Every company was met with challenges during the recession. Some have made it through the tough times in the restaurant industry and a few have flourished. What is it that made Panera outshine Boston Market or Chipotle over shadow the likes of Baja Fresh?

The answer is simple, provide a level of quality, service and experience to the consumer and help them escape the madness if just for a little bit. This is why Fast Casual continues to be the darling of the industry and no wonder why many concepts are flocking to the business segment that defied the business strategy of some of the biggest restaurants in history.

We have not faced times like these much, where business is actually growing during down times. Up is Up says Don Fox of Firehouse Subs, recently selected as the number one fast casual concept in the sixth annual Fast Casual Top 100. But the danger of market saturation and consumer fatigue could be on the horizon for Fast Casual.

I continue to analyze and research the amazing phenomenon that I identified in the 90's and eventually coined the term and started the website Fastcasual.com. The real magic for the future of this segment won't be in the creation of cool brands, it will be in understanding the fickle consumer, whom Starbucks almost lost.

Choice will continue to be the one challenge for Fast Casual and it’s one we can’t ignore. First mover does not make you a winner, but keeping up with what the consumer wants will. This is what saved the industry giant Starbucks and could help many emerging brands survive the storm approaching.

With Mashable releasing a new way to interact with so much news and information on the topic of social media it made me think. Is that not what the restaurant business is facing? We have so many sites that rate, review and list us but what’s more important is that we have hundreds of millions of consumers that visit us each year. That is a major opportunity! There really is no one place in which all this great info about us is curated though no place where we could see all the tweets, facebook posts, yelp reviews, YouTube videos in one place that is targeted by geo-location.

It requires us to look at 8-10 platforms for every project we delve into, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Yelp, Foursquare, Gowalla, YouTube, Vimeo, Foodspotting, Quara, Instagram, Zagat, Open Table and many more. All drive consumer interaction but with so much going on in the restaurant business every day and so much being shared there has to be a place where we could consolidate all that amazing information to actionable things we can do to improve our business and spread the word at the same time?

Hmm, thinking more about this, there is not one place. As big as social media is I find myself gravitating toward Mashable but they are right there is so much out there the maze of info really clouds my day. Though I do think large content outweighs vertical content the need to narrow that content is equally important.

Maybe the time has come where there is enough info from the consumer crowd where we could get centralized information on our brands, our competitors or even our competitive sectors like @wholefoods whom competes with all upscale restaurants and Fast Casuals for consumer dollars.

So I am off on testing a variety of methods to help curate just a small amount of our research information. First is a list that curates the best of the fast casual restaurant brands. This list curates content from these great brands and concepts to help the restaurant industry get a better look at what is happening in fast casual faster and right from the mouth of the brand. Better yet you might like to subscribe to this Paper.li on the same amazing info. I could see a similar plan to curate great content from consumers as well for brands to learn more not only about what’s happening in their business but their competitive business as well.

I will share more on how we are curating consumer data that can drive big-time changes in brand development for the restaurant industry. I would like to know from you though – what do you see as most important to your business if you could find out specific data in your area of business? Competitive data, interest graphs, demographics?

Restaurant industry, tech, media, medical the list goes on. Women leaders are missing in our business sectors, their ability to help business move to new levels and create new jobs is highly important. I'm not say we just need Women leaders just because, but we need them to help balance the field and create some really great competition.

One of my trends to watch in 2011 is that we will see more women leaders in all segments. But it will require one major move from the ladies, fear not and get in the game. Here is a great video of Sheryl Sandberg, I think you will get the point loud and clear.

The social graph has been a compilation of all types of information on our actions over the past few years but in my interpretation the layers aspect is really the power behind social media. As social media morphs to social business and begins to transform the way we do business, Social Layers are the building blocks for success. All business has components like sales, research, development, operations, marketing etc. Social is no different, we have a variety of areas that should be looked at in the same way with the same resources.

The difference is the means in which data and actions and interests are not only analyzed but also connected. In this video I talk on the three layers - I think these are the building blocks and the future of social business.
The social graph has been a compilation of all types of information on our actions over the past few years but in my interpretation the layers aspect is really the power behind social media. As social media morphs to social business and begins to transform the way we do business, Social Layers are the building blocks for success. All business has components like sales, research, development, operations, marketing etc. Social is no different, we have a variety of areas that should be looked at in the same way with the same resources.

The difference is the means in which data and actions and interests are not only analyzed but also connected. In this video I talk on the three layers - I think these are the building blocks and the future of social business.

Great insights from and eleven year old on how our food system is working or should I say not working. More and more I see this becoming top of mind especially with the recent release of top trends from the NRA.

Fact is that awareness is rising and I could see a time where social media will really begin to impact this area of the restaurant business. Love to get your feedback on how you think that could happen.

Here is to passion and inspiration from an unusual place, an eleven year old!

It's often that I hear the term Social Good, but not so often that I find people or organizations that can make it really come to life. Nate St. Pierre is the exception to this rule. His understanding of how to create networks of powerful people with just small increments of time giving is just the beginning.

In this episode we start RETHINKING how organizations can help change peoples live in just small increments. If it could work for Twitter - Social Good in small bites

I have actually visited Carlo's restaurant, it’s not bad but I love his attitude toward the whole business. But better here is the creativity that Lexus has put into this series of test drives on Darkcasting.

This is simply branded content on a big budget, but each of you should be looking at this as the model for your next hospitality webisode. This content shows some crazy options in the new Hybrid Lexus including a driving mode called "Dream", which simply means that you get to experience with all sorts of ways to experience a drive.

Imagine if you could create such an experience with a restaurant? What a dream, right? Drive a bit in Dream Mode in your business.

Here in this episode we talk with Shama Kabni, business leader, author and founder. We get a change to talk on how a synthesizer can help with the future of your business organization. In addition we explore the integration strategy that businesses will implement very soon.

Shama Kabani is President of The Marketing Zen Group, a full service online marketing firm that serves clients around the world. She has been dubbed a “millennial master of the universe” and “online marketing shaman” by Fast Company magazine. In 2009, Business Week honored her as one of the Top 25 Entrepreneurs Under 25 in North America.