I’ve been personally Yelping since 2006 and for work about three years. Well, before then, technically. But I count it from when I made a commitment to Yelp and she to me. It’s been a mutually exclusive relationship, full of trust and growing faith over time. She loves me to, knowing I’ll tell it like it is, always come back to her and play with all her features happily.

The deal between Yelp and Google seems to have fallen apart today. Jeremy Stoppelman is going to hold out for more. Everyone from Michael Arrington to the geeks on the message boards at Slashdot are talking about how the deal fell through. I don’t get the surprise. Yelp is kicking some serious ass and they want more than .5 billion. I think that’s fair enough.

Having watched the big Y! turn down acquisition deal after deal, I learned a lot about holding out, holding off, cooling off. I had an opportunity to watch and learn (albeit not enough!) from a  great, brilliant, unforgettable business master who taught me, amongst other things that opportunities don’t always equate to the right opportunities. As a way underdeveloped mind in this arena, I had such a hard time understanding how she could pass on offer after offer for large scale lucrative (and at times acquisition) offers.  Years later I get it so much more: wait, wait, wait. Then pounce. I’m hoping Yelp is doing the same right about now.

Oh, come now, it’s not fair to call Stoppelman and DAG Ventures greedy. And yes, the valuation about 18 months ago was only a couple hundred million. But that was then, and life moves fast. Some reasons that might not be so obvious for why Yelp might want to deny Google their prey of the week.

1. Yelp’s App is unsurpassed. The iPhone app for Yelp has easily become my favorite app. From the Yelp app you can pull off directions and recommendations and reviews and filters that are relevant to instant gratification. I am not sure having an iPhone is worth it to me without the Yelp app. Don’t have it? Well, then, run along and go pick it up.

2. Yelp blasted yellow pages and open table usage out of the water. People are going directly to a location — restaurants included — based on community recommendations. Yelp’s yellow pages meets community equates to an extraordinary and powerful tool to drive business to businesses. And no offense to my dear ex-boyfriend whom I love dearly, but MC is getting it’s tail kicked by Yelp too.  Google knows how valuable this kind of engagement can be.

Yelp vs. OT vs. MC

3. For over a decade, defining the power of online communities has been exceedingly difficult. How much value is a person’s opinion? How influential are reviews? How influential are peers versus strangers in your local community? How much do consumers care? How much do businesses care? As we begin to understand the vast and vital role that online communities can have on the impact of business (albeit, admittedly hard to convert to ROI), the more valuable, powerful and influential companies like Yelp become.

Good for you, Yelp. Hang in, take a breath. Make a decision that’s right for you. Get acquired? Fine, just don’t underestimate the power of those of us who drive you there.