So there was a cover story in yesterday's paper (The Age & SMH) which gave kudos to a handful of my favourite food blogs. JENIUS received a miniature mention (yay!) but unfortunately the article was more Melbourne based so a lot of Sydney bloggers missed out.
As the online version was cropped, I've uploaded scans for those of you who are keen to read the entire article. Here's page 1, page 2 and page 3.
The article talks about the beauty of blogging, the growth of the food blogging community and the success/recognition of and journey of some bloggers. It also raises the age old debate about accepting freebies, sponsorship and advertising as well as running giveaways and promotions.
Thankfully, Paul Best, the journalist behind the article, emailed me to confirm his information, because I otherwise would have been incorrectly grouped under the "blog full-time" category and the next few words "or pursue opportunities it has created" may not have been added to the article. Funnily enough, it is that journalistic trait which I appreciate, that many food professionals believe is lacking from bloggers. A quote from the article says "It's the lack of qualifications and checking of details that concerns us".
And strangely, while I disagree with the quote, I do understand the concern. I think people just need to relax and see a blog for what it is - not as a formal review but as a peek into somebody's food diary - and nobody ever checks the details when writing in a diary, because it's personal and honest, not necessarily objective.
Technically to start up a food blog, all you would need is internet access and an appetite & passion for food (an understanding of the bloggers' code of ethics and stuff about credibility and integrity could probably be a requirement too, but honestly, it's just a lot of common sense).
And that's the whole carefree fun of blogging.
Anyone can set up a blog in seconds but what sets one blog apart from another, is talent, personality and commitment.
- Talent in being able to convey an experience or recipe articulately
- Personality interesting enough to captivate an audience and add entertainment value or likeable enough for them to associate with you and want to read your insights
- Commitment to continually do so and not neglect your audience... We all know how much time it takes to write a blog post, and how much money it drains long-term when living a life filled with good food!
Hate a blog? Don't read it. Like a blog? Leave a comment and let the blogger know!
it's a pity The Age editor/proofreader got 4 of the blog web addresses wrong though. there's miscellaneous hyphens inserted which make the links wrong :-( but nice to see blogs being mentioned in traditional media — does this mean they're running out of stories and looking at blogs for content now? ;-)
Haha, I know aye, what a big oversight for them!
Thanks for sharing the complete article with us Jen. Nice to see you got a mention.
No worries, I was keen to read the entire thing myself so asked a Melbourne-based friend to email me the scans, hehe...
"Hate a blog? Don't read it."
I especially like this line as I've seen comments on blogs asking for the blogger to alter their content this way or that. You'd never ask a printed author to do so - because that is their style - you just wouldn't buy the book and move onto another!
But I suppose that's an interactive component to blogging which doesn't exist in printed media.
Here, here!! It's the internet - how hard is it to click to another tab? It's completely up to the reader to choose whether or not they want to read something. Constructive criticism is always a good thing though because it helps bloggers hone their craft :)
Agree - constructive criticism is fine but requesting to change (or hide) a blogger's opinion is not.
I'm all for clikcing that littel x if I don't like something :p
Yea, I totally don't understand people who take the time to write nasty emails or comments! Don't they have better things to do?
^^^^ I agree !
Thanks! ;)
Congras on the mention! I do agree. Blogging is like a diary but then there is always resistance and will continue to be resistance.