Yelp introduced an open data project in 2012 to encourage cities to share their data in a consumer-friendly way, hoping restaurants will improve their health inspection ratings to preserve their business, according to a blog post. Now, city governments are tracking Yelp reviews to see where food poisoning outbreaks have happened.
A team of researchers were able to correctly classify San Franscisco restaurants into the top half or bottom half of hygiene scores based purely on Yelp reviews and ratings, according to the Harvard Business Review. The authors suggested using the same approach for other consistent business problems, such as bedbugs, professional compliance and other public interests.
“We’re excited about the promise the early findings of these studies show and we’re eager to continue similarly useful data sharing for the benefit of consumers,” the Yelp blog post read.
