about internet marketing

Jenny An is a Chicago-based writer with a focus on popular culture, food and travel. Her work has appeared in Time Out Chicago and VenusZine.

Social media certainly has its benefits for those who love dining and drinking. From free drinks for Foursquareclass="blippr-nobr">foursquare checkins, to Twitterclass="blippr-nobr">Twitter notifications about happy hours, to Facebookclass="blippr-nobr">Facebook messages about free food, there’s always something tasty happening online.

But the social web offers a lot more than just discounts and deals when it comes to drinking and dining. Restaurants and bars are giving social media users a backstage pass to the food and the people who make it. Chefs and restaurateurs are using social media to reveal how their dishes are made, generate familiarity with chefs and provide a means for diners to share feedback.

Revealing How Dishes Are Made

While customers go to lower end restaurants looking for value and discounts, higher-end restaurants think that “discounts cheapen the experience,” says Tom O’Keefe, a Boston-based restaurant tweeter and social media-focused marketer.

You can blame it on the rise of celebrity chefs or the success of The Food Network and shows like Top Chef, but now more than ever, people want to live vicariously through others who cook. Many restaurants, including Chicago’s Piccolo Sogno and The Bristol, are posting videos to YouTubeclass="blippr-nobr">YouTube or Vimeoclass="blippr-nobr">Vimeo of new dishes being prepared. “The general idea is to pull the curtain back,” says Phillip Walters of The Bristol. “Allow people at home to feel more involved and engaged with that you are trying to deliver.”

But social media does a lot more than just satisfy curiosities. It makes Twitter followers or Facebook fans remember their last visit. Stu Mitchell, marketing director for Blue 13, a Rock and Roll spot in Chicago, says this act of reminding customers about their last visit “prompt[s] them to want to return, to keep us fresh in the minds of those who have yet to visit, but have been planning on it.”

But the behind-the-scenes social media technique sways more toward high-end than fast food restaurants. A behind-the-scenes glimpse of the origins of the McNugget (hint: it’s birthed from pink goop) led to class='blippr-nobr'>Internetclass="blippr-nobr">Internet-wide horror and repulsion.

“A local Taco Bell is going to connect and build community in a very different way versus a Michelin-rated restaurant that brings passionate foodies together,” says Lorrie Thomas, CEO of Web Marketing Therapy.

Getting to Know the Chefs

Instead of attracting customers with deals, many restaurants strive to use social media for a tailored, personal experience. “People love to go into a restaurant or bar and know the owner or the chef,” O’Keefe says. Think of it as instantly becoming a regular.

That’s why chefs like Joanne Chang of Boston’s Myers and Chang and Flour Bakery personally tweet photos of the kitchen staff at work. “If you’re in a PR firm, you’re not going to get the same feel,” O’Keefe says. “It’s her and you know that it’s her.”

Grant Achatz, the man behind Chicago’s Alinea — named best restaurant in America in 2006 by Gourmet — also does his own tweeting. “Who would you rather hear from?” he asks. “Me directly or some weird person I paid to represent me?” When Achatz is not in the restaurant, he continues to tweet — from where he’s eating in Chicago to where he’s visiting in Japan. It lets people get to know him better and maintains a base, he says. “I’m not a celebrity, but I have a following.”

Achatz’s approach to helping his audience learn more about him is spot on. “Who we are” is the primary message of any effective marketing campaign, says Syeed Mansur, CEO of Sentrana, a firm that uses mathematical models to determine the most effective marketing strategies for companies.

Opening Communication Between Diners and Chefs

The restaurant experience has traditionally always been divided between front of house and back of house. Customers sat in the dining room and enjoyed their meals, completely disconnected from the people preparing the meals. The success of open kitchen designs, the farm-to-table movement, and books like Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential, show that diners want a deeper connection to the food that’s being prepared for them.

