Yesterday, one of my clients emailed me:

Have you thought about having a meeting/seminar on social networking, promotions, media, web site offers, etc. so everyone knows your suggestions and opinions on what works, what doesn't and what to avoid. We are in a new world of marketing and it takes time to investigate everyone who bombards us with emails, email blasts, food web sites and just about everything under the sun.

It was reassuring because, this is SpoonFeed. Or a part of it. So, we are on the right track with developing a Digital Dashboard for Chefs so they can manage all this.

SpoonFeed is for our clients. But there are times when I want to get on a rooftop and tell everyone to do something straight away. Client, not-client, friend, foe, whatever.

Navigate here and claim your Google Place Page. Now. It's easy, it's free. It's important. Please also share this with your restaurant friends and foes.

Most of you can stop reading here, you'll just do as I suggest. For the slow folk who need more reasoning, read on:

First off, you should start getting acquainted with the fact that more and more people are using location-aware mobile phones to run their lives (here's some geekier content saying the same thing, if you need that).

Secondly, you likely need to have a come-to-Jesus about the fact that the world has changed. Most people don't make restaurant decisions based on reviews in traditional news outlets. They get recommendations from:
     • friends
     •"friends" on Facebook and Twitter
     • whatever pops up on the first results page from a Google search
     • user-generated content (weighted to come up first on Google search)

One you might be familiar with is Yelp! One thing you might not know about Yelp! is that they pissed off Google.

Google, also known as Skynet, is more powerful than Yelp! Google will win. How? By incorporating some techy location doo-dads into the search functions we all already depend on every day. They've already incorporated it into Google Maps. Go here and toward the top right-hand corner, click on "Narrow by" and "User Rating."

I mean, really, are you gonna slog through some guidebook, trying to plot out where everything is on your own, or are you gonna start to use this feature next time you travel — or even at home?

I mean think about it. I occasionally perform the services of a restaurant concierge to people trying to figure out where to eat, and let me tell you, it's hard to spontaneously come up with a list of places in the midst of all my work. So, I turn to Google Maps, toss in a few keywords, and voilà! I can make my recommendations. 

Do I, personally, rely on the UGC? No, I know enough about Chicago restaurants, and I am now so reliant on Google maps that when it comes time to travel, I'll go here.

And now they are adding in the ability for restaurants to market to all those customers going there. For free.

Wait, you are still reading? You haven't been convinced?  Have you considered that in the amount of time you just spent reading all this justification for filling out an online form, you could have filled out an online form?

Stop fighting against your fears of technology and start embracing all the great tools available to you. Free tools. Go claim your Google Place Page.