. I had to stop what I was doing to buy something. It used to be the day we sleep outside of Best Buy store in hoping to get some cheap TV's or DVD players. I think the time has passed. I haven't find anything I really need after reviewing the Black Friday sales sheet. However, I saw something I really want a week before and a week after Thanksgiving. I finally replaced my USB printer to HP - Officejet Pro 6830 Wireless e-All-In-One Printer  at half of original retail price. Then, I bought a high tech cooker during the 4-hour . Catch my review on  Midea 6-Quart Electric Pressure Cooker  later. Another Black Friday Blues at Macy's. I saw the ad about Alfani Boots for $24.95. Sure, I want to be in style without breaking the bank. Here is my experience posted on Yelp at Macy's in Sugar Land. I ended up buying the size I needed online with $2 cheaper during th...

I attended a very interesting and meaningful event - Dine Out Fight AIDS on Thursday, April 30, 2015. This is a synchronized event with 60 other cities around the country. On Yelp, there was no exception. Our Yelp Ambassador, Courtney S. created an " official UYE " to drum up Yelpers' support for the cause. I personally love UYE's, as well as love to support our community. I went to the website and sighed - there isn't any effective way to see where all the restaurants are. So, I created a list based on Yelp Biz page listing. This made my evening more convenient - just click and go on the Events feature of Yelp app. My goal was to hit 3 supporting restaurants in 3 hours:  Jenni's Noodle House in the Heights , Niko Niko Greek and American Cafe and  Cafe Piquet Cuban Cuisine . I used social media - Instagram & Yelp to document my experiences impromptu. I met some energetic volunteers and took some group photos with them. I also mingled with strangers...

Yelp is the leading website for local knowledge. EveryBlock is a leading website for neighborhood discussions. I first learned about EveryBlock from a news article. My thought was, “Yeah, that’s what I have been looking for.” I could spread good words about how Houston is a great place to live. We live in a lively city with 4 million people and there is much more to offer. So, I signed up and I have been enjoying the benefits since. EveryBlock is an interactive local news and information site that makes it easy to stay connected with what’s happening in a user’s neighborhood. It is equal parts neighborhood content aggregator, curator, and social platform. Users receive personalized information from a combination of sources - the Web, civic data, and user generated questions and comments - at the neighborhood or even block level. Users can read business reviews from different neighborhoods. As a Yelper, I think it's extremely important to share your experience on a busines...

Who is not excited with street festivals or block parties in Houston? For a city of 40% Hispanic population, you ought to love Puerto Rican and Cuban Festival in late September. I'm all about cultural festivals. This festival covered 5 spokes: 2 music stages, food vendors, porta potties and kids playground. The entrance fee $13 was well worth it. I was very glad that they expended ticket vendors to include all Fiesta stores. As previous years, there were only selected few. Just like any outdoor events, we need good weather and mild temperature to draw the crowd. Lucky us. The sky cleared out right before the first day of festival. This event was held at Tranquility Park for many years. I think it was the renovation caused them to move to the streets. Non-stop entertainment and delicious regional foods from local restaurants were the main focus of Puerto Rican & Cuban Festival. Watch a short video on Instagram to see salsa dancers everywhere. Parking wasn't a proble...

This is one of my favorite feature - Yelp Royalty but I call it "Check-in Meter". I had the opportunity to see both Android and iOS to choose my next Smartphone. As for Android, you can see when you last checked in, but you can't see the dukedom status. For iOS, you can see the dukedom crowns and regular icons. Uh... I like both versions. I know it's too much to ask to combine them. Android (left) vs iOS (right)  According to an article on TechCrunch in 2010, "iPhone app (4.2.1) includes a feature called Yelp Royalty. It rewards users with the most check-ins at a venue the title of 'Duke' or 'Duchess.' Those with the most titles in their neighborhood become the 'Baron.' Those with the most it the city become the 'King.'" To my understanding, check-in is a way to quantify how often you patronize a business. Yelp created a way to compete. Among the regulars, the most frequent visitor wins a duke or duchess badge. At...