17 Stories

The Grey Lady Unleashes Ricochet

17storiesblog — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:02:00 -0400

Anyone who thinks you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, pay attention.

The latest shot at leveraging the growing influence of social media and Facebook and Twitter comes from The New York Times. For the purposes of our discussion, bear in mind that Facebook was established in 2004, Twitter in 2006, and The New York Times in 1851. (161 years old!)

At the tail-end of April, the New York Times Company launched Ricochet, its new approach to advertising and digital marketing.

What is it, you say? Well, this blogging troupe thinks it’s brilliant.

The Ricochet platform creates a unique Web address that contains “sponsored” articles. In other words, marketers can handpick the stories they want to advertise alongside.

Even better, when readers “Like,” “Follow,” or “Recommend” such articles via Facebook or Twitter, the custom ads tag along. Like a dog that follows you home.

SAP was the first company to bite. Here’s their Tweet.

Here’s the related page with the SAP ads, which is the URL in the Tweet.

And here is the same NYT article without the SAP ads.

Get it?

So suppose we included a link right here to some cool, 80s hipster reference to Jon Hughes. As you remember, Mr. Hughes died a few years ago.

He made all movies you know by heart, assuming you grew up when Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall grew up.

Well, those pages you just clicked to have random ads that we have no control over.

But what if I was a savvy marketer and, in addition to supplying you those links, I placed ads on those pages? That would be smarter, right?

And if I was a publisher, like the New York Times, I’d be pretty clever for keeping my content relevant and income generating even beyond the link.

Income. Generating. Content.

That, my friends, would be a smarter way to bird-dog your audience and keep the wheels of commerce turning. Well played, Grey Lady. Well played.

Anyone want to bet on who will be still around 161 years from now?

e-Wasted

17storiesblog — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:55:56 -0400

Hello Mr. and Ms. Early Adopter! Got a minute?

How’s that iPhone 4S working out for you?

Hey, if you don’t mind me asking, what did you do with your old iPhone 4 that SIRI rendered speechless? Say, what became of your 3G iPhone with the cracked screen from too much…how you say, “butt dialing”?

You threw them all away?!?!

Earth Day is just around the corner – and this is an intervention. Sit down.

Of course, we love it that you buy the latest and greatest before everyone else. You deserve a statue outside Best Buy.

But you have a problem. Your e-waste stinks.

Oh, you don’t have a problem?

Well, every time you buy a new device, you discard the old one like it’s just trash.

Think about it. Every phone, computer, TV, DVR, remote control, hard drive, laptop, keyboard, iPad, Kindle, Kindle DX, Kindle Fire, Nook, Nook Simple Touch, Nook Color, Nook Tablet, iPad2 and now the new iPad. And all those iPods. Something new begets something old.

And those old devices are not meant to go to a landfill. Your e-waste should be recycled.

It’s not just you. According to the Electronics Take Back Coalition, US consumers will replace approximately 400 million consumer devices this year.

Here’s how it all adds up. The EPA says US consumers disposed of 2.4 million TONS of e-waste in 2010. And only 600,000 tons of it, or 17.7%, was recycled. The remaining 83.3% was either incinerated or is now filling up our landfills.

Still not impressed? OK, let’s see if these stats scare you straight:

The US produces 3 million tons of e-waste a year, the highest in the world. China is second with 2.3 million tons.
The EPA estimates that only 15–20% of e-waste is recycled, with the rest going into landfills and incinerators.
In the US, an estimated 70% of heavy metals in landfills come from discarded electronics.

As you can see, the most obvious solution to the e-waste problem is recycling.

You must change.

Look, we love it when you get a new gadget. But now we need you to realize that most devices contain precious metals that can be recycled and repurposed — and shouldn’t end up in a landfill where they pollute the soil and water. More importantly, energy is saved, because you reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions caused by manufacturing new products when they can be made with recycled materials.

So next time you come back with your latest purchase from the Apple Store, or after Amazon Prime has made your day, use the Consumer Electronics Association’s online recycling locator to do the right thing with the old thing. It’s at www.GreenerGadgets.org.

Cool? Consider yourself rehabilitated. In case of relapse, consult the EPA eCycling page.

