As someone who analyzes influence and its impact professionally, my focus is on external implications. I only occasionally turn to my own online presence as a check on a theory. However, like many social media professionals, I do have Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Flickr, and Pinterest accounts. I consume and share content openly on all of those channels and, with the limited exception of Facebook, I don’t privatize or attempt to limit others’ consumption of what’s shared there.

In fact, there’s only one platform on my daily menu of media consumption and curation that I’ve kept refined to a, relatively speaking, tiny group of thirty people. That would be Google Reader.

For almost four years, I’ve waxed poetic to anyone who would listen about the functionality and organizational capability but have simultaneously only exercised the social component of the platform with a very select handful. That handful shares the best of the political, the innovative, the inspiring and even the ridiculous, culled from the RSS feeds each user reads on a daily basis. Their shares provoke candid commentary and, no surprise, additional sharing through more broadly accessible outlets. In the last two days, others have expressed a similar usage pattern, one that starts to resemble the early days of forums and message boards. It’s exactly what I, as a user, am interested in; curated and given to me fully formed by the people I trust the most.

Reader provides a sounding board with a relative safety net of privacy through a double opt-in: you need to seek out individuals because the only ones recommended to you come through your Gmail and/or gChat contacts. Even then, settings could be set so that you must have categorized the individual a second time for them to be able to both see and comment on your Shared Items. It made for a group of close friends and colleagues, fellow information collectors, each bringing an expertise set that led to great content by category as well. The update disheartens those of us that sought content solace in Google Reader’s social settings. I am not at all alone in my disappointment at its removal – there’s even a petition (shared via Google Reader yesterday, naturally) and a sit-in planned for Google’s DC headquarters.

Fundamental differences exist between Google Reader and the share functionalities of Google+. The design differences in sharing have been beautifully illustrated via great visuals from Courtney Stanton and Darius Kazemi. What was formerly a full-scale content sharing zone will now become automatically abridged summary. While this is great for the sites whose content is being shared, some argue that it is a step backward from a user experience perspective. The other big downfall that Stanton touched on is the provoked discussions that will disappear. Google Reader’s commenting mechanism wasn’t perfect, for instance, there was no notification set up if someone commented on one of your shares. However, one click to Comment View and you got a snapshot of every conversation-driver within your Shared Items community.

So yes, there will be consequences of this change on a personal level and sacrifices to ease of use but I also want to highlight a powerful consideration coming to light on an international level, thanks to Iranian blogger AmirHM. Because Reader was built within the Google https umbrella, governments who restrict the largest social platforms were unable to block it without also losing Google’s other functionality. Nestled into the bigger URL, this transformed Google Reader into a functioning hotbed for political commentary and activism in countries like Iran. Google+? Something as simple as a change in the URL ordering process (plus.google.com rather than google.com/reader) makes it much easier to restrict, thus a rare and useful channel for change is rendered null.

Google has developed a bit of a reputation for vague updates with sweeping implications (where did the Wonder Wheel for search go?) but I have no choice but to remain open-minded in terms of what rolls out with the new sharing system. As a longtime fan of other Google products, I’m sure there will be a few pleasant surprises along the way. I think the point I’m hoping Google hears since its announcement is that its users don’t necessarily need another platform to share indiscriminately with the world. The beauty of Reader was that it accomplished meaningful conversation with a trusted few, tethered to an entire world of content from other channels worth talking about.

*A note of thanks and hearty hat-tipping to Mari Huertas along with colleagues and esteemed Google Reader friends Caleb Gardner, Jim Kopeny, Dave Levy and Suzanne Marlatt who shared much of the content linked herein. See you on the other side.

Image credit: imgur

It’s that time of year again and by “that” I mean, the beginning. January is the official month for looking forward and those of us in the food world have much to look forward to in 2011. Different forecasts for the year have begun to appear in earnest, so today we are looking at five of the trends most everyone seems to be able to agree on.

App is for Appetite

We’ve covered a few of the ways in which eating has gone mobile in the last year. If the last week is any indication, 2011 will see mobile devices give the fork some stiff competition when it comes to required mealtime handheld. Google launched an app for Google Places and Hotpot yesterday, that looks to give Yelp some stiff competition. On the foodier circuit, Tasting Table launched their “To-Go” app yesterday to help tech savvy gourmands track cravings and culinary bucket lists in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and DC.

Spice of Life

Nutritionists have been pointing to the spice rack for years as a way to help Americans in particular reduce a dependence on sodium, sugar and fat for flavoring meals. However, the Thai, Japanese, Indian and North African seasonings experienced via restaurants are starting to trickle down into home kitchens and 2011 will be a pivotal year for that translation. In other news sure to make the new year an optimistic one for dietitians (and making for a great pairing opportunity with the spices above), the Wall Street Journal has proclaimed 2011 to be The Year of the Vegetable.

