tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835761.post8898656205527055696..comments2024-03-14T13:58:46.869+11:00Comments on I Eat Therefore I Am: The Power of The Penthanh7580http://www.blogger.com/profile/12101572834580539226noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835761.post-41221654752212762262007-12-09T13:06:00.000+11:002007-12-09T13:06:00.000+11:00Hi Duncan, I know what you mean about sites like y...Hi Duncan, I know what you mean about sites like yourrestaurant and eatibility etc. I turn to them too when I can't find anything on traditional media or my blogs. Those reviews are so mixed, it's really hard to rely on them. <BR/><BR/>I think bloggers do try to inform the reader as much as possible. Of course all reviews are subjective, but at least most people critique it as with as much technical information as they know.<BR/><BR/>I always thought that reviewers would be oh so powerful. Seems that isn't really the case. Those tales of Michelin reviewers are infamous. Wasn't there a chef who committed suicide a while back. It wasn't certain whether it was due to his restaurant losing a star, but I guess it makes for a good story.<BR/><BR/>Also out of interest, Coco Roco is suing Matthew Evans, stating that his review may have helped in the closure of their business. Whether that can ever be proven will be hard.<BR/><BR/>I would really like to know how influential reviews are. I wonder if anyone will survey a restaurants clientel for a few months and asks if they had read a review on the place and what effect that had.thanh7580https://www.blogger.com/profile/12101572834580539226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835761.post-51830893763238143962007-12-09T00:37:00.000+11:002007-12-09T00:37:00.000+11:00Hi Thanh. I think the majority of internet users w...Hi Thanh. I think the majority of internet users will turn to review sites (eg, yourrestaurant) rather than trawling through blogs. There, the user will discover a very, very mixed bag of customer reviews -- sometimes informative, but often completely off. A bit like Amazon reviews, where people will give negative reviews of a book because it was delivered too slowly, lay reviews of restaurants often miss the point entirely or focus on the wrong thing. Some blogs are the same, but at least many bloggers set themselves the goal of informing the reader. And finally, I think you overestimate the power of the mainstream reviewers - sure, there is an image generated by tales of Michelin reviewers, and the occasional controversial personality like Frank Bruni, but in the main, reviewers rarely make or break a restaurant.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835761.post-67963284481497209872007-12-06T20:51:00.000+11:002007-12-06T20:51:00.000+11:00Sticky, I think restaurant reviews don't influence...Sticky, I think restaurant reviews don't influence heaps of diners, but that is increasing. People are quite tech savvy and will look up reviews online now. The public don't need to read blogs regularly but can stumble across the site just to read one review and that's it. I know I get lots of hits from Google searches on the restaurant reviews.<BR/><BR/>As for looking at restaurants from outside, I do that too. I watch what people order, peruse the menu and smell the food. <BR/><BR/>I definitely agree that there is room for both traditional reviews and blog reviews.thanh7580https://www.blogger.com/profile/12101572834580539226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835761.post-79237013027289167492007-12-06T14:15:00.000+11:002007-12-06T14:15:00.000+11:00Restaurant reviewers don't actually influence the ...Restaurant reviewers don't actually influence the majority of a city's diners, just some of those who read food media, which according to marketing and circulation figures, is not high in the greater scheme of things. <BR/><BR/>In Australia, Blogs are read by a online community that is tiny by global standards. The general public on the whole are yet to become aware of them however, let alone have a clue how to seek them out and read them with any regularity.<BR/><BR/>In regards to picking a restaurant, there are also other indications that one can use to judge whether to attend a venue, without reading guides or reviews and is something most Aussies and travelers employ - it is by employing common sense. <BR/><BR/>Think of it paralleling a movie trailer. Firstly, stand outside the eatery, read the menu, does it seem plausible or excessively fanciful? Does it appeal? Look inside, is it bustling with people? If it is Asian for example, are there lots of Asians in there? Can you smell the food? Yes - how do you like it? Can you see any meals on tables - what size are they and how is the presentation?<BR/><BR/>This is how many venues get their first customers, especially those in the suburbs which get scant attention from reviewers. And in fact they thrive, even if they do get dodgy reviews from print or digital media, because although some may not like them, there is a market for many kinds of eatery in our market.<BR/><BR/>The other time honored way to determine a venue is on the recommendation of like minded friends, which in the main is how most of us end up dining at certain spots.<BR/><BR/>For those of us who read reviews, we all take them with a pinch of salt no matter which media or online forum they pop up in. <BR/><BR/>Printed reviews are an educated opinion backed by research and discussion with the venue after numerous meals, whereas blogs usually provide a gut reaction which is sometimes not substantiated by anything other than their having turned up and eaten a single meal. <BR/><BR/>Often an online review is determined by the demographic, prejudices, knowlege and perhaps limited experience of the person writing, which may in fact be at odds with your own level of the same. Leaving some people unsatisfied.<BR/><BR/>For this reason I think that professional and amateur/hobby reviews fit in different genres and serve different purposes. The competition does not exist to me, when in fact there is room for all on differing levels.stickyfingershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14861830835308131738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835761.post-5755948071292298252007-12-05T20:38:00.000+11:002007-12-05T20:38:00.000+11:00Neil, bloggers are definitely starting to gain mor...Neil, bloggers are definitely starting to gain more of a prescence in the food reviewing scene. Hopefully the wave will get larger and larger.thanh7580https://www.blogger.com/profile/12101572834580539226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31835761.post-31177818092431104672007-12-05T14:39:00.000+11:002007-12-05T14:39:00.000+11:00It's fair to say the tide is coming in and blogger...It's fair to say the tide is coming in and bloggers are riding the waves all the way to the shore.neilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17247582833451153687noreply@blogger.com