The Orbiter

My sister is coming to visit this weekend – it will be her 2nd-only big trip to “chi” in the 5 years that I’ve been a resident!  Naturally I’m stoked and can’t wait to figure out plans.  Problem is I’ve been as busy as a beaver with work and haven’t made it a priority until now to figure out what we will be doing.  After talking to Jen Lynn’s hubby Dave, it was indisputable that the focus will be meaty food: ribs, bbq, deep dish pizza, and a good ol’ fashioned Chicago hot dog with that silly green relish.  Yes, you can be sure I’ll be toting my TUMS and praying for heartburn relief because its going to be one crazy ride on the meat train. lol

So being the resourceful person I am, I took a quick look on Yelp, did a local “food” search at Google, and of course made a quick stop at two of my favorite sites: Daily Candy (Chicago) and TimeOut to see what they might suggest I do for food, shopping and street fests.  Not only did it just dawn on me how many resources I use to search locally, but also what a great and wonderful city Chicago is – with thousands of local merchants interacting and participating online. The bandwagon has gotten big, but still finds room to grow.

The trend of reviewing products and services online has really become the thing to do. For example, I bought a pair of dish towels at Crate and Barrel last week and was “cordially invited to write a review online”.  You’re right if you are thinking I didn’t do it, but you’re wrong if you thought I didn’t consider it.  I tend to read them on all kinds of sites including amazon and yelp to make decisions on products and dining, so why not write them?  Many times I put more faith in people that live in my neighborhood too.  Is that strange?  Does anyone do the same?

Seriously though, what is the harm in anonymously telling the world how much I love Ripple Leather Office Chair at Crate and Barrel or how the bean sprouts on my Jimmy John’s sangwich REALLY make it work or how much I looooove the cheese appetizer at Bin Wine Cafe on Milwaukee Ave?

Sad thing is,  if I were back home in Findlay, Ohio – I’d most likely call a friend before searching a site like Yelp. I might not find as many local businesses, cafes or pizzerias signed up on the local google search, and I definitely wouldn’t have the luxury of such a fun and trendy site like Daily Candy.  All of this makes me wonder if any of you readers out there have heard of this trend catching on in smaller towns outside of Chicago.  Does your mom use a local search to find a new dry cleaner or has she tried google maps to find something new and exciting around town?  I wonder to myself how long it will take for everybody to start using these types of technology to make plans. Or will it primarily stay in the big cities?

Case in point, I typed in my zip code and asked the interweb what I should do this weekend and I found a whole itinerary in less than 10 seconds, in my area, in my price range, with reviews from my neighbors.  Thats friggin’ amazing.

What are your experiences with this in Chicago and back in your hometown?  What are your favorite local search sites? I’d love to hear your thoughts and discuss.

Your Curious & Thoughtful Web Designer,
Shellie