Google Continues to Push Boundaries

17storiesblog — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 15:57:00 -0400

Think Google is an innovative company? Sure its eponymous search engine, maps, Android and even YouTube were game changers. But you ain’t seen nuthin’ yet. Check out Google’s most groundbreaking announcement yet: Google Maps 8-bit.

Despite the long-standing popularity of the Nintendo (NES), Google unthinkingly left its legions of users in the dark. To remedy this, Google has finally redeemed itself by designing and building a Google Maps interface just for them.

We almost gave up hope.

“Our engineering team in Japan understood the importance of maps on retro game systems,” Google mentions in its Lat Long Blog. “With the power of Google’s immense data centers, and support from Nintendo and Square Enix, we were able to overcome the technical and design hurdles of developing 8-bit maps. Today, we’re excited to announce the result: a version of Google Maps for NES, with beautiful low-res graphics, simple and intuitive controls, and a timeless soundtrack.”

The full NES cartridge version will be available in stores soon, so get those NES systems out of the attic. Bad news if you already jumped the gun and made the switch to HDTV. The NES system is optimized for cathode ray screens. Bummer.

Fortunately, Google has a limited trial available for the desktop. Be sure to watch the instructional video for key tips on optimizing the new interface. For instance, almost all bugs can be fixed by ejecting the cartridge and blowing on it. The dial-up technology takes care of the rest. Makes you wonder why Apple can’t get its act together too.

(Of course, this latest Google development will do little to please devotees of Commodore 64s, Intellivision, Atari, Colecovision or the Magnavox Odyssey2. Screw ‘em. Some people just never learn.)

Click the image below to check out this groundbreaking application:

P.S. It’s already April — you’d be a Fool not to check this out.

15 Grammar Goofs

17storiesblog — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 17:36:00 -0400

As a copy editor, I often get asked, “Is it web site or website?” People ask me, “Do you add the last comma before the ‘and’ or not?” One time, on a dark, stormy night, she walked into my cube and asked, “Is that a thesaurus in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?” Oh wait…that’s for a different blog post.

Back to my point, most people want to write right.

Here’s the dilemma: There is not always a “right” way to write. The most important factors are consistency and comprehension. For instance, if you use “website” in one section of copy, you write it the same way throughout the piece. Be consistent. If you use the serial – or Oxford – comma in one place, use it throughout.

With all that said, I must admit that when I read various user-generated online content, I am quite horrified at the current state of grammar.

In fact, its literally enough two make you loose you’re mind. (Extra points if you can identify the three intentional errors in the previous sentence. Extra extra points if you find four. If you find five, you can have my job.)

Our friends over at copyblogger have devised this infographic that compiles the most common grammar errors. It’s a great guide for knowing when to use “your and you’re,” “its and it’s,” and “then/than,” which are very common errors. (Of course, it also covers the most egregious ones, such as “loose/lose.”)

Stay legible, my friends.

-Kenny, copy dude

"You like us. You really like us!"

17storiesblog — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 17:24:00 -0400

We are proud (and humbled) that Tocquigny was named one of the top 3 interactive agencies in the nation by BtoB magazine alongside such luminaries as MRM and Digitas. More than anything, we’re thankful to our clients.

Here’s what BtoB says about their Top Agencies list: “Despite the still-sluggish economy, the top b2b agencies won new business and grew their overall revenue in 2011. While total ad spending in the U.S. increased in the low single-digits last year, many winners in BtoB’s Top Agency report saw revenue gains in the double digits.”

So how did we make the list? The same way you get to Carnegie Hall. Work. Work. Work.

In determining which agencies it would rank in its annual list, BtoB uses a set criteria which includes: innovative online marketing campaigns, percentage of business that is business-to-business, new client wins and effective use of new technologies. In 2011, Tocquigny accomplished all of that and more.

Here are some standouts from our work in 2011:

The agency’s social media campaign strategy for Insperity;
The integrated “VoIP Brand Launch” campaign for Momentum Telecom, which included a website, social media and lead-gen campaign; and
The “Oracle Migration” lead-generation campaign for Teradata, which included online advertising, email, search, social media and direct mail.

Score another win for A Measured Approach™.

Enjoy the whole article here.

And watch out. We’re going for #1 this year.

