OK, I know everyone is talking Twitter, Social Media and all the Hype.  I am as skeptical as most but also one that recognizes trends when they start to occur.  After all in 94' I recognized the power of Fast Casual and started the website, developed the Fast Casual Summit and eventually the Fast Casual Alliance.  It now holds the most aggressive growth position in the restaurant industry and could very well change the entire landscape of the restaurant industry in a few years.

Back on Point - Twitter to be exact.  This recent landing page design of twitter clearly shows their cards.  The cat, or bird is out of the bag, as you can see in this simple screen shot  - I searched the term "Fast Casual" and the result was the typical tweets that hold that term.  The real magic is over on the right side of the screen, instead of trending topics I believe you will soon see ads right there.  Hmm Search?  Is that the holy grail that all have been wondering about for the Twitter business model?  Listen, Google and Microsoft have locked horns in traditional search but the Wisdom of Crowds could change search in ways we could only imagine and right now Twitter controls the crowds.  I know when I am looking for a restaurant I am doing so by pinging my followers these days which could easily offer the opportunity for keyword advertising like never before.

This is big stuff and really could help restaurants of all sizes, types and styles open up a new element to marketing to consumers.  Rest assured there will be many aspects to this concept as it develops over the months to come, but for the restaurant industry this means a little bird told me . .  "its a good thing".

Posted via email from Paul Barron's Social Coco