Learning from Yelp’s Elite Community: 2015 ACRONYM Council

Yelp’s community plays an integral role in our success, not only by contributing the reviews and photos that make our site such a valuable resource, but also by giving us feedback on usability and new site and app features they’d like to see. One of the ways we gather information about how people are using Yelp and getting involved in their local Yelp communities is through our ACRONYM group, or Advisory Council for Really Outstanding National Yelp Members (see what we did there? Puns for days…).

Each year, new council members are chosen to participate in monthly calls with Yelp’s corporate team and product managers, and attend an annual summit at Yelp headquarters in San Francisco. This year’s awesome local Yelp ACRONYMs hail from 10 different cities across the US:

Houston, TX – Rachel B.

Honolulu, HI – Natalie N.

Richmond Hill, ON – Kat K.

Memphis, TN – Kontji A.

Atlanta, GA – Daniel B.

Wethersfield, CT – Anne C.

Albuquerque, NM – Robert B.

Los Angeles, CA – Zoie H.

Hoboken, NJ – Tyler R.

Jacksonville, FL – Kristina K.

Group shot! ACRONYM members strike a pose in Yelp’s San Francisco lobby.

At this year’s summit, ACRONYM members were able to talk writing with our chief editor Vivek S, they learned more about the CM role from SF Yelp Community Director Abby S, they heard personal accounts from the early days at Yelp from COO Geoff D and Co-Founder Jeremy S, and they were able to be Product Managers for a day with Yelp Product Managers Ely L, Brian B, and Joseph L to see how the Yelp magic gets made.

In addition to meeting some of the people behind Yelp, ACRONYMers were able to enjoy San Francisco like true locals, indulging in beloved gems such as Bacon Bacon burgers at SOMA StrEAT Food Park, Olive oil drizzled soft serve at Zero Zero, Adzuki Bean French Toast at B-Star, and Coconut tea from Aroma Tea Shop. And what trip to SF would be complete without a stop at Green Apple Books and an afternoon walk through Golden Gate Park?

ACRONYM members share thoughts on why they love being a part of the Yelp community and what it all means for local businesses in this video: