I got a tweet from Steve Rubel about Seamless Web giving away $100 worth of free food to bloggers who mention the company in a blog post. My first reaction was “Hmmm…good word-of-mouth marketing attempt, but is there really something worth writing about?” I decided to find out, and was very pleased with the results.

Seamless Web is doing some very smart things related to its business plan as well as its use of social media and word-of-mouth marketing. There's definitely some takeout (pun intentional) here for any smart marketer.

First things first. If you're not already aware, Seamless Web bills itself as the "fastest, easiest, and smartest way to order food online." The company enables users to order from more than 2,000 restaurants in 14 major US cities (including New York, Boston, Chicago, Washington DC, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco) and other cities in the UK.

Simply visit Seamless’ website and anyone within a participating region can order from a myriad of restaurants in four simple steps:

1. Enter your address – Using a simple form.

2. Browse & select a restaurant – Based on your zip code, a list of restaurants will display. The list is programmed to allow users to order only from restaurants that are currently open. Users can mouse over restaurant names for a brief restaurant descriptions. They can also sort the restaurant list by price (up to five $), estimated delivery time, order minimum and customer rating (up to five stars).

3. Browse & select from a menu – When a menu is selected, the interface displays the menu items in a simple, two-column display. A third column shows the “shopping cart” or order in process, and also showcases the restaurant’s most popular dishes to support user selection. Site users can roll over menu item listings for full descriptions or click to view more information and add the item to an order. Users who click to view more, or add to cart may add optional items (e.g. “add bacon”) or request order customizations (e.g. “hold the mayo” or “no nuts- I have a nut allergy!)

4. Pay with a major credit card. Delivery fees range, based on the delivery service (in-house, third party). For some restaurants, delivery is free. For others, such as ones delivered by Takeout Taxi, delivery fees are $8.95. Tips may also be added to the order.

Participating restaurants utilize the Seamless Web infrastructure to print incoming orders, which arrive within seconds. In turn, the restaurants send customized order confirmations via email, complete with estimated delivery times to site users. Participating restaurants then prepare the food and deliver it to the site user. After ordering, users can save their order for “next time” and also post ratings of participating restaurants for the reference of other site users.

Seamless Web follows the example of other experience leaders by providing the basics of solid customer experience in a number of areas:

Business Focus. Seamless Web is operating within a core competency. Following my (link) “Three Word Rule", we’ll call the company a “food delivery facilitator”. They don’t mess with food preparation or actual food delivery. Instead, they provide a one-stop ordering destination for customers, along with a robust communications infrastructure extensible to restaurants and delivery services (like Takeout Taxi) which effectively facilitate the delivery process. Smart!

Customer Focus. Starting at a basic level, they make the food ordering process easier for the time starved. It’s more consistent than ad-hoc dialing and more customer-centric as a result. All site users get clear information. They can customize orders to accommodate for food allergies or personal taste. They can order a meal for immediate delivery or schedule delivery in advance. They can save their favorite orders to streamline future ordering. They are encouraged to rank the performance of participating restaurants performance for the benefit of the ordering community. The site caters to the needs of both individuals and corporations. Seamless Web also offers corporate accounts with catering services and discounts. The service Seamless offers is basic – but it’s basic done well!

The User Experience. From a high-level usability perspective, Seamless sites are easy to access and they perform well. The main ordering site’s feature-rich interface is simple, streamlined, and not heavily graphics-infused. It successfully displays a lot of complex data in a very clear manner without many hitches. The language is simple and uncomplicated. FAQs provide detailed information on just about every topic you can imagine – clearly and concisely. The navigation functions well. While I’d like to see the 2.0 ability to order directly from a menu listing (rather than clicking on the item), Seamless Web has done a great job taking the ordering process and making it very simple and consistent across a myriad of restaurants and service providers. The blog follows the simple approach and is very up-to-date, engaging and entertaining, as well. The Facebook site is your is a standard cacophony of images, features and links… but overall, the online experience works - very well.

