Your web searches go through the cloud to the behemoth Google. Facebook lets us cross the years and miles with ease.  If we have a tough question, we can use any social network to reach out to a subject matter expert around the world. Sometimes, it’s hard to remember how much of our lives are local: most schools, your favorite coffee shop and restaurants, for starters. Much of search, recent studies show, is also very local.

While my MediaBullseye article this week breaks down the new stats that prove that point, I couldn’t get in some local events and keep the article relevant. For example, this week I was part of a #Burritup. It’s like the offspring of a “tweet up” where Twitter-folk get together, and a bar crawl (only for Burritos) – and it was a blast. Organized by the amazing @CMajor (thank you Christine), Boloco , Felipe’s Taqueria and Chipotle Mexican Grill, all in Harvard Square seemed happy to have over a dozen hungry people come in for dinner.

And yes, we each bought (or in some case shared) food in each location that night.

We Are Not Now Your Normal Party of 15 (Influencers)

We tweeted about it, posted on Facebook, checked in on Fourquare and took a few challenges on SCVNGR. We took photos and recorded video and shared our visit to be indexed by Google until the cows come home (which sounds like another potential event). We talked about business and strategy, personal and professional events: We are your new local clientele who live across the web – and in your neighborhood. We are influencers, and so are many of the 20-somethings who walk through the door. And 30 somethings. And 40, 50, 60 and 70 somethings. We are content creators and content sharers and are the new and quick growing “norm”.

How do you handle customers like this can make a big difference in what comes up in social media searches, Google or YouTube, now the second largest search engine on the web.

Special thanks to John Pepper @BolocoCEO and his team for greeting us so warmly and joining our little romp around Harvard Square. Honestly, we were treated well at all three locations that night.

We don’t attend events as influencers . . . it’s just we happen to create content that other people read. We are really there as friends and in this case, for the food.

>> Added 7-Nov-10: We Have A Winner

In my mind, the winner had nothing to do with food, but rather conversation. Despite having my favorite, food reviews are subjective, but responding to conversations is objective.

The day after this post, a Sunday, I happened into a Boloco (@BolocoTufts) and @BolocoHarvard was quick to respond to my Foursquare post that went out through Twitter:

Not only does the CEO of Boloco get the importance of social media usage, but clearly so does a lot of  the Boloco team. Conversations that aren’t about product has a great deal to pulling back into the store again (and again).

It’s like the old saying, “companies don’t tweet [or post on Facebook], people do. Now, Boloco just found their way into my list of case study companies who really get social media and conversaions #FTW (for the win).