Hang out with Hangouts and Hideouts

17storiesblog — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:31:41 -0500

Every March, Austin wakes from its Winter hibernation for the sweet mayhem that is SXSW. What initially started in 1987 as a small, mostly local music festival has grown into one of the largest multimedia fests in the Milky Way. (As far as we know…) SXSW now encompasses interactive, film and, of course, music.

As SXSW has grown, the quest for quiet, out-of-the-way local places to eat, drink and hang out has spread beyond 6th Street to the rest of Austin. Everyone who has read the recent New York Times article or Yelp knows about Threadgill’s and Antone’s, but what about that certain food truck with fresh-caught blackened grouper? Or did you know that Frank, the gourmet hot dog joint, also has amazing coffee and bacon bloody marys?

Tocquigny’s got your back. We prescribe Hideouts and Hangouts, a free guide to the places our cool coworkers go to for sips, chews, sights and romps.

For instance, you didn’t hear it here, but did you know that according to our resident Code Commanding Naan Ninja, Abhilash Shamsunder, New India on S. Congress has an excellent Spinach Chicken? Or that our New Biz Nature Lover Tom Fornoff suggests using the Lance Armstrong Bikeway to ride to the Hula Hut in West Austin? (Bonus: You can sweat your first hangover off before working on the next one.)

Tocquigny developed the Hideouts and Hangouts app to be a handy guide for anyone visiting Austin. Using Google Maps API, which is native on most smartphones, Instagram photos, and a practical-but-robust user interface, Hideouts and Hangouts is a great tool for uncovering hidden Austin.

You’re already in Austin. Check it out: www.tocquigny.com/hh

Google+: Social Media Overkill or Roadkill?

17storiesblog — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 18:17:52 -0500

This week’s Wall Street Journal featured an eye-popping article about the harsh reality of Google+ called The Mounting Minuses at Google+.

According to Google Inc. Chief Executive Larry Page, Google+ has become a strong competitor in social media, with 90 million users registering since it launched last June. Sounds good, right.

But wait. The article reveals that, according to comScore Inc., users are indeed signing up, but then aren’t doing much more. Slide, please:

Count ‘em. The average minutes visitors spent on social media sites in January ranks Google+ at the back of the pack. Far behind Facebook. Even way behind tumblr and new kid on the block, Pinterest. Even MySpace. That’s right, even BEHIND MYSPACE with a paltry 3 minutes spent per user.

Don’t get us wrong. We love Google. (Heck, the author is signed up on Google+.) But the question still stands, “What up, G?”

The main issue seems to be that Google+ doesn’t offer enough differentiation to make it a stronger competitor. Google claims it’s betting on the long-term—as an entry point into other Google services, such as Gmail and YouTube. Trouble is, users are slow to gravitate over from Facebook. This is echoed by potential marketers, who have not yet officially started advertising on the platform. Companies such as Intel note that their engagement on Google+ pales in comparison to Facebook, with Intel getting “dozens of responses” to Google+ posts vs. “thousands” on Facebook.

For marketers, the fact that Google+ is a virtual ghost town compared to the other social networks means that Google+ is barely a blip on their radar. To this point, the article quotes David Cohen, an executive vice president at Universal McCann, a media buying unit of Interpublic Group of Cos. that helps big marketers spend ad dollars: “Without active engagement, it will not be as attractive to advertisers.”

Hang in there Google+, we’re not counting you out yet. (We’re also big New York Giants fans.)

There’s plenty more info in the article, so check it out.

Marvel to announce "super news" at SXSW Interactive 2012

17storiesblog — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 17:08:00 -0500

Marvel Entertainment is making its inaugural appearance at SXSW Interactive. In fact, this will be the first major appearance by comic book publisher in SXSW history. Marvel is promising an announcement that will offer “…revolutionary ways to read comics.”

The comics publisher has historically been at the forefront of multimedia publishing, launching Marvel Digital Comics in 2007 and the Marvel Comics app in 2010. One would assume that the announcement will be the company’s next step in blurring the line that separates traditional print and digital technology, something we at Tocquigny are very familiar with.

Yvonne Tocquigny, Tocquigny’s founder and CEO, creates annual versions of How We Love Food, a cookbook that features her favorite recipes accompanied by her hand-drown illustrations. In 2011, How We Love Food made the leap from print to digital with the debut of the iPad app version. The evolution of the cookbook reflects the current way we share information with our friends and family. Similar to Marvel’s digital efforts, the How We Love Food iPad App takes a common, physical item and enhances it to meet today’s “at your fingertips” expectations. The goal is not to change the fundamental motivations behind sharing information, but to enable and encourage new ways of doing so.

