Online Pizza Update: TiVo gets Domino's, Facebook gets Papa John's

Domino's Pizza and Papa John's are two fast food delivery franchises that have recently been showing the value of being connected. Today, both companies expanded their connection to customers further, but along divergent courses.

Domino's went for the TV, by giving users of broadband-connected TiVo units the ability to order pizza directly from their TV. Through interactive ad tags in live TV mode, or through the "Music, Photos, Products, and More" menu icon, users can place an order for delivery or carry-out food. A user with a Domino's Pizza online account need only enter his username and password, and once the order is placed, Domino's trademark Pizza Tracker comes up on screen.

Papa John's, meanwhile, is following the lead recently taken by Pizza Hut in reaching customers through popular social network Facebook. Though decidedly less versatile than Pizza hut's application-cum-advertisement, Papa John's has taken a nonetheless strong approach: by giving away free pizza. Anyone who becomes a "fan" of the Papa John's official profile receive a redemption code for a free medium pizza with any online pizza order.

In the spring, Papa John's announced that it had completed more than a billion dollars worth of transactions through its Web site.