Specialty Diets

The gluten-free diet shot to household recognition last year. Many large food manufacturers have added gluten-free items to their portfolios with some creating entire sub-brands to cater to the new market. Much of the charge for awareness was led by the blog community. Shauna James Ahern, the blogger behind Gluten-Free Girl, had her cookbook of gluten-free recipes make the New York Times list for Best Cookbooks of 2010. The movement to accommodate specialty diets more accessibly is only poised to grow larger in 2011.

Food-Focused Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate and consumer commitment to reducing hunger will both be more recognizable in 2011, positively impacting groups like Share Our Strength and Feeding America. Something to watch for: mobile applications allowing consumers the ability to personalize donations at point of purchase by choosing from a list of CSR partners.

Meals on Wheels

Food trucks, pop-up restaurants, gourmet takeout menus…good food will be available on-the-go in just about every form this year and the trend has started to move beyond major urban areas.

Bonus trend

Pie. The cupcake has reigned supreme as the sugar docent of choice for the better part of a decade but with the resurgence of comfort food on many menus, pie may make for a very rustic ruler in 2011. I would ask when it was that pie went out of style but can’t deny a deep personal satisfaction at the thought of a warm slice suddenly a la mode by the original definition.

Additional Reading:

Marion Nestle’s Predictions in the San Francisco Chronicle

National Restaurant Association Reveals Hottest Menu Items for 2011

Bon Appetit’s 5 Trends to Look for in 2011

The Independent’s Food Trends to Peek in 2011

The Globe and Mail Food Trends for 2011

Super Market News Trends for 2011

Image credit: ToKissTheCook

A day built around great conversation with loved ones and an iconic feast- it should come as no surprise that Thanksgiving is the favorite holiday for many an Edelman team member. Like most people, our spreads are frequently made up of a motley mix of recipes passed down from generation to generation, spiced up classics from favorite food blogs and, in my family’s case, whatever is on the back of the bag of stuffing mix with a little white wine added in (in our defense, plenty is made from scratch as well).

As a way to demonstrate this and as a blog post incarnation of several water cooler conversations this week, we’re posting some favorite recipes volunteered by team members. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you- may you eat heartily in good company and be generous with your leftovers.

Janet Cabot is trying out Cooking Light’s Meringue and Streusel-Topped Sweet Potatoes. She decided she needed something new this year and “this recipe looks sinfully good, but because it’s Cooking Light it isn’t a calorie and fat buster!”

Lucia Bayt offers her favorite dessert for Thanksgiving…AND Christmas: Italian Cream Cake from her blog, My Big Fat Italian Life.

Robin Chung put a personal spin on Smitten Kitchen’s recipe for Balsamic Braised Brussels Sprouts for her “Friendsgiving.” She says her “only regret I have is not making twice the amount because the platter was scraped clean at the dinner table!”

Kate Byers shared that Martha Stewart’s Pumpkin Chocolate Tart would be making a return trip to her table after a successful introduction last year. Her Tip: “Don’t leave the prep ’til the last minute if you intend to make the creme fraiche from scratch. I couldn’t find creme fraiche in the grocery store, so I made it using 1 c. heavy whipping cream and 2T. buttermilk. Stir and leave at room temp 8-24 hours until thickened (overnight worked fine).”

Danielle Wiley is sending us on a mission to find her “non-negotiable” secret ingredient for Creamed Corn: Cope’s Toasted Dried Sweet Corn.

Kate Zimmer has layered love for Paula Deen’s Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle. She does also warn thought that you should “be prepared for the push back from your guests if you don’t serve a Thanksgiving pumpkin pie!”

Jessi Langsen is not going to transcribe the back of the stuffing bag for you. You are on your own there. Instead I will share the secret weapon of Langsen Thanksgiving (not quite modest but probably true)- Crustless Sweet Potato Pie. It’s good on its own but just wait till Friday and layer on your leftovers sandwich, warmed open face in the oven with gravy on top. Gut-bustingly glorious.

Image credit: Robin Chung

Julia Child’s Boeuf Bourguignon in 140 characters- the length of an average sentence and a half. More recognizably, the maximum length of a single tweet. For scale, that’s a feast for six communicated in less than 10 seconds of reading. Thus, the scene is set for a book that has the curiosities of the digital food world peaked- Eat Tweet by Maureen Evans.