Not only does social media let customers view what’s behind that “Employees Only” door, but it gives customers access to the people behind it. Twitter allows Tony Priolo, chef of Piccolo Sogno, to connect with customers before they even come to the restaurant. And diners plugged in with social media receive special treatment. “If we tweeted with them beforehand I’ll usually come out of the kitchen and thank them for tweeting with us or send over something special,” he says.

Achatz likes to hear complaints from customers and says he actually responds. Sometimes he’ll refund a meal, but more importantly, “the more we know about who is coming into our restaurant, the better we’ll be able to fulfill our obligation to do what will make them feel happy,” he says. A couple had flown into Chicago from New York to eat at his restaurant and expected not only excellent food but also excellent service. The wife was escorted to the bathroom the first time she got up, but not the second. Achatz thinks the front of house staff just assumed she knew the way and could help herself. But the husband indignantly tweeted about the incident and then Achatz knew that his customers had different assumptions of service. The restaurant has tweaked its service accordingly since then.

“When people know, like and trust us, they buy,” Thomas says. “Pushing propaganda will freak people out.”

While restaurants are unable to quantify the exact monetary impact of their social media campaigns, the responses they receive assure them that somebody is listening. “We hear enough feedback to know that we’re reaching people and that they enjoy it,” says Amy Mills Tunnicliffe of 17th Street Bar and Grill in southern Illinois.

Before social media, it was difficult for the average person (even a person spending $200 for dinner) to have access to that ornery bartender or three-starred Michelin chef, but now, dishing complaints or compliments has become as easy as a tweet or a Facebook post.

How have you used social media to enhance — or complain about — a dining experience? Do you follow your favorite chefs or restaurants? Share your thoughts in the comments.

More Foodie Resources from Mashable:

- 10 iPhone Apps for Wine Enthusiasts/> - 3 New Recipe Apps for the iPad [PICS]/> - 10 iPhone Apps for the Global Foodie/> - 7 Services That Will Suggest Things You Like/> - HOW TO: Find Good Food Online

For more Social Media coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Social Mediaclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Social Media channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for Android, iPhone and iPad

AdKeeper, the online advertising company led by About.com founder Scott Kurnit that lets consumers save online ads for later viewing, raised $35 million in Series B funding.

The round, led by Oak Investment Partners, comes as AdKeeper’s “Keep” button is set to roll out on online ads from AT&T, Best Buy, Ford and Gap on January 11, after a beta release in October. AdKeeper believes that consumers, although they profess to dislike ads, will actually save ads for later viewing if they find them entertaining or interesting. The company hopes “keeps” will become an ad metric along with impressions and clicks.

When interviewed by USA Today in November, Kurnit (pictured) said he wasn’t sure that consumers will actually save ads, though. “That’s the $64 billion question. If they do, then this is one of the top three or four class='blippr-nobr'>Internetclass="blippr-nobr">Internet companies ever,” he said, noting that research showed that 56% of Internet users want to save ads.

For his part, Ian Schafer, CEO of digital ad agency Deep Focus, says that AdKeeper could succeed if it offers some value to consumers. “If ad keeper equals coupon clipper scaled to the size of the Internet, then I’m bullish,” Schafer says. “If it’s ‘class='blippr-nobr'>Instapaperclass="blippr-nobr">instapaper for ads,’ then the odds of me ever going back to look at my portfolio of things that I (the consumer) generally would rather ignore are very slim.”

Oak, which has backed a range of companies including Caribou Coffee, Jamba Juice and The Huffington Post, joins current Investors Including DCM, True Ventures, Spark Capital and First Round Capital.

For more Business coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Businessclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Business channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for Android, iPhone and iPad

robert shumake detroit

Small Business <b>News</b>: Starting Your New Business In A New Year

Whether your starting a new business or rethinking an existing one, 2011 offers fresh possibilities and a new start. If you're launching a new business, there.

Pink Floyd Re-Signs With EMI: Good <b>News</b> for the Band or the Label?

Progressive rock legends Pink Floyd have re-signed with their longtime record label EMI.

