Posted by foodiebuddha
on December 11, 2009
It’s been roughly a year since I last mentioned Foodzie.com. In that time, the site has grown the point where it is now capable of making headlines beyond our little food community. The site, which is tagged as an online specialty shop for food, just made a big splash by hiring Adam Sah. The name won’t mean a lot to many around these parts, but this is an interesting hire. Sah, who has been enlisted as the VP of Engineering, cut his teeth working for internet behemoth Google. If you use iGoogle or any of the Gmail gadgets, then you have Sah to thank. After all, he’s the man behind Google Gadgets. Though that might not impress every technophile you come across, it is still a noteworthy accomplishment.
This is the result of tremendous growth from Foodzie. In the year previous, they went from 25 vendors to 250. Also notable is their branded partnership with The Atlantic, that really kick ass website. I’ll be curious to see what a guy like Sah will serve up for Foodzie.
[via TechCrunch]
Posted by foodiebuddha
on August 31, 2009
Yelp! can’t avoid trouble for love or money. It seems like almost everyday, the hugely popular review site finds itself in some sort of public hot water. Be it lawsuit, business backlash, or even bribery, they have their share of public relation problems. The latest snafu comes at the expense of Apple, and their seemingly ubiquitous iPhone.
This isn’t a tech blog, so I’ll spare ya’ll the techie talk … but here’s the long of the short. Apple has introduced something called Augmented Reality (AR) [Wikipedia] for the iPhone. In this case, AR allows you to utilize a mashup (tech talk for “combination”) of online maps, street view, and yelp reviews. Here’s how it works:
Looks and sounds pretty cool huh? The problem is … the developers of the Yelp App had to jump through some hoops to get it in place before the release of the upcoming iPhone update. The end result is the Easter egg described above. Now there’s been a lot of love bestowed upon the app and its makers (here and here), but a guest post over on TechCrunch raises some points that have some people scratching their heads.
Yelp isn’t a frequent stop for me, but I do shoot over there every once in a blue moon (foodiebuddha.yelp.com). It’s a site that absolutely has some utility … but I just can’t figure out why they keep pissing so many people off. Keep in mind, I’m not talking about the people who frequent Yelp or our very own Ambassador. I’m just sayin’ – the people calling the shots seem to have a pension for punishment.
Speaking of just sayin – here’s your laugh of the day:
Posted by foodiebuddha
on April 23, 2009
Foodista is back in the news again. Last time I checked in, I wasn’t optimistic about the idea of a recipe wiki. However, a lot has happened in the past few months – but nothing that changes my mind.
To start, a group of investors from Seattle and Amazon have decided to throw away invest over half a mil in the site. That’s not as much cash as it sounds like; but, it’s still more than I’d like to see handed over to a company with no apparent ongoing revenue stream on the horizon.
Back to that Seattle connection … apparently Foodista has decided to organize a conference in Seattle. Targeted at yours truly, and the like, the International Food Blogger Conference is scheduled to hit the ground running in mid-May. Okay, so there are some impressive sponsors and some great topics; but, I already have plans. Thus, no visits to see my sister. Seriously though – 500k in investment!!!! What’s up with that people?
Nonetheless, the site is worth checking out … so head on over to foodista.com and see what you think for yourself.
Posted by foodiebuddha
on February 25, 2009
A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon SharedKitchens.com. In the spirit of ecological friendliness, I think the idea of a communal kitchen is both practical and cool. I sent the Julie Farr, the owner, an email. She responded with some details and was extremely friendly.
Continue reading…
Posted by foodiebuddha
on January 30, 2009
So OpenTable, everyone’s favorite online reservation system for restaurants (is there a viable alternative?), is going public. According to TechCrunch, they want to raise $40 million with their IPO. I will be shocked if that happens.
I looked over the finances myself and I don’t see it happening. Speaking specifically to the product: I love their service, but their lack of 15-minute intervals leaves me frustrated. I’ll be curious to see how their expansion beyond the states goes. It’s a welcomed service, but that’s about it for me. I’m far from a financial expert but I don’t expect much. It’ll be interesting to see their market cap.