Frank Bruni, celebrated restaurant critic for the New York Times, wrote the foreword and among the byte-sized gems you’ll also find Marcella Hazan’s Pasta Carbonara. There is no shortage of food royalty buy-in when it comes to this collection.

Evans’ posts as @cookbook quickly became cult favorites (over 40,000 followers). In their own abbreviated shorthand, they are apparently written for home cooks with exceptionally short attention spans or, more likely, simply to prove that it could be done. The Huffington Post has already posted a series of sample recipes within the book and, while a far cry from Child’s own lolling narrative, they do seem to get the point across for those with a certain amount of personal experience at the stove.

Even as a fan of full-sensory food writing, it’s hard not to be at least curious about the product of these shortened plates.

On the heels of the biggest nutrition conference of the calendar year, the ADA’s Food and Nutrition Conference & Expo (FNCE for short), we’re keeping a close eye on two mobile apps poised to make a big difference in helping consumers regulate the right choices for their diets- before they even get to the grocery store register.

In the last few weeks, both ShopWell and Fooducate have released new (or newer versions of) mobile applications tied to robust web presences. Both apps aim to make good choices simple for people with specific dietary needs- simple enough that a quick grocery store scan will give the shopper the information they need to choose before placing an item in their cart.

Information for the grading algorithms is currently compiled only based on back-of-the-box nutritionals which are government-regulated. That means currently nothing classified as a marketing term plays in which eliminates hot-button gray areas like “organic” or “all-natural.”

While it’s safe to say both apps are still new on the scene, the earliest differences between the two appear to be the grading scale and the ability to get specific recommendations based on dietary needs (i.e. gluten intolerance or diabetes). Where Shopwell uses a numeric scale (1-100) and coordinating stoplight-esque color-coding (green for the healthiest options, red for the least), Fooducate has opted for a familiar letter-based scale. Shopwell’s edge thus far is in the ability to link ultra-specific health needs and goals to garner individual-specific advice when the app scans a product.

There’s room for multiple players to get consumers thinking about nutrition and we’re looking forward to seeing more as the space develops.

The last few years have seen major changes to the average dining experience. Where once, a phoned reservation and the meal itself were lone components, a typical dinner out in 2010 could easily see itself on the following timeline:

1. Make reservations using a third party gateway like OpenTable
2. Arrive at restaurant and check-in to a geo-social site like Foursquare
3. Snap a photo once the food arrives to upload to sites like Twitter, Facebook or Foodspotting
4. Share post-meal thoughts on the experience on a review network like Yelp

Based on news this week, the digital dining trend is only poised to grow more robust. OpenTable, for example announced yesterday that its mobile apps alone have driven $250 million dollars worth of business to restaurant partners. Facebook, Foursquare, Gowalla and Yelp have each been taking on features that were formerly unique one. Last week, Gowalla launched CityPages as a direct answer to Yelp’s network of metropolitan tips and reviews. This week, Yelp upped the ante, adopting a similar feature to Foursquare with their Yelp Check-In Rewards. Now when a user checks in through Yelp, they are eligible for discounts and other specials from that restaurant.

While OpenTable seems to have a good grip on the reservation space, Yelp would now be able to offer competitive features for steps 2-4 in our timeline above. That could be a hard bit for the competition to swallow but diners could be more than ready to dig in.

It’s been said that eating is the original community effort. Since the dark days, we’ve delegated amongst ourselves to get a warm meal on the table. The advent of convenience cooking may have individualized the effort more in the last few decades, but the joy of sharing the work and sharing the table never left completely.

That said, we are ripe for a reintroduction of sorts to communal cooking (and eating) and there are a few folks at the forefront this week with innovative ideas on how to make that happen.

Thanks to PSFK, we heard about Vattenfall’s Neighbor Dining concept wherein feeding a friend from nearby counts as a credit on the host’s energy bill using a consumer-posted menus and an integration with Foursquare. The video below comes directly from Luong Lu, the man who figured out how people could literally be rewarded for feeding their neighbors.

On the less technical side, the concept of a “Soup Swap” has reemerged to add variety to the weekday menus of busy cooks. The Oregonian highlighted a national group who is formalizing the process which is centered around the idea that most soup recipes make a lot and freeze well. Participants choose a recipe, make their soup and portion it into 6 quart containers that are then frozen. At the actual swap, the different soups are exchanged and each person goes home with 6 different meals when they arrived with one.

A different take on the community cooking process is an idea that’s stuck with the author since first seeing it on SlashFood in 2006- Lunch Clubs. Description from the original article:

Let’s say that there are 30 people in an office. Each day 3 of the 30 people will bring in a main course dish – salad, pasta, chicken and rice – that serves 10 people. You bring in food once every two weeks and get to eat lunch every day.