New Edition of Huckleberry Finn to Drop N-Word: Instant Reactions

Auburn University professor Alan Gribben, along with NewSouth Books, plans to release a newly edited edition of the Mark Twain classic, with every instance of the N-word replaced with the word.

robert shumake detroit

Small Business <b>News</b>: Starting Your New Business In A New Year

Whether your starting a new business or rethinking an existing one, 2011 offers fresh possibilities and a new start. If you're launching a new business, there.

Pink Floyd Re-Signs With EMI: Good <b>News</b> for the Band or the Label?

Progressive rock legends Pink Floyd have re-signed with their longtime record label EMI.

New Edition of Huckleberry Finn to Drop N-Word: Instant Reactions

Auburn University professor Alan Gribben, along with NewSouth Books, plans to release a newly edited edition of the Mark Twain classic, with every instance of the N-word replaced with the word.

robert shumake detroit

Jenny An is a Chicago-based writer with a focus on popular culture, food and travel. Her work has appeared in Time Out Chicago and VenusZine.

Social media certainly has its benefits for those who love dining and drinking. From free drinks for Foursquareclass="blippr-nobr">foursquare checkins, to Twitterclass="blippr-nobr">Twitter notifications about happy hours, to Facebookclass="blippr-nobr">Facebook messages about free food, there’s always something tasty happening online.

But the social web offers a lot more than just discounts and deals when it comes to drinking and dining. Restaurants and bars are giving social media users a backstage pass to the food and the people who make it. Chefs and restaurateurs are using social media to reveal how their dishes are made, generate familiarity with chefs and provide a means for diners to share feedback.

Revealing How Dishes Are Made

While customers go to lower end restaurants looking for value and discounts, higher-end restaurants think that “discounts cheapen the experience,” says Tom O’Keefe, a Boston-based restaurant tweeter and social media-focused marketer.

You can blame it on the rise of celebrity chefs or the success of The Food Network and shows like Top Chef, but now more than ever, people want to live vicariously through others who cook. Many restaurants, including Chicago’s Piccolo Sogno and The Bristol, are posting videos to YouTubeclass="blippr-nobr">YouTube or Vimeoclass="blippr-nobr">Vimeo of new dishes being prepared. “The general idea is to pull the curtain back,” says Phillip Walters of The Bristol. “Allow people at home to feel more involved and engaged with that you are trying to deliver.”

But social media does a lot more than just satisfy curiosities. It makes Twitter followers or Facebook fans remember their last visit. Stu Mitchell, marketing director for Blue 13, a Rock and Roll spot in Chicago, says this act of reminding customers about their last visit “prompt[s] them to want to return, to keep us fresh in the minds of those who have yet to visit, but have been planning on it.”

But the behind-the-scenes social media technique sways more toward high-end than fast food restaurants. A behind-the-scenes glimpse of the origins of the McNugget (hint: it’s birthed from pink goop) led to class='blippr-nobr'>Internetclass="blippr-nobr">Internet-wide horror and repulsion.

“A local Taco Bell is going to connect and build community in a very different way versus a Michelin-rated restaurant that brings passionate foodies together,” says Lorrie Thomas, CEO of Web Marketing Therapy.

Getting to Know the Chefs

Instead of attracting customers with deals, many restaurants strive to use social media for a tailored, personal experience. “People love to go into a restaurant or bar and know the owner or the chef,” O’Keefe says. Think of it as instantly becoming a regular.

That’s why chefs like Joanne Chang of Boston’s Myers and Chang and Flour Bakery personally tweet photos of the kitchen staff at work. “If you’re in a PR firm, you’re not going to get the same feel,” O’Keefe says. “It’s her and you know that it’s her.”

Grant Achatz, the man behind Chicago’s Alinea — named best restaurant in America in 2006 by Gourmet — also does his own tweeting. “Who would you rather hear from?” he asks. “Me directly or some weird person I paid to represent me?” When Achatz is not in the restaurant, he continues to tweet — from where he’s eating in Chicago to where he’s visiting in Japan. It lets people get to know him better and maintains a base, he says. “I’m not a celebrity, but I have a following.”

