Yelp!

Another web service has been launched. This one is like a social network and search engine combined. The Register has a verbose article on how it works -- but the gist of it goes like this: Say you want to find a good Indian restaurant to take your so-called mother-in-law out to -- one that's not too scary, have people that speak some English and will not serve her extremely hot food, despite your emotional pleas. Give Yelp! your requirements, tell it where you'd like this restaurant to be and plug in some email addresses of friends you really trust. Yelp! then does the rest. It emails your friends for you, with your request. If your friends come up short, Yelp! then asks some friends of your friends, and so on -- exploiting the resources of the social network it has built. Over time, Yelp! would become an authoritative source on just about everything. Not a bad idea.