Sharing on Facebook isn't just about family news or vacation pictures; it's also about your favorite stores and restaurants, helping you and your friends find great new choices and resources. It's also an important part of how a young business gets established. Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to talk directly with entrepreneurs and small business owners about how they're using the Web at a conference on entrepreneurship hosted by Governor Schwarzenegger. I was impressed at how the emergence of the Web as a social hub is helping businesses connect with their customers more efficiently.

People increasingly rely on Facebook to find and share their experiences with local stores and restaurants. Over 100,000 small businesses now have their own Pages on Facebook with which you can visit and interact. Among them is TCHO, a specialty chocolate company owned by one of the conference participants, Louis Rossetto. In addition to being a founder of Wired Magazine, Louis recently opened TCHO's first store -- in San Francisco. Within 24 hours of creating a Facebook Page, TCHO already had dozens of fans on the site.

There are so many more examples of people engaging with their favorite stores and restaurants on the site, including my wife, who recently became a fan of Fraiche Yogurt, our local frozen yogurt shop in Palo Alto. Her action appeared in my News Feed, so I decided to become a fan, too. Word kept traveling to my friends, and Fraiche Yogurt now has more than 750 fans on Facebook, allowing fans, the store's owner and its employees to share information such as customer reviews and special discounts.