Do you know about Twitter? It's the reason that many Bay Area food blogs have been lying dormant lately, and why mothballs are piling up on our RSS readers. Twitter is a "micro-blogging" site where users can post statements of 140 characters or less. And many of us do it, many times a day. It's quick and following your favorite bloggers is easy to do. Even if you're not interested in "tweeting" yourself, you can set up a Twitter account and follow your favorite bloggers. Just select the links below and press "follow" under the username. Then, each time you go to Twitter, you'll be able to see what everyone is up to.
Why follow Twitter? Is it just one more time-waster in a day? Maybe, but I am starting to feel differently. Folks who follow Bay Area food blogger Pim found out yesterday that Daniel Patterson had scored two Michelin stars for Coi before any large news organization had reported it. Using Twitter, you can talk directly to the corporate offices at Whole Foods. And many of us talk about the food news of the day on Twitter long before we write blog posts or comment on community boards.
Twitter is also changing the way that organizations do business. To learn more about that, check out this story about Twitter on Marketplace.
I've listed some of the Bay Area Twitter feeds that I follow below. You'll recognize the first few as authors on Bay Area Bites. This list, however, just scratches the surface. For a more comprehensive list of food bloggers on Twitter, see the Serious Eats list.
Stephanie, Grub Report
"Having hot cocoa and Kraft Mac 'n' Cheese for breakfast. Clearly, I am now 12."
Amy Sherman, Cooking with Amy
"off to buy polenta. I always think I have it on hand but then it turns out to be couscous or cornmeal..."
Bay Area Bites
"Temescal farmers' market rocks! cauliflower, artichokes, shitake mushrooms, lamb sausage...and, of course, indian food...my sunday addiction"
Shuna, Eggbeater
"One day establishments specializing in sweet things will eradicate the mis-spelling DESERT. One Day... One can hope beyond hope, yeah?"
Michael Procopio, Food for the Thoughtless
"currently working both a Wells Fargo dinner and a Morgan Stanley..."
"Fargo folks are laughing, Stanley folks are not."
Genie, The Inadvertent Gardener
"Four hours until I have to leave the house again to get to my dinner engagement. Need to make a realistic list that does not include sloth."
Pim, Chez Pim
"I can eat cream cheese frosting by the cupful, really I can, and I am...um, eating it, by the cupful..."
Kristin, Offbeat Eating
"Yum, had my first pupusa--bean and cheese--at the Alemany farmer's market. I could get used to eating those."
Biggie, Lunch in a Box
"Used a pile of beautiful tomatoes tonight in a no-cook pasta sauce with smoked mozzarella and basil. Bug approved, wants the rest in bento."
Jennifer Jeffrey
"Tamari-sesame rice cakes: eh. Not exactly what I was looking for in a mid-morning snack"
Sam, Becks & Posh
"My work colleagues raised their eyebrows at my radish-eating habits today. I took a pile of them to a meeting for a snack. They think me odd"
Denise, Chez Us
"I have to say vanilla bean spongettes w/burnt caramel sauce was OUTSTANDING! I will post all later ... tomorrow."
Sean Timberlake, Hedonia
"is making leftovers ragù: lamb/beef shank from Friday's ad hoc ossobuco, lamb chop/rabbit from Eloise last night, braising liquid & tomatoes ..."
Derrick Schneider, An Obsession with Food
"Making Heidi Swanson's 'Do-it-yourself Power Bars' because we were near Rainbow Grocery, the only store that carries all the ingredients."
Elise, Simply Recipes
"just posted my rabbit cacciatore ... Waiting for the 'You can't kill thumper!' people to descend."
Organizations I follow on Twitter
Serious Eats
Whole Foods
Center for Food Safety
American Farmland Trust
BART(so I can get to my dinner dates on time!)
And you can find me Twittering here.
