Have you ever had such a good experience at a restaurant that you had to tell everyone about it? Or, have you ever had such a bad experience at a retail store that you felt the need to warn all of your friends?

As the definition of friend evolves with social networking, so has the concept of “word of mouth.” Whether it’s a Facebook friend, a Twitter follower or a Foursquare friend, more people can access your opinions than ever before.

“Yelp”:http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=&ns=1&find_loc=Champaign, IL, a social-networking website that allows members to post consumer reviews, combines all of that, making it easier than ever to hear about others’ experiences about local businesses.

While Yelp, which launched in 2004, is nothing new, some feel it is under-utilized by University students, who could use it to explore C-U beyond Campustown.

Forrest Iandola, senior in Engineering, started using Yelp his freshman year. Since he and his friends were all new to Champaign, they used the website to help them navigate their new town. Rather than relying on trial and error, they were able to weed out the bad based on others’ reviews.

After referring to Yelp regularly for a while, Iandola started to write his own reviews, rating restaurants, bookstores, taxi services and more.

“I started writing them because I thought it would be helpful for others,” he said. “I could help them find hidden gems that they might not ordinarily notice.”

Frank Liu, marketing professor at the University, noted that when using these types of websites, it is important to look at the distribution of the rating, rather than the rating itself. It also helps to look at the details, he said.

If a restaurant is rated as having three stars, it may be the case that everyone thought it was middle of the road, or that half the customers loved it while the other half hated it.

For example, half the customers might hate a bar’s environment because the music is too loud, while others might love the loud music. By looking at the details of the review, you’ll have a better idea of whom you might agree with, Liu said.

If you notice that there is one particular user who you tend to agree with, you can add them as a friend and follow their reviews, similar to Facebook or Twitter.

One of the drawbacks to this type of website is that reviews are often polarized since there is little motivation to rate something when it was mediocre. Users are more motivated to review businesses if they had a really good experience or a really bad experience, said Brittany Duff, advertising professor.

Duff said Yelp is especially helpful when selecting services having to do with health or appearance when you move to a new town, such as hair salons or dentists.

Iandola said students should utilize Yelp to branch out of Campustown. While downtown Champaign and Urbana may not be walking distance from campus, they are easy to get to via bus, bike or car, he said.

“(Using Yelp) is an easy way (for students) to broaden the horizon of where they go without being worried about having a bad experience,” he said. “It’s a great tool if they want to explore.”