When not working at Metrica, I work on an LSE PhD research project on food-based entertainment.  Celebrity chefs are, plain and simple -- culinary prophets (and profiteers).  They have built their brands on the buying habits, book sales and the broadcasting of their recipes and charisma.  What many marketing professionals often overlook is the success of chefs in leveraging social media to build their brands.  Look at the level of activity on the Jamie Oliver forum fans.  Problems in the kitchen?  Solved.  Stumped about how to cook a sturgeon?  Let others help.

Other businesses are using social media as important feedback loops. See the Patagonia weblog for ideas on how to bring together employees, friends and family. But opening up this ‘always on’ line of global exchange can backfire as well. Read this post from MIT Convergence Culture Consortium on how quickly a company can get burned worse than a Gordon Ramsay sous-chef.  

What are other recipes of success through a social media strategy?