Zócalo Group town square blog

Tech Week 2012 breezed through the Windy City late last month faster than you can say data scientists.

Just saying the words data and scientists together can confuse most marketers.

Stay with me here.

As we are trying to become more well-versed every day in measuring social data, I had a chance to sit in on a panel of local data experts as they discussed using social statistics to help grow companies. What I found was that not only is there a lot of data to be examined in the social scene, but there is so much info that is yet to be tapped.

I caught up with one of the panelists, Food Genius CEO Justin Massa, after the session. His company researches food consumer trends and builds that data into more useful recommendations for the foodie. For instance, they won’t just tell you which restaurant to go to, but what dish to order based on your personal preferences.

With that said, if I’m in the Loop and I’m in the mood for deep dish pizza, AND I love mushrooms, Food Genius says I should order the Jack Brickhouse at Pizano’s on Madison.

Spot on.

Bon Appétit!

Check out our interview with Massa here