Achatz’s approach to helping his audience learn more about him is spot on. “Who we are” is the primary message of any effective marketing campaign, says Syeed Mansur, CEO of Sentrana, a firm that uses mathematical models to determine the most effective marketing strategies for companies.

Opening Communication Between Diners and Chefs

The restaurant experience has traditionally always been divided between front of house and back of house. Customers sat in the dining room and enjoyed their meals, completely disconnected from the people preparing the meals. The success of open kitchen designs, the farm-to-table movement, and books like Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential, show that diners want a deeper connection to the food that’s being prepared for them.

Not only does social media let customers view what’s behind that “Employees Only” door, but it gives customers access to the people behind it. Twitter allows Tony Priolo, chef of Piccolo Sogno, to connect with customers before they even come to the restaurant. And diners plugged in with social media receive special treatment. “If we tweeted with them beforehand I’ll usually come out of the kitchen and thank them for tweeting with us or send over something special,” he says.

Achatz likes to hear complaints from customers and says he actually responds. Sometimes he’ll refund a meal, but more importantly, “the more we know about who is coming into our restaurant, the better we’ll be able to fulfill our obligation to do what will make them feel happy,” he says. A couple had flown into Chicago from New York to eat at his restaurant and expected not only excellent food but also excellent service. The wife was escorted to the bathroom the first time she got up, but not the second. Achatz thinks the front of house staff just assumed she knew the way and could help herself. But the husband indignantly tweeted about the incident and then Achatz knew that his customers had different assumptions of service. The restaurant has tweaked its service accordingly since then.

“When people know, like and trust us, they buy,” Thomas says. “Pushing propaganda will freak people out.”

While restaurants are unable to quantify the exact monetary impact of their social media campaigns, the responses they receive assure them that somebody is listening. “We hear enough feedback to know that we’re reaching people and that they enjoy it,” says Amy Mills Tunnicliffe of 17th Street Bar and Grill in southern Illinois.

Before social media, it was difficult for the average person (even a person spending $200 for dinner) to have access to that ornery bartender or three-starred Michelin chef, but now, dishing complaints or compliments has become as easy as a tweet or a Facebook post.

How have you used social media to enhance — or complain about — a dining experience? Do you follow your favorite chefs or restaurants? Share your thoughts in the comments.

More Foodie Resources from Mashable:

- 10 iPhone Apps for Wine Enthusiasts/> - 3 New Recipe Apps for the iPad [PICS]/> - 10 iPhone Apps for the Global Foodie/> - 7 Services That Will Suggest Things You Like/> - HOW TO: Find Good Food Online

For more Social Media coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Social Mediaclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Social Media channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for Android, iPhone and iPad

AdKeeper, the online advertising company led by About.com founder Scott Kurnit that lets consumers save online ads for later viewing, raised $35 million in Series B funding.

The round, led by Oak Investment Partners, comes as AdKeeper’s “Keep” button is set to roll out on online ads from AT&T, Best Buy, Ford and Gap on January 11, after a beta release in October. AdKeeper believes that consumers, although they profess to dislike ads, will actually save ads for later viewing if they find them entertaining or interesting. The company hopes “keeps” will become an ad metric along with impressions and clicks.

When interviewed by USA Today in November, Kurnit (pictured) said he wasn’t sure that consumers will actually save ads, though. “That’s the $64 billion question. If they do, then this is one of the top three or four class='blippr-nobr'>Internetclass="blippr-nobr">Internet companies ever,” he said, noting that research showed that 56% of Internet users want to save ads.

For his part, Ian Schafer, CEO of digital ad agency Deep Focus, says that AdKeeper could succeed if it offers some value to consumers. “If ad keeper equals coupon clipper scaled to the size of the Internet, then I’m bullish,” Schafer says. “If it’s ‘class='blippr-nobr'>Instapaperclass="blippr-nobr">instapaper for ads,’ then the odds of me ever going back to look at my portfolio of things that I (the consumer) generally would rather ignore are very slim.”

