Qype
{{Short description|Hamburg social networking company}}
{{multiple issues|
{{More citations needed|date=September 2008}}
{{update|date=October 2013}}
{{primary sources|date=May 2014}}
}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Qype GmbH |
| logo = Logo Qype.jpg
| logo_size = 220px
|type = Private
| fate = Bought by Yelp, Inc.
| predecessor =
| successor =
|foundation = March 2006
|
|location = Hamburg, Germany
|key_people = Stephan Uhrenbacher, Founder, CEO from 2006-2010 and Board Member from 2010-13 Founder; Ian Brotherston CEO 2010-2013,
|industry = Business ratings and reviews
|products = Qype.com|
|num_employees = approx. 160[http://www.qype.co.uk/impressum About Qype]
|homepage=[http://www.qype.com www.qype.com]
}}
Qype {{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|w|aɪ|p}} was a Hamburg-based web 2.0 company centred on social networking and local reviews. They operated websites in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Austria, Ireland, Poland, Spain, Italy and Brazil, and had approximately 22 million monthly unique European visitors.{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2008/11/26/yelps-european-counterpart-qype-continues-global-expansion/|title=Yelp's European Counterpart Qype Continues Global Expansion|date=26 November 2008 }}
Competitor Yelp announced their acquisition of Qype{{cite web |url=http://officialblog.yelp.com/2012/10/welcoming-qype-to-the-team.html |title=Yelp Official Blog: Welcoming Qype to the Team |website=officialblog.yelp.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026214237/http://officialblog.yelp.com/2012/10/welcoming-qype-to-the-team.html |archive-date=2012-10-26}} in October 2012 for a reported US$50 million.{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/10/24/yelp-pays-50m-to-acquire-its-big-european-rival-qype/|title=Yelp Pays $50M to Acquire Its Big European Rival, Qype, to Beef up Its Recommendations and Listings Business|date=24 October 2012 }} Qype reviews were merged into the Yelp site by October 2013.
Company history
Qype was founded in March 2006 by Stephan Uhrenbacher for the German market. The initial funding came from Partech Ventures (Paris) and Advent Ventures (London).{{Citation needed|date=January 2020}}
In July 2007 Qype UK was launched, adding English to the interface and content.{{Citation needed|date=January 2020}} In January 2008 the website was translated into French, in anticipation of the launch of Qype France.{{Citation needed|date=January 2020}} Subsequent versions were released through 2011, including localized versions of the site for Spain, Ireland, Austria and Brazil.{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2009/07/19/qype-whats-the-latest-the-european-yelp/|title=Qype – What's the latest at the "European Yelp"?|last=Noff|first=Ayelet|date=July 19, 1009|website=TechCrunch|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=January 10, 2020}}
Qype provided incentives for users to write reviews including giving away iPod Shuffles and Amazon vouchers. {{cite web | url=https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g186338-i17-k13968343-Website_similar_to_YELP-London_England.html | title=Website similar to YELP ?? - London Message Board - Tripadvisor }}
Site features
Members
Qype offered a directory for anyone to search for businesses. Certain features, such as the ability to contribute a review, or add a comment to a discussion, were available only to users with verified accounts, which were free. Business owners could also participate in the site as well by contributing company profiles.{{Citation needed|date=January 2020}}
User profiles included a standard set of attributes such as photographs and several fields relating to the user's location, hobbies, and preferences.{{Citation needed|date=January 2020}}
Scope of reviews
Users could review any local business, but also places of interest such as public gardens and beaches. In a high-usage city such as Hamburg or Berlin, London or Paris, a large percentage of all restaurants, bars and retail stores were listed with numerous reviews and there was considerable competition among users to be the "first to review" a new establishment (for which the user also received an extra feedback point). There was also considerable coverage of professional services, medical providers, automotive services, cultural venues, hotels, museums, parks, attractions, government services, etc. Users could add new businesses and update business information if they notice any missing or incorrect coverage.{{citation needed|date=March 2018}}