The Marvel announcement will be part of the Marvel: House of Ideas panel at SXSW ScreenBurn, which adds the video game industry to the mix of SXSW Interactive. The event is free and open to the public and takes place on Sunday, March 11 at 1 pm at the Palmer Events Center.

Check out Marvel’s announcement here.

Download the How We Love Food iPad App at the iTunes Store.

“Mathematicians are suddenly sexy.”

17storiesblog — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:03:00 -0500

This weekend’s New York Times Magazine features an article that describes how companies are using data to gain insights into their customers’ behavior. Collecting information on customers is not new for large companies. What is new is how effectively some companies are becoming at mining and utilizing customer data to predict buying patterns.

This goes light years beyond predictive behavioral analysis, since the amount of data that can be collected and tracked has grown exponentially in the digital age—and the computing speeds needed to put it to use in real time just keep getting faster.

Almost every large retailer has a department devoted to understanding both its customers buying habits, as well as their personal habits. For example, the article gives you a glimpse into Target’s Guest Marketing Analytics Department, and how it is targeting your present and future shopping habits.

There is one big hurdle for the Big Data industry. Finding data consultants to do the job is becoming a challenge. According to Andreas Weigend, former chief scientist at Amazon.com, “It’s like an arms race to hire statisticians nowadays.”

Big Data is a Big Topic at Tocquigny. Find out how Big Data will impact your company’s marketing strategy in 2012 and beyond.

The article will appear in the print version of the New York Times Magazine this weekend. Get an early look here.

Tocquigny Staff: Pinterest Sets U.S. Record for Monthly Site Traffic

17storiesblog — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:27:05 -0500

Tocquigny Staff: Pinterest Sets U.S. Record for Monthly Site Traffic:

17storiesblog:

With the news that it just hit 11.7 million unique monthly U.S. Site visitors, Pinterest has officially become social media’s rising star, crossing the 10 million mark faster than any other standalone site in history. For those who are unfamiliar, Pinterest is essentially a visual…

Who's Buying What in Super Bowl 2012?

17storiesblog — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:53:38 -0500

This week’s Ad Age features a run-down of the 2012 Super Bowl ads. Considering that 30-second spots run as high as $3.5 million, are companies getting their money’s worth? Get an early look at the spots that will be discussed next week. The list will be continually updated all week leading to Sunday’s game.

How We Love Food: New Recipes to Celebrate the New Year

17storiesblog — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:21:34 -0500

It’s that time of year again! Tocquigny is celebrating the holidays with a new update to How We Love Food, the collection of recipes from Yvonne Tocquigny, founder and CEO of Tocquigny. The cookbook is filled with new recipes to inspire your next dinner party, romantic evening in or cozy meal with your family. Regardless of the occasion, Yvonne’s recipes are sure to delight! (I, for one, cannot wait to try the Spicy Mussel Soup with Bruschetta and Yvonne’s Mother’s Snowball recipe.)

Over the years, How We Love Food has evolved from print to digital, and in July 2011, we launched the How We Love Food iPad App. The various incarnations of the cookbook reflect the evolution of the way we share information with our friends and family. Like many emerging technologies, the How We Love Food iPad App takes a common, physical item and enhances it to meet today’s “at your fingertips” expectations. The goal is not to change the fundamental motivations behind sharing food with loved ones, but to enable and encourage new ways of doing so.

At the heart of How We Love Food are memories linked to Yvonne’s favorite recipes. Tocquigny’s hope with the How We Love Food holiday update is to inspire you to create memories of your own. It’s a free update for all of those who already have the app, and all proceeds go to Urban Roots, a nonprofit youth-development organization.

Download the How We Love Food iPad App and Update at the iTunes Store.

Mobile Development with Titanium Appcelerator

daviddulak — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 11:43:00 -0400

I recently had the privilege to work on an iPad version of Yvonne’s cookbook, How We Love Food, and enjoyed every minute of it. Since it was an internal project, we had the flexibility to try some new technologies. We chose to write the cookbook app using Titanium Appcelerator. The platform is nice, especially for someone like me who comes from a strong web programming background. Appcelerator uses JavaScript as the high-level coding language, and then compiles into an Apple xCode project in Objective-C that can be run on the iOS simulator and ultimately submitted to the iTunes App Store. The documentation was a bit weak, but with a little experimentation, I was on my way.

