Clever Thoughts

Foodies Unite

// February 28th, 2009 // 5 Comments » // Uncategorized

I went to an interesting event the other night at WBUR. It was an Eat-up Tweet-up.

Imagine, if you will, a room full of people who like to talk and blog about food. It was awesome and delicious. There was an interesting exchange of ideas and thoughts about the local food scene and how it’s being covered. There was food brought by many. There was wine. There was a lot of people trying to figure out how they fit into the group.

I was also trying to figure out how I fit into the group. I realized recently that this is a group that I should participate in because I have a great passion for food. I don’t think I want to start a food blog, but I do think I want to participate in the food websites like chow and yelp, reviewing the places that I like to eat. I am not an expert persey, but I know what I like and want to share that with others.

So, here are some of the interesting people I got to hang out with at the #eattweet:

• Lauren Goldberg – Lauren is working her way into the blogging world trying to figure out if there is a niche she can fill. I understand her concern about not wanting to add more of the same content… but I feel that blogs are about points of views and every person brings their own view/style and that is what separates the content… so Just Do It I say
• Owen Mack – Owen is the charismatic owner of Kitchen Arts on Newbury Street. He currently has a very interesting website that has some fun video demos of cooking tools and toys in his shop. I am looking forward to visiting his store in the near future to play. (don’t tell my wife)
• Mary Reilly – Mary is a personal chef with a yummy blog. She brought some wonderful healthy vegetarian fare to the event which included beets with cauliflower and lentils with feta cheese. I think I may ask her if she would be willing to teach a class for me about weekly cooking.
• Lynne Viera – Lynne has sexy video blog that highlights cooks and foodies in the Boston area. She brought some delicious cupcakes that were filled with a rasberry mouse. You can find the info on the cupcakes here.

So, I have an alterior motive for attending this event. I want to go to a CupCakeCamp in Boston, but I have to many projects already on my plate(giggle). So I have been aproaching everyone I can to get this dream of mine off the ground. I am happy to help connect people and be a cheerleader, but I canot organize this event right now…

Thanks again to Ken and his staff for organizing this delectable delight. I hope that this post and my future posting about the food world in Boston is worthy of the #eattweet group. :)

photo by jbcurio

Costco Lifestyle pt 1

// February 17th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // Uncategorized

I am really interested in eating better. I have been trying to make better choices about not only what gos into my body, but what comes out of my wallet. It is in that vain that I am really interested what my meals really cost and what each part of a meal costs.

After my last run to Costco I took my receipt and broke it down by unit and here are my results:

Let me let that sink in and later I will do some meal analysis

Social Media Hackery

// February 13th, 2009 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

Let me start off by telling you about this great new podcast Media Hacks. Some of the coolest kids from PodCamp get together and talk about the social media “space”. In case you are un-aware, the social media “space” is the “space” where people go online and talk. That’s it. Whether it be a blog, podcast, vlog, or social network… it’s all about open online dialogue. (email is not in the “space”)

Here is some background for complete transparency. I heart Julian Smith, Chris Brogan, Chris Penn, and CC Chapman. So when they talk in this show, I listen. I also have a great respect for the rest of the cast and Mitch Joel who is the organizer of the show. Mitch is a hardcore marketer who does the social network/media thing, but is always looking for the value social media has for him and his company (good for him). This makes Mitch a knowledgeable source for how to use and work the “space”. Check out his regularly updated podcast at Six Pixels Of Seperation.

After listening to the first episode I really got annoyed with Mitch’s stance on blogger relation campaigns. Mitch is of the opinion that in order to have value to your readers as a blogger you must keep journalistic standards and not take anything for free from companies. Something about integrity and standards for blogs.

Mitch… friend, you are not a journalist. So why are you holding other people in the “space” to that standard?

I was thinking about it this morning and I realize that journalist’s standards were created for people who were paid to report about a specific subject. Journalist are “ethically” not allowed to be involved with the subject of what they report about, so much so that they are dis-inclined to hold stock in companies related to their beat or subject as well as to be a part of the subject industry groups. These ethical standards are to control bias in the reporting both positive and negative.

Unless you are being payed to report about a subject, you are not a reporter and your bias is going to play a role in your participation in the “space” whether you are taking free stuff or not. Actually, I think taking free stuff or money is the easier part of the ethics issue, it’s clear and simple. Take the stuff and you are showing bias. But what about not taking the free stuff, what about not reporting about negative things, what about not reporting about companies you would like to gain as clients?

It’s what you are not saying that is also very important as a journalist. Seeing as Mitch is in the “space” and does not want to piss off current or potential clients I think he is going to be dis-inclined to talk trash about either group. So, Mitch… have you ever blogged/podcast; trashing others for bad content or poor use of the “space” when this would effect your business? I suspect you have not, hey you are a smart guy….( I know I cannot bad mouth companies that will bring me business)

I think that bias is a part of the “space”. Taking free stuff and not talking trash is a part of the “space”. But like Chris Brogan points our, online relationships to your readers is about trust and transparency. In order to gain trust you must be clear about where you are coming from and what you are doing. You cannot take free stuff and act like it’s not going to bias you a bit. You cannot talk about your field of interest and not feel pressured not to talk about the flaws of companies within your field because of retribution or possible job opportunities lost in the future.

So the “space” is not a completely open and honest conversation beholden to journalistic standards. But what public conversation has anyone ever had that was truly open an honest?