Social and Word-of-Mouth Marketing. Probe into Seamless Web and you won’t just find a site for ordering food. You’ll find solid grassroots marketing, word-of-mouth initiatives and solid use of Social Media. Check out the Seamless Weblog. There you’ll see their streetwise marketing at work, hear updates from the team, find weekly announcements about new restaurant openings and capture the occasional unwitting celebrity endorsement. You’ll also find Seamless Web active on Twitter. There’s also a Facebook site for Seamless Web, where you’ll find several thousand Friends, a viral video serial called “Johnny and Cam Order Food” (one part obnoxious, one part informative), featured restaurants, maps, featured fans, user reviews, contests (more free schwag) and more. They're keeping these sites fun, interesting and up-to-date. Good stuff.

Also, with regard to customers and word-of-mouth marketing Seamless does two things right:

1. The encourage customer dialog on a number of levels, across channels.This is a recipe for success.

2. They reward customer evangelism. Tell your friends about Seamless Web, and they’ll send you a 25% off coupon the first time your friend orders (they even provide a contact widget to help). Become a fan on Facebook and enter to win an iPhone 3G. Write a blog post and get coupons for $100 in free food - in addition to cross links and recognition on their own blog. All great ways to encourage word-of-mouth.

If I were to offer any criticism, it would center on the brand name and design. It seems Seamless Web would be more suited as a name for a web development firm -- rather than a destination for ordering takeout. From a branding perspective, I’m just not sure why the company went with this name. It seems like a missed opportunity to me. Perhaps there was an executive desire to be a bit vague (ala "Amazon" - allowing for future business expansion into a non-food market) or some another reason, which defies my own pea-brain logic? From a design perspective, I don’t mind the color red, if it’s done well – but I’m not a real fan of the logo, or the tag line that fails to “pop” on the page. So, there’s definitely room for improvement here -- but in truth, this can be easily remedied for the company.

In conclusion, while Seamless Web is offering people free schwag for posts … I am not posting for the free food.

In my line of work, I am paid to be somewhat critical. It's easy to find reasons to be critical with regard to customer experience and sometimes it's easier to be more negative than positive. That’s why it is positively refreshing to find smart companies that offer solid and well-rounded customer experiences. Therefore, it's my pleasure to offer hearty approbation and best wishes to the folks at Seamless Web. It is my sincere hope that we all take away something tasty from the company’s example.

Interesting drama unfolded yesterday on Plurk. I won't attach a link because I'd rather not get anyone in trouble. Nevetheless, what happened does this illustrate the power of social media and community and surface some issues related to privacy and social media.

The nutshell version of what transpired is this:

A fellow Plurker (we'll call her "Freaking Out") was, evidently being bothered by another individual (evidently another Plurker) we'll call "Creepy Harasser" for a period of one month.

Evidently, Creepy Harasser had obtained the individual's home phone number using basic details found in Freaking Out's Plurk profile, and had used a cell phone to call this person every few days for over a month.

A "friend" of Freaking Out (we'll call him "Helpful") posted a well-intentioned Plurk alerting others about the harassment. Helpful asked for practical suggestions on what the Freaking Out could do to stop Creepy Harasser. Helpful also publicly listed the offender's cell phone number for all to see. Evidently, Creepy was not so smart related to caller ID.

Fellow Plurkers were angered and apalled, and the Plurk incited a flurry of comments … from encouragement to “call the Po Po" to suggestions on how fellow Plurkers could impose some justice on Creepy Harasser. Things began to escalate.

It was not long before this story motivated one fellow Plurker, we'll call him "Justice" to call Creepy Harasser, himself. As he did, Justice narrated his actions in the Plurkstream. He repeatedly prank called the guy... making obscene comments until Creepy stopped answering the phone. After this, Justice began filling up Creepy's voicemail with terribly bad You Tube video music. (I found this all a bit over the top, but I must admit I laughed pretty hard about it).

Other Plurkers cheered from the sidelines, and quickly other Plurkers either joined in or promised to join in on pranking Creepy - even those from outside the U.S! The Plurkstream was full of punitive suggestions, such as signing Creepy up for spam text, ring tones, etc.