Oak, which has backed a range of companies including Caribou Coffee, Jamba Juice and The Huffington Post, joins current Investors Including DCM, True Ventures, Spark Capital and First Round Capital.

For more Business coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Businessclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Business channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for Android, iPhone and iPad

robert shumake detroit

robert shumake

Small Business <b>News</b>: Starting Your New Business In A New Year

Whether your starting a new business or rethinking an existing one, 2011 offers fresh possibilities and a new start. If you're launching a new business, there.

Pink Floyd Re-Signs With EMI: Good <b>News</b> for the Band or the Label?

Progressive rock legends Pink Floyd have re-signed with their longtime record label EMI.

New Edition of Huckleberry Finn to Drop N-Word: Instant Reactions

Auburn University professor Alan Gribben, along with NewSouth Books, plans to release a newly edited edition of the Mark Twain classic, with every instance of the N-word replaced with the word.

robert shumake

Small Business <b>News</b>: Starting Your New Business In A New Year

Whether your starting a new business or rethinking an existing one, 2011 offers fresh possibilities and a new start. If you're launching a new business, there.

Pink Floyd Re-Signs With EMI: Good <b>News</b> for the Band or the Label?

Progressive rock legends Pink Floyd have re-signed with their longtime record label EMI.

New Edition of Huckleberry Finn to Drop N-Word: Instant Reactions

Auburn University professor Alan Gribben, along with NewSouth Books, plans to release a newly edited edition of the Mark Twain classic, with every instance of the N-word replaced with the word.

robert shumake

One of these Gurus is Michelangelo Lopez; he has been a renowned name in Internet marketing field. The techniques and tips provided by this expert have been helping people all over the world. Some of the affiliate marketing tips provided by them are mentioned below:

• The first tip provided by him is to get a mini website for your business to promote various affiliate programs. You can focus on the niche which you are selling the products and services for to get better results. This is going to boost the sale and increase the commission earned by you. • • Michelangelo Lopez tells that it is important to create your own e-zine and publish them. This is the best way to build the list of subscribers. You can easily promote the products and services offered to your niche. • • In order to use the best marketing techniques and tools, you must set a budget so that you can make sure that you earn profits, not losses. • • One of the best marketing techniques offered by Michelangelo Lopez is that you must write product reviews about the products and services offered by you. You must outline the features, benefits and price so that people are encourage to buy them. You can even suggest affiliate programs on your blogs, e-zine and your site to increase the number of potential buyers. • • It will be very beneficial if you provide the information in the form of ebook. E-course or some downloadable demo. This is going to boost your earning via more visitors and hence meaningful buyers. As mentioned by Michelangelo Lopez, your visitors will have an opportunity to have a glance at the product and they cane make up their minds to buy them. • • In order to get tremendous responses from the customers, you must create your own directory and you can keep your articles, e-zine and e-books along with the affiliate links in these directories. This is going to boost your commission and earnings.

Michelangelo Lopez is a great internet marketer and the knowledge imparted by him has helped various people in making more money. Above mentioned tips are just an extract from what he has to share with people.

If you want to know more about Michelangelo Lopez then please visit this blog http://michelangelolopez.blogspot.com/ .


robert shumake detroit

Small Business <b>News</b>: Starting Your New Business In A New Year

Whether your starting a new business or rethinking an existing one, 2011 offers fresh possibilities and a new start. If you're launching a new business, there.

Pink Floyd Re-Signs With EMI: Good <b>News</b> for the Band or the Label?

Progressive rock legends Pink Floyd have re-signed with their longtime record label EMI.

New Edition of Huckleberry Finn to Drop N-Word: Instant Reactions

Auburn University professor Alan Gribben, along with NewSouth Books, plans to release a newly edited edition of the Mark Twain classic, with every instance of the N-word replaced with the word.

robert shumake

robert shumake detroit

Jenny An is a Chicago-based writer with a focus on popular culture, food and travel. Her work has appeared in Time Out Chicago and VenusZine.