Appcelerator also has another perk that we have yet to use: Compiling to Android from the same base code. There is a significant amount of work to be done on designing the front end to work on differing screen sizes of Android devices, but the core functionality can simply be recompiled into a native Android Java application. One of the most interesting accomplishmentsof this project was an Appcelerator code hack — kudos to Tocquigny team member Jake Riesterer — that allowed us to save very detailed analytics in real time to our database server. We are able to track every user session in detail, including the user’s location and each interaction with the App all the way down to the specific recipe on which they used the illustration zooming feature. And in the end, the beauty and simplicity of the design landed us in Apple’s “New and Noteworthy” section for its category.

Check it out here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/how-we-love-food/id445071073?mt=8.

Inside the Branding Toolkit: Brand Manifestos

craigtest — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 17:11:00 -0400

In my humble opinion, the majority of successful businesses employ two crucial foundational elements: quality product and effective persuasion.

In the traditional business model, product is what gets the prospect in the door, while persuasion compels the sale.

One of the secret weapons of branding, however, is the contrary: use persuasion for acquisition and product for conversion.

I’ve always had a weakness for rhetoric (see my past blog posts on the subject). How can human language be as powerful as a multi-million dollar super computer or as lethal as a machete? How can an audience be transformed through emotion, logic and credibility?

The Brand Manifesto

While most companies have mission and vision statements, only a select few have adopted brand manifestos. These commonly short, frank and liberal declarations don’t articulate what a company aspires to be — they define the company’s driving principles and passions. They are the living anthems and battle cries of a brand, something so finely ingrained in the company’s DNA that a bankruptcy or rebranding has little chance of changing it. Brand manifestos are written rhetoric at its finest.

But don’t just take it from me. Let some of the greatest brands speak for themselves:

Return on Branded PPC Terms – Is it Worth it?

lucienbone — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:47:15 -0400

“Why should we pay for clicks when we get organic clicks for free? Should I buy my own brand terms?”

If you’ve heard these questions from a client, boss, or peer, you are not alone.

For years I have worked with a variety of clients that have posed these and other questions related to the return on paid-search brand terms. Measurability, control, and overall ROI are good responses to these questions, but when pressed for proof, it has been difficult to come up with solid research to back up the rationale.

Of course, as an agency, we are inclined to recommend brand terms because those terms will provide very efficient clicks and conversions to prop up the overall metrics for the client. If they are removed, the loss of those keywords usually impacts the results in a negative way. When asked pointedly on numerous occasions about our recommendation to purchase the client’s actual brand name and derivations of it, I have always referred to the importance of that tactic for metrics health — but now I’m armed with something better.

Google recently released results from an in-depth study on this topic and posted it for public consumption here. It was also covered in a good article by SearchEngineLand, which gives a less-technical explanation.

The details of the study are pretty interesting, and the methodology appears to be very sound. Google statisticians conducted over 400 studies on paused accounts to determine if organic clicks would increase to make up for the drop in traffic.

The study shows that paid search drives incremental clicks compared to organic search, with little cannibalization of organic traffic. “A meta-analysis of several hundred of these studies reveals that over 89% of the ads clicks are incremental, in the sense that the visits to the advertiser’s site would not have occurred without the ad campaigns,” state the authors of the study. The results were fairly consistent across verticals as well as international markets tested.

The takeaway: It is worth it. You SHOULD pay for those clicks and buy those brand terms. And now we have a pretty convincing rationale for this tactic.

Location Location Location!

annielenore — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 18:53:00 -0400

Last Monday Tocquigny’s own Craig Saper tweeted something that has been on my mind ever since:

“iOS 5’s location-based reminder platform is brilliant. The second I stepped out of my office, I was reminded to pick up a dinner ingredient.”

iOS 5 - Apple’s new operating system for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch - will include location-aware notifications as part of the API when it launches to the public this fall. Beta users like Craig are already seeing the value of creating custom location-aware reminders through Apple’s own Reminders app, which is designed to alert users of a to-do when arriving or leaving a location.

