I'm a Yelper - Are you?

Its been a while, but I sort of forgot about the other blog I created! I decided to start another blog that isn't so much about my personal life, but more about what is happening in the here and now. ie: movies, restaurants, music, fashion...

I enjoy talking about and sharing my opinion on things that are "in the now" and thought I would make a blog of it.

http://trendy-mode.blogspot.com/

On a different note - when it comes to different reviews and things....have you guys ever heard of the website called Yelp? www.yelp.com is a unique, fun and helpful website that I've been newly aquainted with. Basically, there are chapters of Yelp all over the country, in most major cities. Yelp is a website designed, not necessarily as social networking, but more as an informative and fun connection among strangers turned friends living in the same city, helping people in their quest to discover all that their surroundings have to offer.
The basis of Yelp is reviews - reviews on everything from restaurants to dentists to shoe repair shops. Most of the reviews are on restaurants, which I find to be extremely helpful, especially if you are like me and want to find new and different dining establishments to spice things up instead of always going back to the same places. Most of the reviews are not only informative and useful, but they can also be pretty witty - very entertaining. With the reviews, there are all sorts of things to do on the website. There are message boards galore - which are constantly being added to and updated. You can become "friends" with fellow Yelpers (as we are called) as well as send compliments or messages to them.

I was exposed to this website through my good bud, Andy. He has been involved with Yelp for quite a while. He is part of the "Elite" Yelpers because of how much he participates on the website and so on. One of the best parts of being an Elite are the special events you get invited to. For example: a few weeks back, Andy invited Rian and I to an event at the Summit Brewery. This event was exclusively for Elite Yelpers and their friends. Basically, we went to the Summit Brewery in St. Paul and drank FREE Summit Beer in their "pub" area for 2 hours. They had a shortened version of the tour, but since it was during the week, all of the machines were running and it was very loud so we couldn't hear much. During our time in the pub, Pizza Luce came with all sorts of yummy pizzas - again, for FREE! We drank, ate, conversed and had a great time. This was basically my first exposure to Yelp and I was totally impressed. It was such an eclectic group of people from all walks of life, coming together and just hanging out. I met a few Yelpers and knew this was my kind of people. Some came with friends, some came alone, but everyone was welcoming and friendly and a big happy Yelp family!
Andy also posted a Yelp Pub Crawl in Nordeast Mpls the other weekend. And just with people that were involved with the website on a regular basis - there were probably 12 or 15 people that showed up to join! Again, some came alone and some came with friends. But it didn't matter because everyone was there to just have a good time with friends and enjoy NE Mpls' finest - PBR and other delicious beverages. It was great to be out with a group of "strangers turned friends" and step out of the comfort zone. And let me tell you - it was one of those nights where I laughed until I could not laugh any longer.

People honestly do make friends being a part of this experience. They are open to new things and different people. It is so refreshing in this day and age.
I also had a thought after talking to a fellow Yelper about his experience moving to MN. Everyone talks about MN Nice and the friendliness of the MN folks. But honestly - in my opinion which you can take or leave - Yes, Minnesotans are/can be nice, but for the most part, it doesn't go much further than that. We are there with a smile or wave, but when it comes down to really getting to know other people and getting out of our shells and our own groups to extend to another, MN is very lacking. I just think of different places like school and work and how clicky people are and how hard it can be to break through that. Yes, I know that lots of places and people are clicky, but I think MN is extremely good at that. It's one thing to say Hello and smile - and another thing to spark up a conversation and not be afraid to expand your horizons and give people/strangers a chance. You never know who you can meet and how that person might effect your life. Think about it.

In any case, I encourage you to take a look at Yelp. If anything, it is a great place to find new restaurants and explore your city more. You have no idea what is out there until you actually take a look and give it a chance.