Integrating Complementary Apps – or How to choose a good cheap restaurant online

ReadWriteWeb reports Yelp and OpenTable, the two leading social apps for restaurant reviews and restaurant reservations respectively, have partnered so consumers can easily move from a Yelp restaurant review to making a reservation on Open Table without leaving the Yelp site.

This “mashup” of applications by process is not new; note Amazon reviews + fulfillment engine, eBay + Paypal. However, Yelp/OpenTable augurs a more efficient way for consumers to identify deals and consummate the transaction by combining not only complementary applications, but also complementary social networks. In an ideal online world, the process of finding restaurant deal coupons, checking reviews and booking the reservation should be portable across the constellation of applications:

“Open sourcing” applications by sharing APIs is starting a new wave of consumer utility. It’s much easier than going from site to site.