Let Your Rock Stars Sing Your Praises on Social Media

Sure, there are sites like Yelp, Meetup and Chicago-Scene that all specialize in rating restaurants, theaters, bars and clubs, but nothing beats the recommendation of someone you know.

And the social-media search engine doesn't stop there. Let’s use Facebook status feeds as an example. For instance, John Smith, my long-lost pen pal from fifth grade, is now my friend on Facebook, and John also happens to be looking for a nice restaurant to impress a hot date he has next weekend. While John's scanning his messages, he sees my status update with a list of endorsements from friends and family recommending good restaurants in the area. So John scans the list, picks one out, and now is one step closer to a great first date, courtesy of me and my friends.