Alderwood's a good compromise in the middle area between Seattle and Everett, plus last time I was up that way I was really surprised about the number of places that've cropped up.

As w/all "supercomputers," what about that great little local place. There are a couple terriffic south end Indian restaurants who'd probably get skipped via these big super computer databases.

I agree that you can't forget the great little hole in the wall place. Oftentimes, these restaurants have some of the best foods. The innate nature of computers is a simple concept that they are only as good as the data input.

This is the reason that humans have to always be part of the equation. If there exists a restaurant that does not have a website or any online reviews, our internet crawlers would never find the restaurant. However, a human could find the restaurant just by driving by. Until crawlers could be attached to small flying devices to scour the real world for new restaurants, it's the human who has the advantage. Our system will always allow for people to enter their favorite hole in the wall restaurants as well. The human input is critical.

A flying crawler - I'd kinda like to see that... but not in my restaurant.

haha nice Paul. I'm glad you mentioned the human factor -- even the active 1%'ers are often better than straight search, especially in a category like food.

James, I think that the question, "where do you want to go for dinner" is the one that will probably get me divorced one day :) I've been married 27 years now and it's still the one "discussion" we always get into.

I think that type of social experiment would be very interesting.

Hope you all are well.

I think computers will help but it will need human input. That has been the good and bad part of the internet.

I am amazed how many restaurants don't have a basic website. I was thinking about starting a company that would help post up a basic site (1 page) with hours, menu and pictures of the menu.

I am not thinking about the normal restaurants....I am thinking about delis, food by the pound eateries (ex. Chew Chews in the Seattle Municipal Tower), teriyaki, etc.

I think if there was a search with a map for all kind s of food, then it would be a great help.

Interesting how the theme of the human touch seems to be on the minds of the few people still paying attention to Zoodango. If you'll notice the date of the original blog posting, it's over 22 days old - that's ancient history in internet terms and breaks one of the basic tenants of internet marketing: UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE. By the time they roll out their neuronet restaurant search tool, there will be nobody left to care.

If you start a company that builds websites, the first question you need to ask yourself is how do I avoid mistakes like this and actually create a buzz that drives traffic TO the site, instead of driving it off?

Chris, I think you should help restaurants with their web presence....considering that over 70% research restaurant info online.

Paul, you are right. update, update, update. It's just that we are busy updating, updating, updating on things that will really matter. On one hand, I agree about the importance of writing frequent blogs, but I also believe in actions speaking louder than words. Blogs are starting to get to the point of "huh?" Have you read some of the blogs out there these days. Wow. There are many, many people interested in the upcoming Zoodango launch. I even get interview requests from bloggers. I've declined most of the interviews at this point. Until we actually launch...coming within 2 weeks, I don't want to overhype the deal. Glad to see you are still active...

Hi James
I'm sure you'll agree that marketing is more than just blogging. I know you've got your hands full with the technical end of your project. Marketing is a full time job and you shouldn't spread yourself too thin by doing all of it yourself. I see a lot of Zoodango members claiming expertise in branding and promotions. I'm sure they would all jump at the chance to help you in that regard.

Paul, it's a good reminder anyways. Thanks.