Goo’s Catering

Goo’s Catering in Brantford has an almost cult-like following. Almost two years ago, Rajeev ‘Goo’ Jilka opened his  own restaurant, relying on his experience cooking in other local establishments. Since then, Goo’s has established a fan base of locals looking for the perfect blend of Canadian food..with a twist.

Its location in Brantford in a new subdivision, near a large high school offers a great opportunity for walk in traffic, since there are very few other eateries nearby. At noon hour on a school day it’s impossible to get a table there.

The Menu

Goo’s specializes in burgers, fries, and many different varieties of poutine, but they also do an excellent job with wings, wraps, sandwiches and salads. Goo himself created something called “deep fried chicken skins” which is something I’ve always wanted to try. Everything is high quality, fresh, and made right in front of you. The poutine comes in ten different varieties: traditional poutine as well as:

• The Works
  Cheddar, beef gravy, bacon, onions and sour cream
• Cracklin’
  Mozzarella, cheddar, chicken gravy, deep fried chicken skins, bacon and mayo
• BBQ
  Cheddar, chicken gravy, Cajun chicken breast, dusted onions and BBQ sauce
• Buffalo
  Mozzarella, cheddar, chicken gravy, chicken fingers, medium wing sauce and ranch
• Philly
  Mozzarella, beef gravy, steak, onions and roasted red peppers
• Mexican
  Cheddar, beef gravy, burrito beef, salsa and sour cream
• Italian
• Curry Fries
  Chicken gravy, curry sauce, chicken breast, hot sauce, onions, tomatoes and cucumber

One of the greatest things about Goo’s is their willingness to try new things. They are constantly adding new menu items, taking out things that don’t work, and asking for feedback.  One of the stranger items they’ve tried is the “Goo” burger, created by cook Garth Tweedie, which is a burger wrapped in chicken skin, served on a fresh kaiser. It sounds both amazing and terrifying.

What’s Next?

Although in the 22 months they’ve been in business, Goo’s has already developed a loyal customer base, they hope to expand that base to the rest of the city, and beyond. They love getting feedback from customers, and are constantly tweaking the menu to appeal to a wider variety of customers. Gluten free items were added to appeal to the growing need for people avoiding gluten in their diets. All of the staff do everything they can to make sure customers are well fed, and happy with the food and service so they come back. I know we will!

Please note that this post is part of an assignment for a Social Media course I am taking at McMaster university. I did not contact the company regarding this blog post, and all information contained within is public.

Parenting 2.0

Parenting Inc.

In 1964 Dr Spock wrote Baby and Child Care which told parents, “Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do”.  The parenting industry today tells us something very different. The commercialization of virtually every aspect of parenting is sending the message that we can’t trust our children’s safety or well being to ourselves.

Information Overload

With the sheer volume of parenting information available in parent forums, it can be overwhelming for any parent, especially when so much of the information available is conflicting. Even making a simple decision can be daunting. This can cause parents to trust their natural instincts even less and create a reliance on using parenting resources online. Instead of making decisions independently, anxious parents can feel like they need validation from the online community for every trivial issue.

Posting Anonymously

A simple discussion on strollers can turn into a heated debate online without the social filters of the offline world. The anonymity of the internet allows some users to post comments they would likely keep to themselves in a social setting. The ability to post angry or mean-spirited thoughts without tangible consequences can be too much of a temptation for certain personalities. However, this anonymity can also be a good thing. Parents can ask for advice on delicate topics that they might not be comfortable discussing with family or friends. By being able to access millions of other parents instantly, without revealing personal information, we can get answers to questions we might otherwise never be able to ask.

Creating Friendships

While sites like meetup.com or myplaydate.com offer opportunities for parents to meet other like minded parents face to face, people are generally spending more time interacting with other parents online. There has been some debate about whether the lack of face to face socializing can cause social isolation, but there is no doubt that the internet offers the opportunity to create meaningful and lasting relationships with other parents.  Sites like Facebook allow users to post a profile, and connect with other users with similar interests. There are Facebook groups for just about everything, including different parenting styles.

A Group For Every Niche

Virtually every parenting style is represented in social networking sites. If you identify with the Attachment Parent philosophy, you can join a Facebook group, message board, read a Mommy blog and even arrange face to face meetings with other parents who share the same values. This also makes it easy for companies who specialize in products or services ideal to a specific parenting philosophy to target their marketing to these groups. For example, a cloth diaper company might advertise on natural parenting blogs or message boards.

Photo courtesy of the Edmonton Journal

It Takes a Village

A friend recently posted a Facebook status asking for advice on getting her infant to sleep. Within 2 hours she had 22 responses. This got me to thinking – do we use sites like Facebook or parenting message boards for advice more than we use qualified professionals?

When my first son was a few days old, I was concerned he was sleeping too much. I called my family doctor, who assured me it was temporary, and that was the end of it. Now, with so many parenting advice websites, blogs, and quick access to my peers, I could spend hours researching the same question, get dozens of different answers, and still not be any more at ease.

With so much information available instantly, are we trusting our natural instincts less, and second guessing every little decision? Has the massive online parenting community become our “village” ?

Five Reasons to Trust Your Gut When Raising Kids.

 

My Burning Questions About Social Media

A Perfect Balance

My generation is sandwiched between one who was raised believing personal and professional lives should be kept completely separate, and a generation that doesn’t have a problem sharing even the most intimate details in a public forum. So how do we get a good balance?

Most people have a mix of co-workers, friends and family on their list of friends, so how do you decide which details are appropriate to share? Common sense tells us that the most intimate details, like grievances with family or co-workers, marriage problems, or paternity test results are best kept private, but you also don’t want a profile with so little personal details that you appear boring and cold.

Many employers are now monitoring social media pots of their employees, and of prospective job candidates, so it’s even more important to be careful not to post anything unprofessional. What do you think? How much is too much?

Keeping It Fresh

For those of us who manage a company’s social media profile, keeping current, relevant content on a consistent basis can be challenging. It’s easy enough to simply repost articles or blog posts specific to your industry, but you also need a good mix of your own content too. So how do you keep your page exciting and relevant, especially for long time customers?

Focusing Your Efforts

Using social media as part of an overall marketing strategy is great, but how do you know where to focus your efforts? Wikipedia lists 189 different social media sites! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites Maintaining a Facebook page, Twitter account, LinkedIn site, blog, Google+ page, etc. can be a full time job, so what if you only have an hour or two? Do you maintain a presence on as many sites as possible, or focus specifically on one or two, with lots of updates?

http://digg.com/newsbar/topnews/12_Signs_that_You_May_Be_a_Social_Media_Addict

First Thoughts

Welcome to Social Media Research and Techniques.