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Running head: HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OF THE FOOD BLOG

Corporatization: History and Evolution of the Food Blog


Deshawn L. Williams
Southeast Career and Technical Academy

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Abstract
This paper explores the history of the food blog, and how it evolved with the internet,
technology, and social medias. It expresses the popularity and recognition bloggers have begun
to receive from the year 2002, whether it be book deals, or a film, while also stating the
passionate, individual and immediate voice shared through authentic food blogs, as their fan
bases grow tangible. It has, however, corporatized; therefore, the paper does dive into the
increasing influence of sites such as Yelp on daily dining decisions, and how it has surpassed ink
and paper food reviews and local newspapers; Harvard Business School researcher Michael
Lucas research is utilized to support such claims.

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APA Format with References


The history of the food blog is quite mundane, lacking any significant struggle. It has
developed and grown along with others of its kind; as the internet and social medias have
progressed, individuals have expressed their love and opinions on food, and it has grown in
accessibility and availability to the average citizen; thus catching the eye of large developing
media companies. As of recent, large food review sites such as Yelp and Urbanspoon have
surpassed the accoladed Michelin guide and various paper and ink newspapers in the realm of
efficiency, further advancing the food blog cause and enhancing the Yelp effect.
The world wide web was commercialized in 1995, briefly after its introduction, people
congregated to the internet to share their stories about food all over the world (FBC). A few short
years trailing, Jeff Lim and Bob Okumura began Chowhound; thus marking the official birth of
food blogging (FBC). Later during the same year, the term webblog was coined, and the term
blogger ensued circulation two years following. At this point, food blogging became accessible
the people.
2002 may be considered the catalyst year that endorsed the beginning of blogging on a
great scale. Catalysts include: Regina Schrambling, Gastropoda, the start of the Julia Project.
Regina Schrambling was a professional print food writer who took to the web well before a
majority of her colleagues. She spent fifteen years writing for various publications following her
enlightenment, about which she writes: her single desire had been to remain skinny, her fridge
was stocked with cat food and a few bottles of beer before she realized that cooking is one of
the most pleasurable things a human being can do standing up. She then began her site,
Gastropoda (FBC). Furthermore, 2002 also marks the beginning of the Julie/Julia Project, in
which, Julie Powell dedicated a year recounting her attempts to prepare all 536 recipes in Julia

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Childs famous cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking (FBC). Individuals in the
Little, Brown Book Group loved the idea, and Julie Powell became the first food blogger to be
offered a book deal. Her blog, also remains the only to be converted into a major Hollywood
motion picture. Following these breaks, an increasing amount of individuals have utilized the
opportunities offered through the internet, and editors have come to understand that their
popularity has birthed from something tangible. The introduction of WordPress in 2003 abridged
the process, making it easier for casual participants to create professional appearing websites.
Not everyone shares the desire to make a name for themselves through their blog. While
some do, indeed, begin with ambitions to become the next television or Food Network star, or to
publish their own cookbook, for many it continues to remain something low key. Blogging has
enabled us with the ability to share our experiences and interests, on not only food, but anything
of passion. In fact, the increase in food blogging is more a result of the heightened popularity of
blogs than a difference in food views and/or reporting. As blogging tools, such as the above
mentioned WordPress, became simpler to use, the blogosphere paved way for millions of
individuals to post their opinions. Individuals discussed subjects ranging from technology and
media to politics, or even merely of their lives; others discussed food. The difference between the
latter and the preceding is that a love for food is universal. A blogger in Texas can post about the
pleasures of Flan, and an Australian reader will be able to comprehend the post. Food as an
internationally known language- despite varying cultures, its the love endured the endorphins
felt throughout the body, that makes it relatable- makes the desire to share natural. It is not the
flan itself, but the pleasure it provides. There was never an agenda being pushed, it merely came
to pass. It is this Universal appeal that has allowed food blogs to breezily transverse outside the
blogosphere. Whether it be the journals of a traveling foodie, or of a home cook journeying

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through his/her cookbooks, people have taken notice and grown familiar. After years, food blogs
have received recognition, and major media attention.
The great community of food bloggers discuss food by means the mainstream food media
have refrained. They generally dont write about what others in the media desire; instead, they
write on things they desire to discuss. It provides a fresh voice to food media, one more
passionate, more individual, and more immediate (Hopkins). The major premises is that this
community has become significantly established but maintains room for any incomer with a taste
for food and access to the internet.
The previously acclaimed Michelin Guide and local newspaper have recently become an
inconvenience, and ink and paper news organizations are receiving all time low numbers. The
current generation of diners would much rather browse their devices, and from their decide
where to eat (Genevieve). Correspondingly, Yelp in particular, and other sites such as
TripAdvisor, and Urban Spoon have grown increasingly popular. If an individual has a desire for
Chicken Marsalla, he simply searches Italian restaurants in Las Vegas, and hell receive pages
of restaurants that offer such in his area. If the food goer uses one of the previously mentioned
engines, underneath each establishment is a star rating out of a five scale and anywhere from five
to two hundred reviews from previous goers of the restaurant. They have recently included the
price ranges of establishments as well, and customer posted pictures of menu items and the
establishment.
Today, Yelp has a significant influence on the restaurant market. The Michelin Guide and
Zagat survey remain significant, but Yelps residing authority is undeniable. For many
individuals its the go to restaurant finder; this spawns two positives. Yelp generates new
business for well-reviewed companies, thus displacing a chunk of market share from large

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restaurant chains and dispersing it, hence the term Yelp effect. Michael Luca a Harvard Business
School researcher analyzed Yelps online database and the Washington State Department of
Revenue and discovered that, in 2009, Seattles greatest newspaper only reviewed five percent of
the cities active restaurants, while Yelp was able to rate seventy percent. In addition, he found:
An additional one-star to a Yelp rating often translates to a 5-9% revenue increase, and The
more that Yelps popularity increases, the lesser the market share of chain restaurants goes
(Genevieve).

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Resources
Food Blogging A Short History. (n.d.). Retrieved May 21, 2015, from
http://www.foodbloggerconnect.com/food-blogging-a-short-history/
G, G. (n.d.). Yelp, UrbanSpoon, TripAdvisor, Google, Yahoo: MANAGING YOUR REVIEWS.
Retrieved May 21, 2015.
G, G. (n.d.). Yelp Helps Independent Restaurants Cut Chains' Market Share. Retrieved May 21,
2015.
Hopkins, K. (2007, January 24). Food blogs, unplugged Where did they all come from?
Retrieved May 21, 2015.

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