MeetGourmet is unique to the world of food related sites as it is the only online global community dedicated to cuisine as an event, social forum and cultural attraction. At MeetGourmet.com, the concept is to create a global network of food lovers who want to share in food and culinary experiences around the world. Anyone, anywhere, who loves to cook or eat can unite with fellow food lovers, literally, at the same table, either locally or globally.
The MeetGourmet concept is simple: food is the ultimate common denominator. The idea has motivated its founders to launch the community and promote the idea of “cook local, eat global”. Members, called Gourmets, can both eat and cook in the network. Whether creating an event called “Feasts” or simply reserving their place at a Feast, MeetGourmet members will be taking part in a one of a kind foodie network.
Inspired by their own experiences working and travelling around the world and their love of cuisine, the Franco-American team of MeetGourmet is decidedly passionate about food as a link to culture, a social event and of course as a genuine pleasure in life. French born Alain Zenou, MeetGourmet’
American born Co-Director Rebecca Lyne stated, “Our primary motivation is the idea that food is an experience and a link, one the most important links, to culture. We believe that people around the world are fascinated by this concept. Food is what you remember when you come back from vacation, it’s what you remember from childhood. Food has a very powerful emotional connection to people’s lives and thru that to culture on a larger scale. We want MeetGourmet to be the meeting place for all cuisines, all cultures and all peoples, everywhere, who want to share their particular love of food with others.”
The other aspect of MeetGourmet is one of the most intriguing. The sponsorship model they have created is called Semantic Bidding and is based on the use of “Community Key Words”. MeetGourmet has tied the use of key words to the creation of Feasts. A MeetGourmet member who wishes to organize a Feast and simultaneously earn sponsorship revenue, will create key words that are associated with their Feast. These words may be culinary ideas and concepts as well as cultural, linguistic or other ideas which are all in some way linked to the Feast. Alain Zenou, Co-Director of MeetGourmet said, “We wanted to create a better key word model that exists today in the market. And we have. Our system, called Semantic Bidding, opens incredible doors for everyone who wants to benefit from the use of key words. We can now take these key words created by our members and use a semantics based system to link sponsors to their target market. We foresee tremendous possibilities for sponsors who want to better understand and reach out to global markets and create more advanced targeted advertising.”
Version 1.0 of MeetGourmet is available as of September 1, 2008. Version 2.0 is already in the works for release in 2009.
MeetGourmet contacts:
Rebecca Lyne
contact@meetgourmet.com
