The other day, one of my friends sent me an Instagram reel of a food blogger hyping up a restaurant that was preparing to open in Orlando. I'm going to say that it was a dumpling kitchen, and that is all I am going to say about the restaurant because my goal here is not to take away business from other businesses.
As I watched the video, I couldn't help but notice how the vlogger would show the food, take a bite, and then in the middle of the bite, force a smile. And then she would repeat the process as if someone was forcing her to film herself forcing joy, and then post it to the internet. It was a bit uncomfortable to watch. Maybe she was contractually obligated, but at the same time, she signed up for this job. Shouldn't she find a way to share places that she actually likes?
Later on, my sister Jasmine and I decided that we wanted to go and get some dumplings after a grocery run. It was disheartening to show up at our favorite dumpling shop only to learn they were permanently closed. There was a sign on the door with a phone number to call if anyone was interested in buying the business.
"Dang, I'm never going to have that delicious soup again," Jasmine remarked as we were driving away. This particular restaurant had a mini-wonton soup that tasted cleaner while also being more flavorful than the standard wonton soup you get at any generic Chinese food place. It was sad knowing that the last time we had it before that was the last time, and we couldn't even appreciate it, because we thought it would be there the next time.
Later on, my boyfriend came home from having dinner with his friends and talked about how they had gone to the new dumpling kitchen that had just opened up. It was the one that I mentioned at the beginning of this post, where the girl was forcing joy for the camera. He said they were charging $15 for a set of three dumplings, and that the noodles he got were only okay.
Social Media and Local Businesses
So the thing that grinds my gears is that, while social media can build businesses, it also has the power to keep businesses around that are only subpar as well. I sometimes wonder if it is a detriment that my generation relies on the Internet for so many things; Jared Freid has a joke where his generation won't do anything unless they know they can get a decent experience. It was funny because I can think of people in my life that live this way.
And while I get it, because time is money and both money and time shouldn't be wasted in this economy, I also think that some people rely too heavily on having guaranteed good experiences. Where is that desire to be the one discovering new things, rather than just sharing the thing that someone else is trying to market to you?
The sad thing about the dumpling shop closing, beyond the fact that I worry about having dumplings that good again, is that the shop was run by a pair of brothers just trying to make a living at a hole-in-the-wall kind of place. While I didn't speak the language, there were some locals who came in and would speak in their native tongue with them. Even though their food was delicious, it was not enough to keep them in business.
While businesses that play a role in building community struggle to stay open, there are plenty of average businesses that are constantly able to expand because of how well they can use social media to highlight the eye-catching things, but these eye catching things don't always taste good.
And that is what the appeal of the Atmosfy app is for me. On Instagram, one of their pages saw my food Instagram account and invited me to join. It was an app that started in 2020, with the goal of highlighting local businesses. I grew up with parents who tried countless times to run a small business, so I understand how hard it can be, so you can see why an app like this might appeal to me more than Facebook or Instagram, where there is so much content all the time. It can be hard to find what you're looking for when there is so much.
Atmosfy is different, because they're focused on local businesses. They are also looking for more authentic videos, instead of the heavily edited ones you find on Instagram. They also love current live videos on the app, whether you're capturing the vibe at a bar or the delicious plates your server brought to you at a restaurant. There's also room for you to comment on your experience.
It makes me sad to see great businesses have to close as a result of the pandemic. One of my favorite sandwich shops in Longwood has closed. When my sister visited me from Gainesville, she informed me that my favorite local donut shop was going out of business even though they just opened a brand new storefront. I went on their Instagram page, and on a post after their closing announcement, they said, "Please support small businesses. Unfortunately, there are several locally owned businesses that will make closing announcements in the new year. Please do not take them for granted."
And I think that is what I am going to focus on moving forward with this blog and on Atmosfy moving forward. In an effort to promote great small businesses, I will try and highlight the ones I truly love moving forward (but I will probably post it as a video on Atmosfy before I get around to writing about it).
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