????英語詞匯yelp與名為Yelp的美國商戶點(diǎn)評(píng)網(wǎng)Yelp不同,，它起源于16世紀(jì)，最初意為“自吹自擂”,。經(jīng)過多年演變,，它的意思逐漸演變，如今已經(jīng)變得迥然不同：按照《簡(jiǎn)明牛津英語詞典》（Concise OED）的釋義,，它表示“短促,、尖利的叫聲，尤其是由于疼痛或受驚所致”,。
????眼下,，Yelp這家公司正在積極籌備上市，Yelp這個(gè)詞含義演變所需要經(jīng)歷的時(shí)間跨度似乎會(huì)小得多,。Yelp成立于2004年,。它發(fā)展迅猛，很快就超越另一家點(diǎn)評(píng)網(wǎng)站Citysearch,，成為消費(fèi)者點(diǎn)評(píng)飯店和本地商戶的首選,。據(jù)稱，它曾拒絕了谷歌公司（Google）高達(dá)5億美元的收購出價(jià),，一心要實(shí)現(xiàn)自己的首次公開募股（IPO）,，這將使其市值達(dá)到20億美元,。這倒確實(shí)讓Yelp有了大把的自吹自擂的資本。
????但是,，一方面現(xiàn)在的股市動(dòng)蕩不安,，另一方面，投資者也開始意識(shí)到,，這些年輕的社交網(wǎng)絡(luò)公司可能并不是那么炙手可熱的投資對(duì)象,，因此，IPO的前景可能將并不如Yelp所愿,。上周,，團(tuán)購領(lǐng)域的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)公司Groupon和另一家近期上市的點(diǎn)評(píng)網(wǎng)站Angie's List的股價(jià)雙雙下挫，這就意味著市場(chǎng)對(duì)技術(shù)型公司IPO的熱情可能正在消褪（而Facebook公司或許將于2012年4月進(jìn)行IPO,，它是屬于自成體系的一類,。）
????上周三天半的交易中，Groupon的股價(jià)下跌了36%,，報(bào)收于16.75美元,，大大低于其20美元的發(fā)行價(jià)。Angie's List下跌了15%,，報(bào)收于13.5美元,，僅比其11月16日的發(fā)行價(jià)略高50美分。2011年發(fā)行的同類IPO也業(yè)績(jī)慘淡,，流媒體音樂服務(wù)提供商Pandora的股價(jià)下挫16%,，商務(wù)社交網(wǎng)站LinkedIn股價(jià)下跌了12%。而相比之下,，盡管市場(chǎng)對(duì)歐洲的財(cái)政危機(jī)感到惶惶不安,，但納斯達(dá)克綜合指數(shù)（Nasdaq Composite）僅下跌了5%。
????人們很容易對(duì)這些下跌做出過分解讀,。畢竟,，上周由于感恩節(jié)放假，交易額規(guī)模不大,，這也加劇了股價(jià)動(dòng)蕩,。而Groupon由于突然成為做空者的最愛，它有望成為一支股價(jià)特別容易出現(xiàn)波動(dòng)的股票,。如果歐洲的局勢(shì)能夠穩(wěn)定下來,，或者如果另一家網(wǎng)絡(luò)公司的IPO——比如說社交游戲公司Zynga——能很快強(qiáng)勢(shì)首發(fā)，那么上周的低迷行情就可以被視為IPO市場(chǎng)的一個(gè)小小的插曲,。
????而在某些方面,，Yelp似乎與Groupon迥然不同。媒體對(duì)它即將IPO的消息關(guān)注有限，而Groupon則是媒體熱議了好幾個(gè)月的話題,。Groupon現(xiàn)在給人的感覺就像當(dāng)年的eBay,，一時(shí)風(fēng)光無限，卻將很快迎來頹勢(shì),。而在更大程度上,，Yelp是一個(gè)穩(wěn)定發(fā)展的組織，它能夠持續(xù)多年經(jīng)營,。Groupon則是通過預(yù)先投資,，在幾年間實(shí)現(xiàn)了飛速發(fā)展，而Yelp則按部就班地實(shí)現(xiàn)著增長,。
????此處是Yelp網(wǎng)站六年前的架構(gòu),。它現(xiàn)在的樣子基本照舊，只是當(dāng)時(shí)僅有數(shù)千條評(píng)論,。而今天,，Yelp擁有2,200萬條評(píng)論。不過,，它也是花了好幾年時(shí)間才發(fā)展到這樣的規(guī)模,，其訣竅就是：專注于反映用戶和飯店的體驗(yàn)，而不是把力氣花在大而無當(dāng)?shù)脑u(píng)價(jià)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)上,。Yelp并不是那種迫不及待要賺快錢的公司,。 |
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????Unlike Yelp the company, "yelp" the word dates back to the 1500's, when its original meaning was "boasting". Over the years, it came to mean something quite different: "A short, sharp cry, especially of pain or alarm" as the Concise OED puts it.
????That downward trajectory seems to be playing out over a much shorter time span as Yelp the company gets ready to go public. Founded in 2004, Yelp soon sprinted past Citysearch as the premier site for customer reviews of restaurants and local businesses. The company reportedly spurned a $500 million offer from Google (GOOG), only to file for an IPO that could value the company at $2 billion. That wold give Yelp a lot to boast about.
????But that outcome may be derailed by a turbulent stock market and a growing sense among investors that the IPOs of young social-web startups may not be such hot investments after all. Groupon (GRPN), the leader in the group buying market, and Angie's List (ANGI), another user-review site that recently went public, fell last week, suggesting the appetite for tech IPOs may be waning. (Facebook, which may be targeting and April 2012 IPO, is in a category by itself.)
????In the three and a half days of trading last week, Groupon's stock fell 36% to $16.75, well below its $20 offering price. Angie's List fell 15% to $13.50, or 50 cents above its Nov. 16 offering price. Other IPOs in the class of 2011 fared poorly as Pandora (P) stock fell 16% and LinkedIn (LNKD) dropped 12%. The Nasdaq Composite, by contrast, declined 5% in a market jittery about the financial turmoil in Europe.
????It can be easy to read too much into these declines. After all, trading was light ahead of last week's Thanksgiving holiday, adding to volatility. And Groupon, an sudden favorite of short sellers, is looking to be an especially volatile stock. If things settle down in Europe, or if another web IPO -- say, Zynga -- has a strong debut soon, last week's gloom could be seen as a brief aberration in the IPO market.
????And in some ways, Yelp seems quite different from Groupon. Its IPO has received a moderate amount of coverage, while Groupon's was the subject of a passionate debate for months. Groupon feels like an eBay-like (EBAY) trend waiting to peter out. Yelp is more of a steady resource that could last for many years. While Groupon invested up front to grow quickly in a couple of years, Yelp nurtured its growth slowly.
????Here's an archive of Yelp's site six years ago. It looks much the same, only with a few thousand reviews. Today, Yelp has 22 million reviews, but it's taken several years to grow that big, focusing on the experience for users and restaurants rather than spectacular metrics. This is not a company in a rush to cash out. |