Social media certainly has its benefits for those who love dining and drinking. From free drinks for Foursquareclass="blippr-nobr">foursquare checkins, to Twitterclass="blippr-nobr">Twitter notifications about happy hours, to Facebookclass="blippr-nobr">Facebook messages about free food, there’s always something tasty happening online.

But the social web offers a lot more than just discounts and deals when it comes to drinking and dining. Restaurants and bars are giving social media users a backstage pass to the food and the people who make it. Chefs and restaurateurs are using social media to reveal how their dishes are made, generate familiarity with chefs and provide a means for diners to share feedback.

Revealing How Dishes Are Made

While customers go to lower end restaurants looking for value and discounts, higher-end restaurants think that “discounts cheapen the experience,” says Tom O’Keefe, a Boston-based restaurant tweeter and social media-focused marketer.

You can blame it on the rise of celebrity chefs or the success of The Food Network and shows like Top Chef, but now more than ever, people want to live vicariously through others who cook. Many restaurants, including Chicago’s Piccolo Sogno and The Bristol, are posting videos to YouTubeclass="blippr-nobr">YouTube or Vimeoclass="blippr-nobr">Vimeo of new dishes being prepared. “The general idea is to pull the curtain back,” says Phillip Walters of The Bristol. “Allow people at home to feel more involved and engaged with that you are trying to deliver.”

But social media does a lot more than just satisfy curiosities. It makes Twitter followers or Facebook fans remember their last visit. Stu Mitchell, marketing director for Blue 13, a Rock and Roll spot in Chicago, says this act of reminding customers about their last visit “prompt[s] them to want to return, to keep us fresh in the minds of those who have yet to visit, but have been planning on it.”

But the behind-the-scenes social media technique sways more toward high-end than fast food restaurants. A behind-the-scenes glimpse of the origins of the McNugget (hint: it’s birthed from pink goop) led to class='blippr-nobr'>Internetclass="blippr-nobr">Internet-wide horror and repulsion.

“A local Taco Bell is going to connect and build community in a very different way versus a Michelin-rated restaurant that brings passionate foodies together,” says Lorrie Thomas, CEO of Web Marketing Therapy.

Getting to Know the Chefs

Instead of attracting customers with deals, many restaurants strive to use social media for a tailored, personal experience. “People love to go into a restaurant or bar and know the owner or the chef,” O’Keefe says. Think of it as instantly becoming a regular.

That’s why chefs like Joanne Chang of Boston’s Myers and Chang and Flour Bakery personally tweet photos of the kitchen staff at work. “If you’re in a PR firm, you’re not going to get the same feel,” O’Keefe says. “It’s her and you know that it’s her.”

Grant Achatz, the man behind Chicago’s Alinea — named best restaurant in America in 2006 by Gourmet — also does his own tweeting. “Who would you rather hear from?” he asks. “Me directly or some weird person I paid to represent me?” When Achatz is not in the restaurant, he continues to tweet — from where he’s eating in Chicago to where he’s visiting in Japan. It lets people get to know him better and maintains a base, he says. “I’m not a celebrity, but I have a following.”

Achatz’s approach to helping his audience learn more about him is spot on. “Who we are” is the primary message of any effective marketing campaign, says Syeed Mansur, CEO of Sentrana, a firm that uses mathematical models to determine the most effective marketing strategies for companies.

Opening Communication Between Diners and Chefs

The restaurant experience has traditionally always been divided between front of house and back of house. Customers sat in the dining room and enjoyed their meals, completely disconnected from the people preparing the meals. The success of open kitchen designs, the farm-to-table movement, and books like Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential, show that diners want a deeper connection to the food that’s being prepared for them.

Not only does social media let customers view what’s behind that “Employees Only” door, but it gives customers access to the people behind it. Twitter allows Tony Priolo, chef of Piccolo Sogno, to connect with customers before they even come to the restaurant. And diners plugged in with social media receive special treatment. “If we tweeted with them beforehand I’ll usually come out of the kitchen and thank them for tweeting with us or send over something special,” he says.

