Since I started working on Best When Used By, I’ve gotten two distinct reactions from people to the idea of a website for tracking food-related information:
- “That’s the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard.”
- “That’s a neat idea; I’d definitely use it.”
Both opinions have merit, but I think it boils down to how ubiquitous you allow computing and the Internet to be in your life. If you’re like me and you already have a computer in your kitchen and/or a mobile computing device on your person, it’s not a stretch to think of uses for them in the aspects of your life that are not traditionally digitally affected. If you only go online on the computer in your den to check your e-mail and read a few blogs, it might seem ridiculous to spend time cataloging the contents of your refrigerator.
Time will tell, I suppose. But I don’t think that this guy needs to worry; I doubt that Google is interested.