A little over a year ago, on Dec. 1, 2008, I [Simon Dumenco] made this prediction in my column: "Google will buy Yelp" -- the social-networking-esque site that provides user-written reviews of businesses in cities across the U.S. and Canada. It took a while, but Google finally tried to make good on my prediction last month -- but, of course, failed (at least initially). Yelp reportedly balked at being bought. Then Miguel Helft of The New York Times Bits blog reported that his source was saying that Google walked away from the acquisition talks, because it "didn't want to let the negotiations be driven by leaks to the press." In other words, Google was pissed at Yelp for driving a hard bargain. (If only Google had moved earlier -- like in December 2008! -- before Yelp got so full of itself.)
Original Article: How Google Is Becoming A Media Company
