Kristin Colier

There’s no question that Facebook has changed my life. I have reconnected with old friends and stayed in touch with people I probably never would have seen again. Plus, I’ve made lots of new friends.

Here’s a story I just have to share with you. If you are from Atlanta, or a fan of Top Chef (or both) you know Richard Blais – a finalist in Top Chef Season 4 and local Atlanta Celebrity. So – I “friended” Richard on Facebook. And he was kind enough to accept. He recently opened a new restaurant here in Atlanta called FLIP! Burger Boutique.

A couple weeks ago – my husband and I planned to meet some friends in town for dinner – and I suggested we go to FLIP! I sent a message to Richard telling him we were going on Saturday – would he be there? I would love to get a picture with him.

We get there on Saturday, after 9pm and there was still a 2+ hour wait for the table. As our party of six and stood in the parking lot contemplating (me wanting to wait, them wanting to eat sooner) out walked Richard Blais through the back door on his way home.

OMG! Yes, I was star struck – no one can use liquid Nitrogen like Chef Blais… So anyway – I said “Hi Richard – I sent you a message..” – he said “Hi, yes I remember from Facebook” – he asked if we were eating at FLIP! tonight and my friend Paul said the wait was too long. Then Richard said “Let me see what I can do…” He went back in and pushed us up the wait list. Told us to talk to Mike the Chef and so on…

What a great experience. Of course, Richard was extremely nice too… Which illustrates another good point about Social Media Networking: A small group of loyal followers will bring you closer to success than shotgun marketing to the marginally-interested.
Cheers! -Kristin