One of our clients, Trusted Places, has been getting involved with a recent twist in the ongoing UGC debate between newspaper restaurant critics and foodie bloggers. The dicussion hinges on the contrast in style and content between professional critics, such as Giles Coren - who are revered for their journalistic skills and ability to write an entertaining review, and user generated online reviews – often characterised as being short, sharp, and brutally honest.
TrustedPlaces, along with many other readers and bloggers, have blogged and responded to Jay Rayner of the Observer Food Monthly, which has been leading the discussion on its Word of Mouth food blog. Jay described his enjoyment of many a food blog such as Food and Drink in London and admitted his only real qualification at the outset of his career was ‘greed and a vocabulary with which to write about it’. Readers and bloggers have responded passionately, and his colleague Graham Holliday has picked the baton up a few days later to provide more context to the history of foodie UGC.
