Recipeasly - A short-lived website.

[liuzhou]

On March 1st 2021, a Twitter user announced this

 

 

Tired of reading hundreds of words of life story, fashion hints, doggy pictures, waffle and irrelevance before reaching the recipes, they decided to strip out all but the most relevant to the actual recipe and repost it.

 

The backlash was immediate. Food writers, bloggers,  etc all railed against the idea, some citing copyright violation issues, some saying that, even if copyright does not apply to recipes*, it is still morally reprehensible to 'steal' other peoples' work. Such was the clamour, that the site was taken down the same day it went up!

 

Now it just says:

 

 

* Copyright does not apply to lists of ingredients; it does apply to any descriptive text or instructions.

 

The unfolding story can be read here.

 

Edited March 1, 2021 by liuzhou (log)

[gfweb]

Filching content is wrong.

But most of those recipe bloggers have way too much noise and not enough signal.  I understand their motivation

 

[BeeZee]

I appreciate when a blogger (usually the more professional ones vs the hobbiests) have the “jump to recipe” link to avoid the backstory and excessive explanation.

[Maison Rustique]

1 hour ago, BeeZee said:

I appreciate when a blogger (usually the more professional ones vs the hobbiests) have the “jump to recipe” link to avoid the backstory and excessive explanation.

 

I do, too, but someone in a food group I belong to recently said that if you use that feature, it lessens the ad revenues the blogger receives. I think many of us don't consider that some bloggers do it as a source of income, rather than as a hobby. I respect that, but wish they could do something a different way so that you don't have to scroll forever to get to the recipe. The ones I really object to are the ones that you have to keep clicking on the arrow to go through 6 pages of crap before you get to what you want to see.

[chromedome]

It all comes back to Google's algorithms, because what Google rewards is what Google gets (I've written online content for nearly a decade, now, and can personally attest to the carnage when they make a significant change to the algorithm). That's not "gaming the system," it *is* the system, full stop. We've had earlier threads on Google's inadequacy as a tool for finding decent recipes, and this is why.

 

I'm sure a significant percentage of these bloggers, probably a solid majority, would happily forego the necessity of padding their recipes with 1800 words of prattle. They do it because the time they invest in blather shows a payback in Google's (algorithm-driven) search rankings, which in turn gives a significant advantage in Google's (algorithm-driven) ad revenue. It also drives eyeballs that can in turn generate clicks on affiliate links to Amazon or whoever.

Don't blame the bloggers. If you like a site, there are often ways to support it directly (donations, Patreon, etc), in which case you can use the various snipping and ad-stripping tools with a clear conscience.

[gfweb]

Maybe @David Ross could give his thoughts on the economics of food blogs.

[ElsieD]

What i find annoying are the pictures.  They go on and on and on.  We've all seen onions in a frying pan - no need to show the same picture as each ingredient is added to it.

[blue_dolphin]

I agree with @Maison Rustique that having to click through some sort of multi-page slideshow is annoying.  Otherwise, I have zero annoyance about skimming through stories and photos to get to a recipe. 

They should feel free to set up their pages the way they like.  I'm not paying them anything other than what they earn through my clicks and scrolls.

I generally rely on Eat Your Books to search my own cookbooks and the blogs and publications I like so I'm not encountering that situation very often.  

 

[David Ross]

1 hour ago, gfweb said:

Maybe @David Ross could give his thoughts on the economics of food blogs.

It's a subject probably worth of hours of discussion.  In terms of all the blather and noise of most food blogs today, (little in terms of actually talking about food, ingredients and cooking techniques,) I'm one of the fiercest critics.  Skads of nothing of substance, some photos, catchy/kitschy wording, and way down at the end the recipe.  There are many "food bloggers" who pay for stock photos and portray them as their own dishes, equally despicable.  However, in terms of my experience at least, which is limited, it's about content and targeting the right audience.  There is a large demographic of folks who want more than the latest crazy cupcake of the moment.  Like ingredients, flavors, textures and recipes they can craft at home.  That's risen greatly during the pandemic as more and more have realized they have a kitchen with a stove in their home.  And then ads and products within each recipe, (rather than an ad for a peloton inserted into a red velvet cake post), dial into that audience.  As far as economics, I happen to think good, original, informative content is what targets a specific audience and yes, Google notices in terms of revenue and stats.  

