Gavin Baker

The other day I went to the website of a restaurant I wanted to make reservations at to get the phone number – while there I noticed they had a OpenTable icon indicating they used that for reservations.  I called and made my reservation, but that to scratch an itch I downloaded the OpenTable iPhone app to explore the app and the service.

I launched the app and I saw the screen below….and I’ll admit it hit me like a ton of bricks – it’s called OpenTable because it’s about finding an open table.  It’s primary purpose isn’t a “new” way of making online reservations, it’s that in a busy city full of bustling restaurants, I can easily find what restaurants have openings in a few easy steps.  Beautiful.

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I’m leaving Ruby Tuesday. About a year ago I wrote this post talking about my decision to join Ruby Tuesday in the role to help lead the social team and WOW it went fast. My time at Ruby was great and I’m thankful for the opportunity to have collaborated and made a few waves with their awesome team, who I’m now glad to call friends. Not to mention working with a top digital agency, AgencyNet and their great crew.

So I’m sad to go, but I’m excited about the new opportunities at my new firm, Moxley Carmichael. I’ll be leading the digital initiatives as the Director of Digital Media which will include the social media spaces we’ve all become familiar with such as blogging, Facebook, and Twitter – but also covers the possibilities in the emerging spaces of mobile, location based services (Foursquare etc) and other technologies.   I’m a firm believer that the market for digital answers to communication problems will continue to grow and I’m excited to begin work with both current clients and new ones down the road.

So while I’ve poured some out for my friends at Ruby Tuesday – my glass is still half full.