Recommend Me Stuff! Start A Revolution!

Over the past couple of weeks I've been recommended stuff:

• Pieminister Pie
• The Earlham Arms Pub in Norwich
• The Jesus And Mary Chain

People get recommended stuff all the time. If you look out for it, you'd be surprised just how often it happens. I've recently made an effort to do/read/eat/visit/listen to/watch anything that people suggest me to do/read/eat/visit/listen to/watch, so long as the recommendee does not have an ulterior motive! As such, I now frickin' love Pieminister Pies, The Earlham Arms and I am currently using the energy of the Jesus and Mary Chain to help me blurt out some words for this post.

Now these things that these people (namely, James, Ben and Alex) have recommended, were recommended through conversation. And this is a perfectly acceptable method of knowing what things to try. But I stayed up last night (seriously) thinking about how this could be made into a system. Rather than just me asking for recommendations, what if there existed a host other positive, open-minded people to give and receive recommendations, too? A network of helpful, personalised endorsements?

When I asked for book recommendations, in February, I had some excellent ones and have since read The Butterfly and the Diving Bell by Jean-Dominique Bauby (thanks Alice), The Van by Roddy Doyle (thanks Siobhan) and Join Me by Danny Wallace (thanks Helen) and loved them all. And now I can talk about them and recommend them to somebody else. Perhaps this is the limit to how people give/receive recommendations ie you ask for something, and someone offers you it. But can't people suggest things without you asking for it?

My skills on actually putting the ideal website are extremely limited. But that's not to say that I haven't thought about it. Like a dating website, you could enter a few things you like to eat/drink/hobbies/where you live etc and then when someone enters (using drop-down menus!) "I recommend that you go to Byfords, Holt, and have a Posh Pizza" anyone who likes Holt or Pizza, could get forwarded that recommendation, in return for a similar recommendation. By the way, today I went to Byfords, Holt and had a Posh Pizza and I recommend everyone to do the same!

Think about it. It could be a revolution of positivity! It will encourage new people to meet (or old friends to re-meet), share interests, learn, and be happy! You could come home after a long day of work, turn on your computer, and have there, waiting for you, an email from a friend or from someone with similar interests recommending that you cheer yourself up by reading an article about a new species of moose, or by recommending perinnaise sauce next time you go to Nandos, or even by recommending that you try out a new sex position - one that stimulates you AND your partner and involves little effort from both/all individuals. 

I want this to happen. For now though, it'll have to be done through current social networking media and the rather one-dimensional question and answer:

"Please recommend me an American Sitcom", 

"Try: New Girl. It's actually quite funny and Zooey Deschanel is a hotty" 

But you never know, one day, a website could be dedicated to recommendations! The world could do with this.

Who's with me?!

I'm willing to get the ball rolling: 

I recommend you listen to: Nick Cave's Push The Sky Away

I recommend you eat: the new Malteaser Teaser chocolate bar (oh, yes!)

I recommend you procrastinate on this website: http://hadonejob.com/

I'm looking for someone to recommend new music/film/chess opening...or anything else.