But how do I find it? Twitter and the Taco Truck

I read this fantastic article in the October edition of The Age's monthly '(Melbourne) Magazine' recently (unfortunately I can't find a link on the net, sorry!).

It discusses (amongst other foodie trends occurring in Melbourne's booming restaurant scene) the uptake of social media platforms by Melbourne's trendiest restaurants as a means to engage and interact with both new and old customers. It also highlights the incredible number of foodie blogs, written by members of the public, that are popping up all over the net at a rapid rate and generating plenty of their own buzz (I love this one- the authors are trying to find the best burger in Australia!). 

An interesting example is the very popular 'Taco Truck' - it's named as one of the new 'must visit' spots in Melbourne in 2011. It is literally a van that sells delicious, upmarket tacos but the trick is you have to find it: it's constantly on the move and tweets its location daily. I'm tempted to join twitter purely so I can locate the Taco Truck!

The owner of 'Pearl' restaurant, Chris Lucas, set out to create a 'must visit' spot with his new (and now very popular) restaurant, Chin Chin, by using a Twitter campaign that he began around three weeks before the launch night. However after a few days of doing the tweets himself, his front-of-house manager told him he was not using the right language and that 'he came across as some sort of old fart'. This FOH manager now runs Chin Chin's social media, 'and when the modern Asian diner opened its doors on a wet evening in late May, there was a crowd of 150, most of whom, Lucas believes, were his twitter followers' writes the article's author Ardyn Bernoth.

Andrew McConnell, owner of Golden Fields in St Kilda, says that there is a real need for restaurants to embrace social media if they want to stay ahead of the game. 'Things have changed a lot, we are pitching at a young demographic, it is crucial for us to use social media- it is a powerful tool and its free'.

I'd love to know what you all think of this particular industry using social media. Do any of you follow your favourite restaurants on twitter or facebook? Have you come across any benefits or freebies as a result of doing so?