What Type of Food Blogger Are You?

Food blogger (noun): a person who eats, snaps photos of food and drinks, then share it publicly on social media and a blog(s) in the form of "reviews".

Food bloggers come in all sizes, shapes, looks and background. In Indonesia alone, I can see a pattern among my fellow food bloggers, and out of boredom, I'm writing this post about my observation. Disclaimer: this is purely for fun and exaggerated for an extra punch and it is by no means intended to mock anyone I know. Please read ahead if you're the type who can laugh at your own follies, but if you're an HSP (Highly Sensitve Person), I'll advise you to close this tab immediately.
So, the big question is:
1. The Purists
The food blogger royalties; the Volturi clan in Edward Cullen's world

Purists started out using blogging platforms and never joined member-generated-content food guide websites such as this or this. You did not start out blogging to get recognised by other members or to win prizes. Deep down, as the 'revered' ones in the community, you are secretly proud of yourself and feel piqued by the misbehaviour of other food bloggers or food-blogger-wannabes who you deem are tarnishing the group reputation.

You have a moral obligation to stay true to your calling; food tastings / tryouts will not buy your positive review. On the other hand, you are wise enough to know that people (especially in Indonesia) cannot take criticism, so you play nice. Occasionally, you would show up at events / invitation by restaurants. You filter the invitations, because you are bombarded with those; you will only show up IF you know the owner/whoever invited you or IF it's a premium restaurant / event. You roll your eyes in exasperation looking how some newbies or free riders suddenly claim to be food bloggers just to get invitations to food tastings.

2. The Graphic Geeks
Foodies who own gadgets that'll cost someone's annual salary.

You take mouthwatering photos that look as if the food is jumping out of the screen straight to your face. Being photography literate, you are very particular about the angle, lighting, arrangement & setting of your subject. If possible, you'll even have the salmon tilt at an angle and pose for you. Usually, you're always the last to finish taking photos, because you'll go all the trouble to move your plate by the window or ask someone pick up the dumpling or tear the bun apart, so u can capture the most delicious moments.

Your blog receive visitors who droll on your Martha Stewart-worthy pictures, but they can't be bothered to read your story, which is exasperating. "Excuse me, I've commented on the taste right after the photo, did you not read it?!"

3. The Hunters
Quizzes, vouchers, giveaways, coupons are your breakfast, brunch, lunch, tea time, supper and dinner.

You go to sleep and wake up, watching your social media timeline just to make sure that you are the first to know / hear about a contest. After all, the  early bird (usually) gets the worm, no?
This class of food bloggers can be further divided into sub-classes:
- Lucky hunters (always win without much effort)
- Persistent hunters (you work hard to win; sometimes you win, sometimes you lose)
- Shameless hunters (Travel quiz? Giveaways? Tweeting competition? Science trivias? Bring it on!)

You follow almost every restaurants, promotional news, discounts on all social media. Doesn't matter if you are using the internet connection at the office (so long as the boss doesn't know!).

4. The New Converts
Who finally realize that they're better than the folks who copy-paste reviews from other blogs.

You can never become a Purist, because you have an (embarassing) past. But that's where you started from and since you take pride in your work (they are decent, after all), you choose to convert to a proper food blogger. Of course, the community welcomes you, as long as you've never reproduced other people's work illegally or write a review about mint-glazed Dunkin Donut in 5 paragraphs. Oh yes, you still attend their gatherings and have won the cool prizes from their competitions, we're talking about prizes like iPad, DSLR cameras and MacBook,  folks...(I wonder who sponsor these websites? Can you sponsor mine too?)

5. The Newbies
Hello there, my blog is xxx, can we exchange links please?

You aggressively drop comments at others' blogs & hoping (or sometimes explicitly ask) for a return visit. You request to exchange links, which is sometimes welcomed with warm hand, but other times ignored on purpose (ugh, those snob Purists!). A newbie checks the stats every now & then and will do anything to get the page visits hike up. Some also like to mark the "milestone" of the blog by self-congratulatory note of Nth page visits.

Um, will you ever upgrade? Yes you will. When someone else asks to exchange links with you, that's when you know that you have 'graduated' from the Newbies group.
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So, did you have fun laughing at yourselves? I certainly had fun writing this and I'd smirk every now and then, remembering the same things I (used to) do or did. The point is, does not matter which group you think you fall into, you are still a food blogger. It's a challenging hobby that requires a serious commitment and investment (a digital camera no matter how cheap, still costs money!). You deserve a pat on the back for all the commitment you have dedicated so far. Cheers! =)

Chelsea Handler - "Laugh loudly, laugh often, and most important, laugh at yourself."

28 comments :

  1. I found this really entertaining and true! yes i used to ask permission to exchange links in the early days..lol..i believe i asked to exchange links with u!

