Social networking has already transformed the way we communicate, work, and play. Now it is promising to change the way we eat. Chicago start-up Grubwithus is on the forefront of this new "social dining" experience. In just its first few months of existence, it has garnered favorable press attention, acquired loyal core of followers, and provided some fantastic meals. Think of it as all the best parts of Groupon, Open Table, and Facebook rolled into one fun and tasty package. more ›

If you're on Facebook (and who isn't, these days?), then you know that people use the social networking application not only to stay in touch, but also to share their thoughts and personal events with their network of friends and acquaintances. Social networking has become so prevalent in society that even politicians and elected officials use it communicate with constituents. Unfortunately, they tend to use it in a dry and almost "safe" way - sticking to an unwritten script of stating a position on an issue, thanking supporters/asking them to help support a campaign, piece of legislation or friendly candidate, and sharing information about issues the candidate is working to promote or support. more ›

There’s something a little irritating about the word 'Twitter.' Maybe because we hear it 10,000 times a day. Chicago is, after all, ranked third on the Twitter Cities List. And the adoration of the real-time messaging service has reached a fever pitch. Politicians doing it while in session, cable networks going ape shit over it, media moguls chronicling their craps. more ›

We have to hand it to the GOP: regardless of your political stance, the Republican Party has come up with a nice piece of online satire with Barackbook.com. The site, designed to mirror Facebook, satirizes Barack's online presence while also being used as a tool for pushing the GOP agenda. The site was originally started in July, but continues to be updated even since Obama won the Presidential election on November 4. Of course, the site loses its bite by satirizing one of the reasons Obama won the election (those pesky internets), but its continual presence may provide Republicans with a successful tool as the new administration begins and focus turns to 2010. That is, if they can come up with more successful attacks than the exhausted attempts to connect Obama to William Ayers and ACORN. more ›

Check, Please! just launched an interactive video-based website today where visitors may send in restaurant recommendations and audition for the show. The site also contains over 300 reviews from the show's run, the one-minute segments that began running on NBC 5 on Tuesdays and Fridays (NBC 5 is a partner in the site). Now you can look up recent reviews in case you missed a recent review or just want to view a truncated... more ›

Oh, look, it's time for another sensationalist story about the internet. Let's see... sexual predators on the web? Nah, that's too played out. We know: Hate speech! Let's get to it. Trib says: "It might come as a surprise to the soldiers who defeated fascism in World War II, but the United States has become a refuge for Nazism and other brands of extremism over the last decade. On the Internet, that is." We say:... more ›

Yesterday was Principal for a Day, er, day at Chicago Public Schools, and over 1,600 business leaders, politicians and other bigwigs— including 27 aldermen, five players from the Bears, 30 people from JP Morgan Chase, 71 people from Merrill Lynch, and a bunch of White Castle execs—participated. It's a weird, weird list that you can download from District 299, our go-to CPS blog. But CPS has issues that can't be solved with Charles Tillman's suggestion... more ›

While SFist cringed at the fatal dose of crime littering the Bay Area, it found solace in Hillary Clinton's San Francisco campaign headquarters opening, which featured loads of exposed mammary glands. In other news, SF Taxi Commission ruled that Satan's cab must keep its (in)famous medallion number, 666; and in an un-fashion-forward frenzy, San Francisco Fashion Week (chortle) bars bloggers from covering and getting smashed at their shows and parties, respectively. Also, they found a... more ›

It's nice to see social networking sites being put to good use for something other than hawking the latest mall-emo sensation or soon-to-flop Hollywood blockbuster. Flickr is one of our favorite places to visit, and we could get lost strolling amongst the labyrinthine connections made between photographer's images, the comments, the groups, and the wonderful discoveries we make along the way. A number of Chicago photographers formed the ChiFlickr group a while ago as a place to share Chicago-centric photos and organize outings for the group to snap shots and to compare notes. more ›

While some people are busy wondering if Barack Obama is in fact the Messiah, two of the Chicago Tribune's columnists/bloggers have been attending to some of the would-be next President's more immediate concerns. Eric Zorn has been polling readers all week as to what Obama's campaign theme song should be after mixed reviews of the music selection from his early campaign rallies. His choices so far have been a mix of classic but overplayed R&B... more ›

As blogging, social networking and alternate lives become more integrated into our community we will become an increasingly open and bold society. People's personal lives, embellishments aside, are out for everyone to see and even comment on. When will this mesh with the public arena? more ›