Achatz likes to hear complaints from customers and says he actually responds. Sometimes he’ll refund a meal, but more importantly, “the more we know about who is coming into our restaurant, the better we’ll be able to fulfill our obligation to do what will make them feel happy,” he says. A couple had flown into Chicago from New York to eat at his restaurant and expected not only excellent food but also excellent service. The wife was escorted to the bathroom the first time she got up, but not the second. Achatz thinks the front of house staff just assumed she knew the way and could help herself. But the husband indignantly tweeted about the incident and then Achatz knew that his customers had different assumptions of service. The restaurant has tweaked its service accordingly since then.

“When people know, like and trust us, they buy,” Thomas says. “Pushing propaganda will freak people out.”

While restaurants are unable to quantify the exact monetary impact of their social media campaigns, the responses they receive assure them that somebody is listening. “We hear enough feedback to know that we’re reaching people and that they enjoy it,” says Amy Mills Tunnicliffe of 17th Street Bar and Grill in southern Illinois.

Before social media, it was difficult for the average person (even a person spending $200 for dinner) to have access to that ornery bartender or three-starred Michelin chef, but now, dishing complaints or compliments has become as easy as a tweet or a Facebook post.

How have you used social media to enhance — or complain about — a dining experience? Do you follow your favorite chefs or restaurants? Share your thoughts in the comments.

More Foodie Resources from Mashable:

- 10 iPhone Apps for Wine Enthusiasts/> - 3 New Recipe Apps for the iPad [PICS]/> - 10 iPhone Apps for the Global Foodie/> - 7 Services That Will Suggest Things You Like/> - HOW TO: Find Good Food Online

For more Social Media coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Social Mediaclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Social Media channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for Android, iPhone and iPad

AdKeeper, the online advertising company led by About.com founder Scott Kurnit that lets consumers save online ads for later viewing, raised $35 million in Series B funding.

The round, led by Oak Investment Partners, comes as AdKeeper’s “Keep” button is set to roll out on online ads from AT&T, Best Buy, Ford and Gap on January 11, after a beta release in October. AdKeeper believes that consumers, although they profess to dislike ads, will actually save ads for later viewing if they find them entertaining or interesting. The company hopes “keeps” will become an ad metric along with impressions and clicks.

When interviewed by USA Today in November, Kurnit (pictured) said he wasn’t sure that consumers will actually save ads, though. “That’s the $64 billion question. If they do, then this is one of the top three or four class='blippr-nobr'>Internetclass="blippr-nobr">Internet companies ever,” he said, noting that research showed that 56% of Internet users want to save ads.

For his part, Ian Schafer, CEO of digital ad agency Deep Focus, says that AdKeeper could succeed if it offers some value to consumers. “If ad keeper equals coupon clipper scaled to the size of the Internet, then I’m bullish,” Schafer says. “If it’s ‘class='blippr-nobr'>Instapaperclass="blippr-nobr">instapaper for ads,’ then the odds of me ever going back to look at my portfolio of things that I (the consumer) generally would rather ignore are very slim.”

Oak, which has backed a range of companies including Caribou Coffee, Jamba Juice and The Huffington Post, joins current Investors Including DCM, True Ventures, Spark Capital and First Round Capital.

For more Business coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Businessclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Business channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for Android, iPhone and iPad

robert shumake detroit

Small Business <b>News</b>: Starting Your New Business In A New Year

Whether your starting a new business or rethinking an existing one, 2011 offers fresh possibilities and a new start. If you're launching a new business, there.

Pink Floyd Re-Signs With EMI: Good <b>News</b> for the Band or the Label?

Progressive rock legends Pink Floyd have re-signed with their longtime record label EMI.

New Edition of Huckleberry Finn to Drop N-Word: Instant Reactions

Auburn University professor Alan Gribben, along with NewSouth Books, plans to release a newly edited edition of the Mark Twain classic, with every instance of the N-word replaced with the word.

robert shumake detroit

robert shumake detroit