To what level an app can use location-aware notifications is not yet clear to me (opt-in vs. opt-out, available only when an app is active, always on in the background and so on). But it’s safe to assume that this new level of location integration will change how marketers and product developers think about location-based services going forward. After all, the mobile screen, unlike the computer screen or the TV screen, is always with you and always on- perfect for streamlined, real-time personal engagement.

There are countless opportunities to light-up location-aware notifications in meaningful ways. For example:

Out for a run at Lady Bird Lake with MapMyRun? In 0.25 miles, you’ll find free water provided by the Trail Foundation.
At Waterloo Records? Get a coupon for Amy’s Ice Cream.
Passing Whole Foods? Salmon is on sale.
Friends checked-in at a nearby happy hour? Stop in for a deal on appetizers.

With location-aware notifications, companies can start communicating with a specific person, with her varied interests and sensibilities, in a specific location. This isn’t simply reconfiguring current communications; this is a new way to engage with customers. It should be designed to be relevant and actionable while on-the-go. After all, connecting with a customer through her mobile device is intensely personal, and if we want to achieve that level of engagement, we must be prepared to add meaning.

Managing privacy is the trick here. There is a fine line between relevant opted-in communication and unwanted promotions. As marketers, our role is to understand how the consumer wants to engage and help her manage her preferences.

Have you thought about how you can take advantage of this new level of location-integration for your business?

A Perfect Recipe for App Promotion

yvonnetocquigny — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 19:10:00 -0400

The How We Love Food series celebrates the iPad launch of How We Love Food, an annual collection of recipes from Yvonne Tocquigny, founder and CEO of Tocquigny, and focuses on the convergence of food, marketing, and technology. Download the app now for just $1.99, and all proceeds will be donated to nonprofit Urban Roots.

By now, I hope you’ve downloaded the newest version of How We Love Food – now available as an iPad app. From print to online to mobile and social, How We Love Food has evolved, just like my interactive marketing agency, Tocquigny, has over the last 30 years.

While the way we share recipes has drastically changed since 1980, the way we share food hasn’t changed much at all. Everyone knows that food is all about sharing with friends or family. A meal well prepared is a meal best enjoyed with great company. Just like a successful dinner party is dependent on inviting the right attendees, the success of a mobile application strongly depends on promotion.

That’s why we put so much thought into how we would best promote How We Love Food. An integrated transmedia campaign was led by two email blasts, driving users to the App Store. A landing page and a Facebook application also helped share the buzz about the application and pushed users to the App Store. Internally, the agency celebrated our proud creation by sharing links with our personal networks and – as you’ve seen all week – by contributing to 17 Stories with posts about our passion for the convergence of food, technology, and marketing.

The icing on the cake? Making things really social by contributing all download proceeds to Urban Roots, a signature program of the youth empowerment nonprofit YouthLaunch, which uses sustainable agriculture as a means to transform the lives of young people and increase access to healthy food. After all, How We Love Food – like most food experiences – has always been about sharing.

Over time, tracking key performance indicators like downloads, unique visits to the landing page, email click-through rates, referral visits to our agency site, and social media mentions has helped to prove the effectiveness and efficiency of different tactics.

In the end, Field of Dreams was a bit off. In marketing, if you build it, they won’t come. Promotion is the critical binding ingredient. So the next time you’re cooking up a mobile project, don’t forget to invite everyone over for dinner.

Cooking Magazine Mayhem

iskcashley — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 16:41:00 -0400

Growing up, I can remember the abundance of cooking magazines my mom subscribed to and her impulsive purchases of Cooking Light in the grocery store checkout line. After she would scour several magazines to find just the right recipe, she would only tear out one-or-two recipes per magazine that our family would even consider tasting (my sisters and I was quite the picky bunch). At the time, I just figured that this sort of behavior was normal.

Looking back on these childhood memories, I realize what a waste purchasing all of those magazines was. Of the 30+ recipes found in a single issue, my mom only saved one or two for her go-to recipe collection, and three if it was a REALLY good issue loaded with Italian recipes. Speaking with my mom recently regarding this topic, I found that she no longer subscribes to or purchases cooking magazines. When asked why, I found her response rather interesting: “Why would I pay around $30/month in cooking magazine subscription fees, when I can search thousands of cooking blogs for free recipes whenever I want?” Hate to say it, but she’s got a point.