As time progressed, things gradually fizzled out ...

Now, I'm not advocating harassment of any kind... and I did not join in. I don't know if the factual details behind the harassment are accurate. I know the person who posted the information was merely looking for recommendations to help his friend. I don't know the person that was harassed... or the harasser.

That being said - the sense of camaraderie combined with the sheer outrage and backlash from the fine people of Plurkopolis was impressive! I'd go so far as to assert that this type of backlash might take care of a creep even more quickly than taking action with his cell phone company or calling the police would (especially if the offender was out of state)!

The message was clear: Don't mess with Plurkistan!

Even so, while part of me took comfort in the “protective behavior” of the crowd… I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if the same angry mob had its facts wrong, or were mislead in some way. I thought about how easily it would be for many well-intentioned, and well networked people to be led astray. We know from history this happens.

How easily could one person trigger the harassment of an innocent person or people? Take it to another level and how could the rumor mill impact companies, brands, stock market behavior.... as news travels faster and faster through social media.

Taking it down a notch...I had to ask myself well I know all the people we “friend” or “follow” online? And with the answer to that I had to ask my often over-sharing self, how much about myself should I really share in this new world where "friend" is a verb - but not necessarily a state of being.

The reality of that makes me bit more sober about my own participation in social media. In the long run, I’m sure we’re not done hearing stories like this one. Just some food for thought!

I left corporate America for the blissful freedom of self-employment several years ago. Prior to this point, I had spent years working with startup companies, living in cubicles and hijacked conference room spaces... I was at the point in my career where an office with a door was almost a guarantee.

Ahh...the office with a door....

But then, I went into consulting. As a traveling "Big 5" consulant, I traded my office dream for the hope of first class upgrades (more laptop space to work within), shared offices and desk spaces, borrowed client cubicles and - of course - hijacked conference room space.

It was a noisy and distracting existence.

Today, I've got my spacious office, with a door. I can have a happy dog at my feet (if I want) - even a baby and some toys (if I want). Yay!

Well, I was celebrating, until I expanded my involvement in social networks, joining Facebook, Twitter and Plurk among others. Now, I seem to be back in a noisy cubicle again. I'm being plurked and tweeted, IM'd, DM'd and friended by people I don't know, filtering out conversations I don't have time for, people are writing on my wall and sending me links to things I must read.

The funny thing is, I don't even have that many friends or followers. I used to want more. But after my recent mprofs article, in which I invited people to follow me on Plurk and Twitter -- perhaps I should reconsider. There's joy in being a neatly kept secret...in managing one's conversation streams.

For now, I find myself again working in a noisy and distracting existence. Part fun - part frustration - part vortex. It's easy to feel like there's no door - but truth be told, there is. It's called "EXIT"... but my desire to do that with each application is proportionate to my fear that I'll be missing out of the discussion, in some way (good and bad). Maybe I'll get over that soon and disconnect a bit.

It seems each day I’m presented with yet another "killer app" I need to go evaluate and monitor.

These seem to have a few things in common. First, most seem to have these cutesy 3-7 letter names like "Blyk" and "Fark". Second, none of the names really reflect what the apps do. Next, most of the home pages for these services use fluffy language to describe the value they offer - or how they may be distinct from other similar services within their niche. Finally, many of them are similar in functionality and purpose.

I challenged myself to take a bit of a top-of-mind list of social applications - not including games - today. It started with a list I had on a post-it note on my desk. Some are older and you'll recognize them. Some may be new to you, as they were to me. Note that this was a casual effort - and I quickly got to about 70, in number. Sorted alphabetically...