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    Replies
    1. Hehe...I was once the Newbie too, Vin ;) everyone has to start somewhere =)

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  2. agree with elvina. i did start from newbie to graphic geeks. i guess. but the pictures aren't mouthwatering..
    ps: lolled when i saw that "shameless hunter" part el.. :P

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    Replies
    1. Heheee...I've been a shameless hunter too at one point, I think...that's how I know that they exist =P

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  3. Hi there Ellyna!

    I'm still new around here and I wonder if I can repost this very article at my newly found blog.
    Will credit you for that of course, but next time I'll be shamelessly doing it without letting you know first.

    So, is it okay then? Please pretty please! :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. WOW, I feel honoured! Yes, you certainly may dong, thank you so much =D

      PS: Gomballl bangetsss sih papa genks LOL

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  4. Replies
    1. All of the above? I'm sure you're not a Newbie? hehe

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  5. Hello Ellyna, I had fun reading your post, nice one!

    So I'm a newbie here, and since you've written about the newbie, would you please exchange links with me? :)

    Thanks before,
    Natasha Pricilia
    http://nuteveryday.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hell Nat! Haha, I just paid your blog a visit and your is certainly not new (2011, same year as when I started).

      Your link is on my blogroll already, check it out! Thanks again for visiting me... =)

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    2. haha yeah, it's not new in age, but I don't write so often, so I think I'm still newbie here :p

      Anyway nice to meet you, thanks for exchanging links with me :D

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  6. whoaa el, tema tulisan nya keren, jadi lucu bacanya....tapi menurut gw sih kurang 1 nih kategori buat foodblogger nya. kategori food blogger ambisius, ambisius untuk dapet undangan makan gratis, ada undangan makan gratis dimanapun harus ikut, kalo ga dapet undangan bakalan gelisah. bener kan ada kategori yang kaya gitu? hehe...

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Hmm, kedengerannya familiar nih gaya bicaranya hehe...

      Ambisius juga bisa diartikan ambisius dengan rajin nge-post artikel loh...untuk kelompok ini gw ga kepikiran, karena gw ga pernah denger ada yang ngaku gelisah karena ga dapet undangan hehe...Anyway, this is just for fun lah...don't take it seriously ;)

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    2. HAHAHAHA baru baca gw, postingan lo keren abis! Jadi ini ya yang ambisius2 itu? makanya lo ngira gw? :)) btw, harusnya ada kategori terakhir, Pemalas. Yang ngakunya blogger tapi posting per bulan <5, lol itu baru gw hahaha

      Love your witty writing style! Keep it up! :)

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    3. LOL...The Lazy ya? Haha...why didn't I think about that!

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  7. Hahahha..food blogger ambisius. Ambisius untuk nge post artikel,ambisius untuk dapet undangan, ambisius ngejar2 manager resto buat di undang dan ambisius untuk maju,tapi kan hasil nya keren..jadi eksis teruus,hidup ambisius !!!

    Eh gue kenalan sama kata2 ambisius ini dari @umay pertama kali..gak tau nya jadi terkenal gini kata2 ambisius ini..

    Salam
    Febee
    http://ioflife.com/food

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hahahahaha iya ya feb, gw juga udah lupa asalnya dulu dalam rangka apa sih ya sampe keluar kata ambisius? :))

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  8. El, I love this post! I kept smirking on the train reading this, people were staring hahaha.
    I was definitely a newbie once, but not sure what I am currently! still figuring out! :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hehe...I'm happy that you find this post entertaining!

      I've been thinking that too...Wonder where I fit in...maybe I should another class ya?

      Delete
  9. LOL :) love your post, El.
    i'm still newbies and definitely hunters.. :))
    one of my friends calls me "Queen of Quiz" --"
    but i don't think i can become "the purist" :D it's so hard not to enjoy the vouchers hahahaha
    errrr.. please exchange links :))

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hehe...yes you ARE a hunter indeed Ma'am ;)

      PS: we HAVE exchanged links, look to the right column, there's your blog already =)

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  10. Travelling is my hobby and the first thing to do is to taste there delicious food. I'm planning to have a travel and food blog.

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  11. Haha some might take point number 5 very personally though....

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  12. oh well.. i will surely fall into the number 5 category! lol.
    sure i'm a newbie. just started blogging 3 months ago and i dont even know how to exchange links lol. i'll figure it out now!! haha
    anyway, my blog is www.thetwotales.com. pls check it out if u have time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Inda, nice to see you here and welcome to the blogosphere!
      By now I reckon you'd already figured out how to exchange links with others ya. =) Cheers!

      Delete
  13. Hi Ellyna,

    What a nice looking blog you have here! I am having difficulties in placing myself into these brackets of yours... I'd probably put myself at #6 as being the average blogger who only write once a while without any particular interests in making myself known.

    I will definitely come to your blog when I visit Jakarta next time for ideas on where to eat!

    Cheers...

    Ardi | AllAboutFoodBlog.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ardi! Nice to meet you here, thanks for dropping a note, I'd like to add you to my blogroll (you can't say no, I already did...hehe). Do let me know when you're in town ya! Would love to meet food enthusiast like yourself and exchange some stories over good meal of course :)

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