This made me think about how the rise of social sharing has impacted our purchasing behavior. When we have unlimited, free resources at our fingertips, why not take advantage of that? These days there are thousands of cooking blogs, inexpensive iPhone apps, and friends who post their favorite recipes via Facebook for free. It seems that if cooking magazines want to continue to be competitive, they will need to find a way to compete with my favorite cooking blog. Rather than Mom planning out her family meals for the week, technology and social sharing has allowed her to quickly browse hundreds of recipes to find the best fit for dinner. Like everything else, technology and sharing have changed the way we traditionally search for recipes.

Farmville: How Social Media Can Save the Family Farm

colintest — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 11:32:00 -0400

No, not that Farmville. I’m talking about the new visibility of family farms in our responsible eating marketplace and how social media can be a great solution for keen farmers looking to seize this unique opportunity and build brand equity.

Picture the last time you were at a restaurant. Did the menu note that the food was fresh or organic? Maybe you saw a sign, trumpeting the restaurant’s locally sourced produce. These future artifacts are signs of the time. More and more consumers care about what they consume: Where did it come from? How was it made? Were the people who made it treated fairly How did it get to my plate?

Sustainability and social responsibility are no longer buzz terms - but market demands. According to a Deloitte study [PDF], 54% of consumers now enter stores actively considering sustainability attributes in their purchase decision. That said, only 22% actually buy based upon those attributes alone. For some reason, the 32% lost have changed their minds at the point of purchase.

For restaurants, that means selling the sustainability value proposition at their point of purchase: the table, check-out counter, or drive-thru. Consumers expect transparency, and that’s why restaurants (especially in Austin) are starting to list the local farms where they purchase their meat and produce.

In today’s digital world, it’s almost expected behavior to pick up our mobile devices and Google after being exposed to something of interest. Then, it’s no wonder why I’ve been perusing many a family farm website over the past year while nibbling on my non-GMO, grass-fed bison hamburger.

But, really - farm websites are admittedly a bit behind the times. And, that’s understandable: Farmers probably prefer to do what they do best - farm - and probably have very few resources to actually invest in such a labor-intensive communications medium. So, how can we save the family farm?

Easy: Social media! These websites clearly have great content: Stories about the family, why pastured eggs are better than factory eggs, pictures of the well-kept livestock, and more.

What better way to easily share that content than through Facebook photo albums or regular status updates? Or a quick Flipcam-produced YouTube video? Or check-ins on Foursquare at the Farmers’ Market?

Some farms are already catching on. And, while their audience may be small now, they’ll be well-positioned as the responsible eating marketplace continues to expand and this sort of restaurant transparency becomes an insurmountable barrier to entry.

Then, social media really will be dominated by Farmville. No, not that Farmville.

You mean we haven't always had Yelp?

annielenore — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 15:42:00 -0400

It would be much easier to write about how technology hasn’t changed food – nearly everything has felt the impact of mobile apps, social, and the deluge of data. Whether it’s start-ups turning data from something mysterious to something fun (Gojee, Food Genius, Punchfork), food bloggers whose style and recipies I love (Homesick Texan, What Katie Ate, Cannelle et Vanille), online communities creating new local experiences (Grubly, Housefed, Dinevore), or apps that recommend jumping off I-10 in Jennings, LA to have lunch at Boudin King - technology’s impact on how and what we eat can’t be understated.

Our biggest challenge? Cutting through the noise! More than 5500 iPhone apps pop up when you search for “food” in the App Store. Searching “food blog” on Google returns about 728,000,000 results. It’s like drinking from a fire hose - and the information will just keep on coming. Once you hook up nutrition info with FourSquare and Nike+ I’ll know exactly how far I have to run to work off last night’s burger. Or when you connect a smart fridge to the geo-location on a phone, I won’t forget to drop in and get cornichons when I’m near Central Market.

If you’re interested in food and technology, I love foodandtechconnect.com. For geeks like me it’s a great way to find out what’s new - from the latest start-up to new ways to think about all this data. New voices and new technologies will continue to teach us more about food and help us enjoy it. There are great fun problems to solve and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

But even as I think about all this innovation, the most important thing about food is what what tech hasn’t changed - it’s still all about coming together to enjoy a good meal with great people.