They were dancing in the aisles at this year’s National Restaurant Association show in Chicago—kind of. For fun, organizers started a Lady Gaga mob dance in the main entrance area, and as this entertaining video shows, it created a stir.

Truthfully, that silly jig reflected the lighthearted mood at the show: an encouraging departure from the dour disposition of recent years. With the worst of the recession in the rearview mirror, attendance was solid and operators and manufacturers reported modest increases in sales.

Heartening, too, was the repeated call in seminars for the increased use of technology in restaurants—not by manufacturers, but by operators who see it as a means of modernizing the industry and helping it meet changing customer needs. Not surprisingly, among the tech-tools mentioned often were online ordering and social media. Why? Because youngsters prefer both. Tech is your link to their foodservice future.

As the video proves, mediocre dancing is funny and entertaining. But a mediocre tech plan is no laughing matter. The good news is restaurant tech isn’t a brain buster; it’s easier than ever to use computerized tools to manage and market your business.