• Backflip
  
• Bebo
  
• Blinklist
  
• Bloglog
  
• Blogmarks
  
• Blyk
  
• BrightKite
  
• De.licio.us
  
• Digg
  
• Diigo
  
• Disqus
  
• Dopplr
  
• Facebook
  
• Fark
  
• Faves
  
• Feed Me Links
  
• Flickr
  
• Friendster
  
• Friendfeed
  
• Furl
  
• Goodreads
  
• Ilike
  
• Jaiku
  
• Jott
  
• Hi5
  
• Last.fm
  
• Librarything
  
• Linked in
  
• Live
  
• ma.gnolia
  
• Mixx
  
• MrWong
  
• Multiply
  
• Myspace
  
• Newsvine
  
• Netvibes
  
• NetVous
  
• Orkut
  
• Pandora
  
• Picasa
  
• PhotoCrank
  
• Plaxo
  
• Pownce
  
• Propeller
  
• Reddit
  
• Seesmic
  
• Segnalo
  
• Simpy
  
• Slashdot
  
• Slide
  
• Slideshare
  
• Smugmug
  
• Spurl
  
• Stumbleupon
  
• Tailrank
  
• Tumblr
  
• Twirl
  
• Twitter
  
• Twitterbuzz
  
• Upcoming
  
• Utterz
  
• Veotag
  
• Vimeo
  
• Wink
  
• Qik
  
• Yelp
  
• Zoomr

I actually put these in a spreadsheet and categorized them by type (Community, Utility, Media Sharing, Bookmarking...etc.) after looking up each one. I also added a brief description. This was a lot of work. (Thankfully, I had a client delay so I had time). The thing is, I kept finding more as I went along. If you're reading this you may even know of one that's not on this list... and I wonder how many more are added each day...

Sunday's discovery (yes Mack - it was on Twitter) was "PLURK". I hadn't heard of Plurk before. Maybe I spend too much of my spare time changing diapers or something. Evidently, it's Toronto's answer to Friendfeed or Twitter. I'm not enthusiastic about the name... it reminds me of "PERVERT" plus "LURK" - not positive really. I guess at the least it is memorable.

All this to say: Call me crazy but I'm seriously getting to the point of total app saturation; so much so that I've developed a syndrome I call "APP reflex." It involves a facial tic, shoulder spasm and a gagging sinus noise. This came on gradually but was fully in force after one day of casual research. It is doing wonders for my marriage (attractive!!!).

I can only imagine what the high tech venture capitalists think about this topic as they're presented with the flavor of the day startup. They probably have nightmares. But I digress again...

Like the rest of you, I do have a day job. Fortunately, this is relevant to my day job, so I can justify writing this post. It's enough to say that it IS very hard to keep up on the exponential growth of the social applications, sites and utilities out there. It takes time to evaluate and use each one -- and some tinkering to figure out which tools are things that will become valuable for the future, and which things are fly-by-night, wannabe technologies.

This exponential growth is another reason why Forrester's Peter Kim recently produced research that indicates a very strong lack of confidence in agency ability to keep up on new technologies and know how to apply them intuitively to boost bottom line results and customer loyalty. ;-)

If by chance I happen to find something valuable, I've got to take the time to use it - and have it top-of-mind, and keep up on it - figure out how it's going to be valuable to my clients. That's not always easy. Truth be told -- the activity can be a colossal waste of time if one is not selective. While now I could be considered a "twitterpated" evangelist, the whole investment thing was part of the reason I was a latecomer to Twitter.

But there is hope as the apps proliferate. Last week, I was quite happy to find AddThis... an application that allows you to add one button to your site that allows users to Digg, Multiply, Bookmark, Reddit, Twitter away on any post... In fact, I believe it works with at least 20 services. Adding this to my site was grand time saver and I was happy not to have to add those links individually. ;-)

Who knows how many other helpful utilities like this will come along for folks like me -- like us -- who are time starved and look for a way to cut through the noise and figure things out!

So I'm encouraged... and as the apps multiply like rabbits in heat...I will press on - bold and brave. I heard rumors about drug trial for people dealing with APP REFLEX and I'm thinking of signing up. Feel free to join me.

But seriously, if you know of more social apps, send them to me with a brief link or description. I'll do my best to publish this list with categories and descriptions in the near future for the benefit of all.