Have you heard of another effort that encourages kitchen creativity and community? Another way that the digital space is helping to diversify at-home meal choices? We’d love to hear about it in the comments.

Image credit: ToKissTheCook

This entry marks the beginning of a new contribution to EdelmanDigital.com- Wednesdays, traditionally the day when newspaper food sections run, will now regularly feature a contribution from Edelman’s Food & Nutrition Practice.

There’s never been a more dynamic and changing food environment. Much of that change is playing out in conversations online. As a society we are literally redefining our relationship with food- how we think about it, choose it…where it comes from, who’s making it, what’s in it…how it impacts us, our community and our planet.

There’s no shortage of ties between the digital landscape and the plated one and we’ll be exploring those connections on a weekly basis. Some of the voices you’ll hear in the coming months have been blogging about food and nutrition both personally and on behalf of clients for years. As a means of introduction, we invite you to check out a few of the people at our table.

Brunch and the City

As of Tuesday, more than 50% of Twitter users had received access to the new desktop version of the popular micro-blogging site. For this week’s Friday Five we made a project of digging into the new layout and we’ve found a few new features worth sharing- ones that will impact personal and corporate accounts alike.

Don’t Worry About the Background Check.

New functionality takes emphasis off of the former background space and puts it squarely on content you are creating. What used to be empty real estate is now being used as a way to interact with user profiles, highlight favorite tweets and generally streamline the one page Twitter experience.

A New Kind of Mediagenic.

Media such as photo and video content now appear in-stream and on the right sidebar. The idea is that users will be more likely to click on a tweet with media content since it isn’t taking them away from twitter.com and does not interrupt the live feed. Currently, users still have to click all the way through to 3rd party sites like Twitpic to get measurement data (ie. number of image views) but that’s something else that could be folded in at a future date.

One-Click Conversation.

The right sidebar now shows a full conversation thread, profiles for all users included in the conversation and other tweets mentioning those users. This could be especially useful for keeping tabs during a Twitter party as well offering a quick situation-read for issues monitoring.

Coming Soon

Twitter has a new ad format that will be “launching shortly” that incorporates a sponsored portion of “Who to Follow.” Corporate accounts would have the ability to be promoted to users who’ve given contextual interest clues within their own Twitter streams and could be of true benefit for brands looking to build a meaningful following.

Influence by Tab

An evolved retweet tab offers three very different kinds of information in two clicks and has now been moved to a more user-friendly position alongside @replies. It’s now easy to check your stream for the kinds of information that appears to bear repeating (retweets by others). You can also remind yourself of what you passed along to your followers from others (retweets by you) as well as easily see which of your own tweets have been retweeted and by whom (your tweets, retweeted).

All in all, a great tracking mechanism for impactful messages.

The U.S. Mushroom Council is always looking for innovative and new ways to reach mushroom lovers online. September is National Mushroom Month in the United States, and a great time to get people thinking about mushrooms.

This September the Mushroom Council teamed up with its Canadian and Australian counterparts to pursue a unique partnership with the food photography website Tastespotting. The contest was broken into four categories over the course of four weeks and encompasses 12 different bloggers – four from each country. By the time the contest launched at the beginning of September, each country had some of the best-known food bloggers as representation. Each blogger was given the same task: To create a unique mushroom recipe and take lots of beautiful photos of their finished dish.

To date, here’s how the competition has played out:

Week 1: Portabella Playoff

Blogger Participants:

• Australia – The Stone Soup

 

 

• Canada – Oh She Glows (winner!)

 

 

• United States – Sprouted Kitchen

 

Week 2: Button Battle

Blogger Participants:

• Australia – Kitchen Wench (winner!)

 

 

• Canada – Everybody Likes Sandwiches

 

 

• United States – Pithy & Cleaver

 

Week 3: Shiitake Showdown

Blogger Participants:

• Australia – Fig & Cherry (winner!)

 

 

• Canada – Guilty Kitchen

 

 

• United States – Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy

 

We’re in the last week of the competition, and it’s the wildcard week. Bloggers selected their favorite cultivated mushroom for their recipe. Souvlaki for the Soul is representing Australia, Closet Cooking is representing Canada, and Kath Eats is representing the U.S. At the time this post was published, the U.S. and Canada are tied for the lead and Australia is trailing close behind. Check out the competition – you’ll find a lot to get excited about for the sake competition, your appetite, and mushrooms.

Disclosure: The U.S. Mushroom Council is an Edelman client.