The website that I get most of my news from is the Huffington Post. the Huffington Post is a great website because it has front pages for almost anything you can think of, and that includes food. I get most of my sources for my blog about food and technology from the big news page on the Huffington Post entitled food. In terms of being a reliable new's source the Huffington Post is a very reliable source for my blog in my opinion. Most of their original content is editorials written by people who work for the website or freelance for the website. However, most of the content on the website that I view is material that they have adapted or summarized for the reader. This is the case with their food portion of the website. One of the most common features on the website are the slide shows. For instance, in regard to food they recently produced a slide show highlighting foods at state fairs. Like all the other slide shows the one I just linked too has a source, in this case it is the website Endless Simmer. I consider both the Huffington Post and Endless Simmer to be credible and reliable sources.
Next out of all of my blogs and websites that I look to for food and technology news, this website relates food to technology more than any other. In my opinion it is not as reliable as the two I mentioned in the first paragraph, and I only say this because of the appearance of the website. The general layout of the website is not as friendly or official looking as other websites, which leads me to think how much of a difference does the design of a website have to do with the reliability that the reader associates with that website? The reason I don't trust the gadget website as much is because of the clutter of advertisements surrounding the main page, and all the gadgets they advertise have a buy button that is part of the article where you can go to the shop and buy the food gadget. This makes it seem as if it is more of a market or shop for manufacturers to sell their product. Finally, the advertisements that are on the page do not appear to be legitimate, they are clearly spam or some other type of internet hoax.
I feel that it is much easier to find reliable websites for my topic as opposed to unreliable web sites. I was not able to find a website that had terrible information, just ones that weren't as organized as the other ones which provided good information.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
The problems of PIU
The topic that my group had to read and write about was explaining Problematic Internet Usage, or PIU. According to the study done by Turkish doctors using students from universities in Turkey there are preexisting conditions that can make someone more likely to get PIU. Loneliness, computer dependency, and Depression in that order were the three factors most likely to make someone suffer from PIU.
This is very difficult to to apply to how technology is changing the food industry, however it is applicable. Pretty much everything on the internet that has a following (games, movies, music, fashion, etc), and with that following is a group of people who are addicted. I'm certain people who are food enthusiasts and love to cook are no exception. People who are lonely or depressed and love to cook could use the internet as an escape for them leading to PIU. They can talk in a virtual world to other people who share the same problem and are as passionated about recipes, restaurants, and new appliances as they are. In my tweet related to this group project I talked about how depressed people use the internet because they now they will not be rejected as anyone. This goes for television too, nobody on food network is going to reject them. Studies show that people who watch a show regularly grow a personal connection with it's host. In this case people become delusional and think that Rachel Ray or Alton Brown actually know them. They become depressed because these television personalities are the only people who they share a connection with.
This is very difficult to to apply to how technology is changing the food industry, however it is applicable. Pretty much everything on the internet that has a following (games, movies, music, fashion, etc), and with that following is a group of people who are addicted. I'm certain people who are food enthusiasts and love to cook are no exception. People who are lonely or depressed and love to cook could use the internet as an escape for them leading to PIU. They can talk in a virtual world to other people who share the same problem and are as passionated about recipes, restaurants, and new appliances as they are. In my tweet related to this group project I talked about how depressed people use the internet because they now they will not be rejected as anyone. This goes for television too, nobody on food network is going to reject them. Studies show that people who watch a show regularly grow a personal connection with it's host. In this case people become delusional and think that Rachel Ray or Alton Brown actually know them. They become depressed because these television personalities are the only people who they share a connection with.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Food and Technology through a Historical Context
Ten years ago the landscape of the food industry was much more different than it is today. The revolution was just beginning and started growing into what it is today. This industry has become a very major one in the past ten years. For instance, chefs who were once candid and not in the spotlight are now celebrities, i.e. Mario Batali, Emeril Lagasse, Rachel Ray. These chefs are not just chefs anymore who remain anonymous, but in this day and age they are television personalities. Before the advent of technology it would have been impossible for a chef to garner a following like the ones I listed above have managed to gain. However, with the advent of technology in the 21st century these chefs can now market themselves as brands with shows, products, websites, fan clubs, products.
In addition to the fact that technology has made the people who cook our food famous, it has also changed the way we dine. Year's ago if we wanted to find a new place to eat we would have to hear about it via word of mouth, or read a review in a newspaper or magazine. Today, if we are in an unfamiliar place or new city I phone apps such as Urban Spoon can point us in the right direction. Not only on I phones, but also on computers is this possible to. With services such as Yelp.com users can chart every single restaurant around them, and by checking a few boxes find what type of food he or she wants and what is open. Even reservations can be made these days on I phone apps using apps such as Open Table. Open Table is an app that has a library of restaurants across the nation and takes reservations.
For the most part I have been talking about fine dining, fast food however has been affected more than sit down restaurants. Franchises and chains have capitalized and taken full advantage of technology. Pizza delivery style restaurants in addition to fast food restaurants are using the internet. A large percentage of people now prefer to order their pizza online. This way it is easier for them to customize it and harder to make excuses if the customer if given the wrong pizza. The new method of pizza delivery makes it easier for both parties. The customer can see what his order is and what he can order, while the employee is able to see what the customer wants. This is much more clear than talking over the phone.
In essence communication in the food industry is becoming smaller, and like everything else technology is making what we used to use smaller in this industry. Instead of the yellow pages, you can now use an I phone app. Instead of calling and reading out your credit card number you can now just use your personal computer.
In addition to the fact that technology has made the people who cook our food famous, it has also changed the way we dine. Year's ago if we wanted to find a new place to eat we would have to hear about it via word of mouth, or read a review in a newspaper or magazine. Today, if we are in an unfamiliar place or new city I phone apps such as Urban Spoon can point us in the right direction. Not only on I phones, but also on computers is this possible to. With services such as Yelp.com users can chart every single restaurant around them, and by checking a few boxes find what type of food he or she wants and what is open. Even reservations can be made these days on I phone apps using apps such as Open Table. Open Table is an app that has a library of restaurants across the nation and takes reservations.
For the most part I have been talking about fine dining, fast food however has been affected more than sit down restaurants. Franchises and chains have capitalized and taken full advantage of technology. Pizza delivery style restaurants in addition to fast food restaurants are using the internet. A large percentage of people now prefer to order their pizza online. This way it is easier for them to customize it and harder to make excuses if the customer if given the wrong pizza. The new method of pizza delivery makes it easier for both parties. The customer can see what his order is and what he can order, while the employee is able to see what the customer wants. This is much more clear than talking over the phone.
In essence communication in the food industry is becoming smaller, and like everything else technology is making what we used to use smaller in this industry. Instead of the yellow pages, you can now use an I phone app. Instead of calling and reading out your credit card number you can now just use your personal computer.
Introduction to Technology and the Food Industry
When the 21st century arrived it brought about a technology overload. Every industry and career field looked to capitalize on this advent of technology. Most people think about how the telephone market, entertainment industry, or sports world has changed since this explosion of technology. However, one field that often goes ignored is the food industry. This is a very broad term. When I say the food industry I mean everything and anything that has to do with the way we use food. Technology has brought us new ways to cook food, new gadgets to cook food with, it has completely changed our dining experience at restaurants, and provided us with ways to find out about new foods we could have never imagined learning about before.
The way we used to cook food is now in the past, and with the 21st century and this technological revolution comes the modern kitchen. This revolution completely changes the game.
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