Modern society and technology has ushered in a plethora of new media concepts, a key one being the era of the ‘long tail’. The idea behind the long tail is that the demand curve has shifted from a focus on a relatively small number of mainstream products and markets, or the ‘biggest sellers’, towards a never-ending demand curve where there are a huge number of niches in the tail. Without the constraints of production and distribution costs, especially online, narrowly targeted goods and services have become incredibly popular as consumers’ tastes become increasingly diverse. Niche blogging has therefore propelled thousands of unique and targetted blogs into the online community. As blogger Chris Anderson explains, “people gravitate towards niches because they satisfy narrow interests better, and in one aspect of our life or another we all have some narrow interest.”
(Read full post at Chris’ blog)
CrEATe falls into the niche of the food blog, now enormously popular for bloggers and readers alike. More specifically, this blog will attempt to recreate recipes that are drawn from dining experiences in Melbourne, therefore there will be general reviews of these restaurants and cafes to give some background to the meals being re-created.
Below are the profiles of two blogs that are in a similar niche category as my own.
• Overall Subject – A repository for reviews of food establishments and recipes. She is also a part of the Cookbook Challenge (along with other bloggers including Iron Chef Shellie, spatulaspoonandsaturday and offthespork) which takes 52 themes over 52 weeks and challenges anyone to interpret the theme however they wish and cook a dish from a cookbook related to the theme.
• Target Audience – restaurant reviews are mainly of food establishments in Sydney and Melbourne, but generally targeted at food enthusiasts, or anyone looking to find out information on a particular restaurant, or to track down a recipe of some kind. The Cookbook Challenge means it also targets amateur cooks who are part of the blogging community and are partaking in the challenge. People who regularly visit these food blogs are most likely familiar with other blogs within this niche and therefore would follow the posts of this blogger and others like her on a regular basis.
• Advertising – limited advertising on the site, but has a small link on the right side bar to Nuffnang, which is a blog advertising community
• Design Style – simple, two column blog. The pink background colour gives the blog a feminine feel, and the use of pictures in the header encapsulates the gourmet-ness of the reviews and recipes.
• Authorial Voice – relaxed tone, first person point-of-view. Easy to read posts draw the reader into the blogger’s personal life and experiences, making it enjoyable to read the latest additions.
• Frequency and Length of Posts – posts are quite frequent, usually varying from one to five days in between each. They are generally between 700 – 1000 words. Recipes tend to be quite detailed, with pictures of each stage of the cooking process, and instructions as to how to replicate the dish. This is an effective tool used to help the reader as they go, seeing how each stage is done and following the order sequentially. Restaurant reviews also show comprehensive photos of the dishes consumed.
• Comments – generally around 10 comment per post, but can range from around 5 up to more than 20. Comments about restaurant reviews are usually made by people who have also eaten at the establishment and can add to what has been said. After the recipes there are usually comments from those who have cooked the recipe or who are eager to try it.
• Related Niches – related to other food blogs that cover both restaurant reviews and recipes. The other blogs who are partaking in the Cookbook Challenge include:
• Overall Subject – Reviewing the top 100 eateries set out by Gourmet Traveller magazine, and along the way attempting to cook the recipes from each restaurant.
• Target Audience – the target audience is people interested in gourmet food and high-end cuisine, who like to eat at top restaurants around Australia. Readers of Gourmet Traveller magazine would be familiar with the restaurants being reviewed so may take a critical approach to what is being posted.
• Advertising – Again, very little advertising. There is a link on the side bar to the Foodie Blogroll, which is a dedicated to other food blogs and allows people to add their blog to be viewed by others.
• Design Style – A simple, three column blog, with a grey background that does dull the page a little. The header does capture the essence of the gourmet cooking and eating. There is a multitude of photos for each restaurant review which gives the reader a true sense of what the restaurant is like, from the ambiance and setting, to the food and wine itself. There are also photos attached to the recipes, and included are the photos of what the actual restaurant version looks like, so the reader can compare the two.
• Authorial Voice – very casual authorial voice, and always speaking in the first person. That gives the posts a very personal tone and draws the reader into the blogger’s experiences.
• Frequency and Length of Posts – there are usually 3-5 posts per month, and each is quite detailed and lengthy, ranging from around 500 words for recipes, to 1000-1200 words for restaurant reviews, with several photos included in the posts.
• Comments – there are usually around 8-12 comments per post, again with the majority being devoted to restaurant reviews. Often the comments relate to the photos attached to the review or recipe, indicating that visually the blog entices readers to engages with the content and offer their own insight and opinions.
• Related Niches – CrEATe!!
