For some reason, I receive Banana Republic emails on both my personal Gmail account and on my university alumni account. One of them gave me a special 20% off offer from Virgin America; the other offered 15% off my purchase in exchange for a credit card application. I wonder what makes one email address better than the other.

Tasting Table is smart. Really smart. After the buzz began about Le Fooding coming to New York, everyone tried figuring out how to get in.

The website only stated:

Registration is not open yet but links to get the secret access codes can be found on several AmericanFooding-friendly websites covering news, food, fashion and citywide events.

To get a shot at one of 100 secret access codes for Le Fooding, all one needed was to friend Tasting Table on Twitter or fan them on Facebook. Instantly, word began spreading, culminating in (what one would assume is) thousands of new friends on both social media networks. It wasn’t an opportunity to win free tickets; it was a chance to purchase them. But since Tasting Table was the first media outlet to give the opportunity, foodies in NY pinned on them their hopes of eating with David Chang and Wylie Dufresne.

Before Tasting Table ever got the codes out to their winners, the NY Times posted the secret on their Dining Out blog. Now anyone who signs up using the NY Times link can buy the tickets themselves — no raffle necessary. But now there’s more buzz around Le Fooding and Tasting Table has gained a wider audience in the NY foodie circles. Brilliant, eh?