I've had a hard time blogging recently. Obviously. Yet at the back of my mind, I kept wondering whether I wanted to participate in Foodbuzz's Project Food Blog, not because I'm interested in blogging fame, nor because I want a book contract. Nope. Instead I wanted to participate simply because it's the perfect solution to a long-standing discussion about the tensions between new media (read: blogging, twitter, YouTube) and old media (read: NY Times, magazines, books).
If you haven't been hanging out with a group of people who really like to talk about theory and possibility on a regular basis, you probably haven't spent a lot of time thinking about tensions such as the New/Old media divide. Certainly you've been aware of it happening: think back to when the NY Times and Washington Post decided to start publishing their own food blogs (or your local paper, for that matter). Or maybe it was the day when NPR suggested you "follow" them on twitter or "like" something on facebook. Perhaps it was when you walked into a book store and saw your favorite blogger's name attached to a print copy of his or her work. Had I not been drowning in a sea of words about new media and old, I think my wake-up-and-pay attention moment would have been when Conde Nast dropped the print format of Gourmet altogether. The stunned silence after Conde Nast dropped that beautiful glass was only echoed in intensity by the immediate buzz of electronic and human voices inquiring whether new media itself was responsible for the sudden re-shaping of the food world.
Project Food Blog simply crosses the divide by taking an old model (e.g. the American Idol model, which is itself rooted in many other models) and making it new. Foodbuzz partners with those having cultural (Food and Wine) or economic (Buick) capital, and then this marriage of new and old media work together to produce the next food blog star.
Unfortunately, my self-preserving realization that passing my exams trumps food blogging at all times, leaves me on the sidelines, books in hand, cheering for friends and acquaintances as they dance through the rounds. If you'd like to join me in watching this fun little caper of new and old, I invite you to check out Project Food Blog, or look at a few contestants like Christo of Chez What or Kelly of Pink Apron.
Back to studying. :)
6 comments:
thanks for the mention and between you and me - I think passing exams trumps blogging every time!
I'm having a hard time finding time for blogging lately, too. My google reader has hundreds of unread posts, but the few blogs I can keep up on are the food ones, because there's little reading and lots of pictures. I no longer subscribe to any food magazines, but I still love cookbooks, so hopefully that form of media isn't going anywhere. Food blogs are great, though, because they're a steady stream of ideas that are easy to ignore or use, as the mood strikes.
I've missed you. Good luck with all your exams. This is definitely an issue that is at a turning point as we speak. It will be interesting to see what the fall-out is. No more newpaper on the porch in the morning? There's something sad about losing the feel and smell of turning pages in a good book that's been handed down through generations. Will the future see no libraries? Why should they stay if we can carry around an entire library in the palm of our hand? I guess the fact that it's affecting the food world, too, is probably not too surprising. Take care.
Nice post. Very true.
Great post. I always enjoy reading your blog posts because they are so thoughtful and always make me think. Working in advertising we talk about this a lot and I think it's an interesting conversation. What's interesting to me is that even though everyone's hailing old media, most bloggers still seem to get the most excited when they are tapped by old media to write a book or a column. I'm curious to see how it will all pan out but I think it might take a few more media outlets people like to bite the dust and then be missed before people realize we do need traditional media. I know that's probably not a popular thing to say as a blogger but I just don't think we're the same as journalists. Most of us don't have the time or appetite to do the kind of reporting they do, nor do we get access. I know people love to talk about how today twitter and facebook break news stories but I do think old media still bring valuable coverage and a sense of depth and analysis. Not to mention fact checking. I've seen so many blogger make blanket statements or cover something only to give factually incorrect language. Maybe I'm too much in the school of politeness so I don't say anything, but given these bloggers sometimes have a lot of influence it does worry me sometime. Anyway, off my soap box now.
I've been finding it hard to blog lately as well, not because I don't have the time but because I'm in a weird spot with it. I don't want to say I've lost my passion but it just feels different to me. I entered PFB because I wanted to see if it could help me get that passion back. We'll see if it does.
Thank you all for chiming in on this conversation. Kelly, I think you raise some very critical points--I would echo your thought that most bloggers do not have the same sort of training, time, or even understanding to critically engage with some of the issues they engage with. I am NOT saying that they (we) can't, just that the push/pull necessary to create that sort of posting doesn't seem to blend well with the sauce of constant information sharing. On the other hand, having an alternative way to access and engage in conversations that old media can not (or will not) have actually pushes up the quality of media all around. At least that's my hope!
Julie, I'm old school, in that I still prefer a book. You can write in them! Squish bugs with them! That said, for long plane rides, or for tomes that take up 10 volumes, the portable versions are awfully nice. I anticipate a mix of both will ultimately settle out of all the dust flying around. The environmental argument doesn't really fly: planned obsolescence in electronics means that plenty of natural resources will still go into e-books (not to mention the power to store all that data in the "info cloud"). The space argument doesn't work across the board, and the reality that people just happen to like objects will probably keep a few book publishers in happy business. :)
maybelle's mom, thanks for dropping by!
Christo-you're right it does. Now to work on the ennui . . .
Emily, I still love it every time you put something up, but as a "lapsed"? blogger, have complete understanding of what's going on. Life!
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