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
4043 N Ravenswood Ave Suite 316, Chicago, IL 60613 • 773 348 4581 • 
7 Comments
Interesting thought, I think I’m going to start asking people in my hometown.. I believe it is just a big city thing though, much more to do which means you need people to review it and weed out the bad places, so you don’t waste your time eating at a really overpriced restaurant with poor food when you could be eating next door that is much better. Where as where I am from there are limited restaurants so everyone has ate at each place multiple times and no need for reviews b/c people have their own reviews of each place. You know what I’m saying?
P.S Daily Candy is pretty awesome!
I find myself in the same situation frequently. When it comes to Chicago, the internet is what I use to find anything. I count on those reviews too for anything from the local Vet to how long it takes pizza to get to my door. But you can bet that if I was back home, I’d just as my parents, who’d ask my sister… etc. I use google for all my searching, perhaps I need to start using some more local resources!
I moved to Chicago a year ago from Buffalo NY and I have found myself using the local searches more and more. Before I moved here I can’t remember a single time where I used it. I always use it for restaurants and bars. When I first moved here I used it for everything from grocery stores to hair salons.
@Jessica: Yeah Daily Candy is awesome, but I can’t deal with the daily emails, I just go there on my own when I’m looking for something interesting.
@Andi: But you are from Maine! Isn’t your hometown bigger town than Findlay, Ohio?
@Liz F.: Yeah, it’s so weird how it seems to have become popular over night. Maybe it just hadn’t seeped into my small world yet.
Amazon has definitely been doing reviews for years.
Technology is the bee’s knees. I read and commented on this post using my phone. I also took advantage of Chicago’s online community by selling my computer in a day on Craigslist recently. Back in rural Ohio I’d of never had that chance. You can’t exactly push selling features like a latest OS fresh install at a garage sale.
Nice to watch shows in Chicago. I heard a new show- Banana Spheel is coming up. Any hint?
Shellie, back in the UK I use local search a lot of the time to find local restaurants when I travel away from my hometown. Good or bad online reviews usually sway my decision.