Yelp: Tweeting Canary in the Local Coalmine?

Google and Microsoft both made runs at Yelp in December, with the parties unable to agree to terms. Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman took at $100M investment from Elevation Partners instead, forsaking a payout of from $550M from Google to $700M from Microsoft. My sense: one or the other will get it for closer to $1B before the year is out, with good fit. Further reason of its value: In-Market Reach, as determined by Internet Broadcasting’s new data, shows Yelp is now — for the first time — the #1 site in the Bay Area, and moving up against local newspaper and TV sites around the country. News web trends often begin in the Bay Area and spread; think craigslist, Open Table, Yahoo, Google and more. Yelp is a vital piece in getting to new digital marketing/ad dollars. More on IB tracking.