Taste of a Foodie

Ever since I went away to college, I've become increasingly interested in food.  It's almost an infatuation.  I am always watching food network, reading food blogs, trying new recipes, etc.  This got me thinking about how popular food blogs have become.

Blogs have gained viability and credibility, but the sharp rise in popularity of food blogs has to do with sense of community.  Who doesn't love talking about food?  Sharing recipes and creative ideas has given these "Floggers" (term coined by myself), a sense of pride.

With this increase in interest, competition increases dramatically.  Words alone are not cutting it.  Pictures and video are also accompanying these descriptive entries.  

So how does this correspond with small businesses?  Well, many of these credible and faithful "Floggers" are being asked by restaurants to come in and try their food (free of charge) and then write about it in their flog.  However, this type of behavior has been seen as unethical in the past. 

If a flog becomes popular enough, it could turn into a full time business for that individual.  How nifty is that? Being paid for what you've been doing free of charge? --Sign me up.

A list of my favorite Flogs:
1. CHOW
2. Annie's Eats
3. smitten kitchen

4. spoon fork bacon

Hungry? Enjoy these Halloween finds, provided by some of my favorite Flogs! 

CHOW

smitten kitchen

MyEntre.net

This last summer I was introduced to a new tool for entrepreneurs in Iowa.  MyEntre.net is leveraging the intellectual capacity and practical experience of faculty, staff and students, the University of Northern Iowa’s Business and Community Services (BCS) division is dedicated to meeting the needs of communities and entrepreneurs throughout Iowa. Within BCS, the Regional Business Center (RBC) focuses upon serving entrepreneurs in Iowa with a wide array of technology driven services, incubation and technical assistance.


MyEntre.net offers webinars, interactive communication, and technical assistance.

MyEntre.net first contact with me was through Twitter.  This was the first time I had ever had a company directly contact me through this medium.  I was surprised that it was a local, Iowa based service.  Here is a short clip on what MyEntre.net is all about.



Therefore, if you are at all interested in entrepreneurship look around at all the resources the Cedar Valley has to offer.  They also have a Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Youtube account so check them out!

Stay Connected.

In order for a small business to thrive in the digital world they need to stay connected with the world around them.  One of many mistakes small businesses will make when entering the digital/social media world is not producing relevant and useful content for their audience.  A businesses cannot only share information about their products, new innovations, etc., they must give the viewer additional information.

Therefore, businesses must do their research. Yes, I said it research.  That horrible, not so fun activity that will take business folk back to their college days. Businesses need to keep up with their always changing environment and give their audience valuable media. Flowtown has created a list of 25 social media blogs small businesses should be checking in with on a weekly, if not daily basis.  I will highlight one of my favorites I checked out.

1. Brian Solis: Solis, a digital analyst, sociologist, and futurist, has studied and influenced the effects of emerging media on business, marketing, publishing, and culture. His current book, Engage, is regarded as the industry reference guide for businesses to build and measure success in the social web.  What I like about Solis' blog is the constant updates about social media news.  If there is any confusion about any social media content/updates, Solis is right there to inform business leaders.  Here is a short snip-it of Solis speaking about the idea of relationships vs. ideas.