 

One comparison I make is to the years I taught at a local kitchen store.  It's a family owned business that's been open almost 50 years.  Think of the first Williams-Sonoma stores.  They sell everything from an apple peeler to $3,000 espresso machines and Mauviel French Cooper Cookware.  There is a large, open display kitchen where classes are held.  Some of our most popular classes were French Mother Sauces, Indian Curries, Thai Green Curry and one time a whole Mahi Mahi we had flown in from Hawaii.  A specific demographic of folks who are looking for knowledge, fun and learning about new techniques and ingredients and will pay for it.  They may pop into Walmart for Tupperware, but they know that the Japanese knife sold at the store will last a lifetime.  So while many blogs are trying to reach a mass market, (and the bloggers are addicted to following the inner wiring of Google), they're also competing in a big fish pond.  The kitchen store and classes, (and blogs targeting a that audience), can also flourish and profit.  If that all makes sense.

[heidih]

25 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

What i find annoying are the pictures.  They go on and on and on.  We've all seen onions in a frying pan - no need to show the same picture as each ingredient is added to it.

I've watched the young boys learning to cook via food sites  and they like the step by step. They are used to "noise" visually.  -  different perspective. My pointer finger scrolls quickly - not my major annoyance.  But like @blue_dolphin I generally only go where I know  or have a trusted reference. The silly stuff - as noted - free content. Even my kid when he started cooking started to know when something was wrong and called me or his buds who were cooks.

[kayb]

I wrote a fairly regular mostly-food blog for about 10 years. Now, granted that I did very little to promote it, didn't try to make any money off it, and have only the cooking skills and experience of a fairly savvy home cook to portray. But I am also something of a writer (20 years in the newspaper business), and something of an occasional humorist, my blog was more "somewhat amusing writing about whatever happened in my world, generally including food and a recipe and a photo."

 

I think I peaked at about 120 followers. It was fun. I occasionally think about reviving it. But I don't think too long.

[Shelby]

3 hours ago, kayb said:

I wrote a fairly regular mostly-food blog for about 10 years. Now, granted that I did very little to promote it, didn't try to make any money off it, and have only the cooking skills and experience of a fairly savvy home cook to portray. But I am also something of a writer (20 years in the newspaper business), and something of an occasional humorist, my blog was more "somewhat amusing writing about whatever happened in my world, generally including food and a recipe and a photo."

 

I think I peaked at about 120 followers. It was fun. I occasionally think about reviving it. But I don't think too long.

I always enjoyed it very much  

[shain]

I must admit that I rarely check the actual recipe in the blogs that I follow. Most those that I follow, I do so for ideas and inspiration, and to learn about new dishes etc. Some of them are well written enough to read through, others I'll just skim if the subject is interesting enough.

Some of them I know to have trusted recpies and I might bookmark them for later reference. If I'm later actually looking for an exact recipe, I'm more likely to simply search among my trusted sources.

[gfweb]

14 minutes ago, shain said:

I must admit that I rarely check the actual recipe in the blogs that I follow. Most those that I follow, I do so for ideas and inspiration, and to learn about new dishes etc. Some of them are well written enough to read through, others I'll just skim if the subject is interesting enough.

Some of them I know to have trusted recpies and I might bookmark them for later reference. If I'm later actually looking for an exact recipe, I'm more likely to simply search among my trusted sources.

 

This is true for me too.  I read them for new ideas.

Unless its a whole new type of dish, I'll rarely use the recipe.

[liuzhou]

The story has hit the mainstream press.

 

The Guardian

[kayb]

19 hours ago, Shelby said:

I always enjoyed it very much  

 

Awww, shucks. Thanks.

[liuzhou]

[chromedome]

Another take on the controversy, to which I can only reply...most of 'em aren't Stella Parks, or anywhere close to being Stella Parks. But whatever...

https://skillet.lifehacker.com/dont-just-skip-to-the-recipe-1846379903

[Anna N]

And more.

[gfweb]

On 3/5/2021 at 1:50 PM, Anna N said:

And more.

 

Content that's worth reading gets read.

I read the Serious Eats prose most of the time because there something there.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

2 hours ago, gfweb said:

 

Content that's worth reading gets read.

I read the Serious Eats prose most of the time because there something there.

 

Last night I was perusing Kenji's smash burger prose and was thinking the same thing.  Serious Eats usually has direct recipe links if you want just the meat and potatoes.