It had been a
year since the last GF tweetup but none of had gotten rusty in the preceeding
12 months and I think the debate was lively…
What did readers look for in a GF /
coeliac blog?
*
Monika said
she looks for recipes, lifestyle ideas, travel advice and GF places to eat.
*
Elaine looks
for ‘workable family / children solutions’ and usable information with valid
references, either concerning medical matters or ingredients.
*
Happywombelle is
“always looking for new places to eat out safely especially somewhere new”.
*
Jude looked
for more wheat-free but not necessarily gluten-free resources, and stated that
there weren’t so many resources for non-coeliacs.
What did bloggers feel were their key aims
and responsibilities in running their blogs?
* Caleigh
(
Gluten Freek) said she aimed to bring “exciting food and doable recipes” to
her readers, and make that they work. She added she’d never suggest that anyone
should change their diets.
*
Carly said she
felt she had to be careful with recommendations or health advice.
* Sian (
Gluten Free Mrs D) said: “I blog about travel to
show that being a coeliac doesn’t need to limit your life.”
* Matthew (
HungryBoyfriend) said his aims were “to rate places I like, create some noise so restaurants
start to take GF into account, to give feedback, both good and bad. My
responsibility is to be honest and unbiased”.
* Kel (
GFPhotographer) blogs “to let others know that they are not the only ones
struggling, to share my experiences and to help GF business get a bit of
exposure”.
* Sarah K (
WutheringBites): “to become a GF resource for anyone with intolerance, IBS or other”.
* Sarah H (
GFBlogger): “I blog about the best GF stuff I can find so everyone knows about
it, but also to tackle issues, spread awarness…”
As well as being supportive and offering
informative writing, it seemed unbiased writing came across as key for many
bloggers, but Carly questioned whether reviews of products could be unbiased if
bloggers were receiving free sample products.
* Kelly (
GlutenFree Cake Lover) said she’d never say something tasted good if it didn’t, but
had recently eaten poor quality cake at a new café and instead messaged the
establishement privately instead of blogging about it.
* Caleigh said
she only reviewed products she genuinely loved – Sian
agreeing to this – but she does give product manufacturers private negative
feedback.
* Matthew said
he would write a negative review as it “helps educate” and “customer feedback [is]
essential” but hasn’t on other occasions as the restaurant ‘went out of their
way’ to put things right.
* Carly writes
up ‘good and bad’ and tries to be constructive, though pointed out that she
thought bloggers are influential and had a responsibiltiy not to harm a fledgling
business with a negative review.
* Kelly added
that if she tried something truly horrible she feels she should share it with
readers, and Sarah H added she would only posts negative reviews if the issue
were serious.
So was there an overall feeling that a
newer GF establishment deserved more of a chance to fix any issues, with honest
private feedback, but perhaps an established brand was more ‘fair game’? Or
should bloggers not hold back for anyone – and treat all the same?
* From the
manufacturing side, Stevan (
Foodamentalists) made a very interesting remark: “I
stopped asking people to do reviews as I never had a bad one and didn’t want
people to think I was paying for them”.
* Elaine had earlier
stated she was sceptical of reviews and ‘overwhelmed’ by sweet things on blogs,
and
Jo concurred, saying “some blogs I read only seem to ever give glowing
reviews” and didn’t trust these as much. She said she’d like to see more
honesty and occasional negativity – since some of the GF food out there “is
awful and I’d like to know the truth”.
* New cdchatter
@il_pirata
agreed: Surely it would be helpful for some bloggers to post negative reviews
rather than withholding, he argued, pointing out it would help him next time he
was in a shop.
*
Mark said he’d
stopped reading most blogs. “They are always really positive towards
half-hearted products that have been launched too early”. Truth on GF products
is required, he argued, because prices are often high and it would help save a ‘fortune’.
Challenging those who perhaps felt they should hold back on negative reviews,
he asked “Would AAGill give them a second chance?”
There were contrary views:
* On the other
side, Sian said she doesn’t blog to make money in the way newspaper reviews
write for a living – but argued it was more of a labour of love (nb. my
paraphrasing).
* Caleigh agreed
that this was the key difference: “we write about what we like”
* Kel agreed too: “It’s
a passion! We don’t do it for money.”
And:
* Sarah H
was the contributor who perhaps was more swayed by the arguments on the
night: and wondered whether perhaps letting people know about really bad products
was a good move, after all.
Should bloggers not be afraid to
criticise or challenge one another occasionally? The support offered is strong,
but is it to the expense of disagreements which inspire debate or correcting
information which may not be accurate?
* Sian and Caleigh mentioned that they (and some others)
had recently received very unpleasant and nasty comments on their blog.
Some pointed out
that if you don’t like a blog, don’t read it, and if you can’t think of
anything good to say, say nothing, but Monika added that healthy debate and
disagreement can be good. And Sarah K stated she’d valued constructive
comments.
* Caleigh made a
strong point: “Maybe bloggers know much of ourselves is poured out into a blog
– so know how potentially harmful disagreeing could be?”
There was a spin-off discussion on
awareness in restaurant industry…
* Matthew said
knowledge isn’t strong enough. “I don’t think I should have to ask what’s fried
where!”
* Kelly agreed
but said we’re a long way from that – she is “still shocked if a restaurant or
café knows what GF means”.
*
Roland made an
excellent point: “It’s poor and always will be while the industry relies on
employing part-time workers”.
* Mark said he’d
come from the industry: “It’s not great. I hate eating in the UK. Too many
buy in pre-cooked and reheat [and have] no clue what’s in the product. Most in
the industry are passing through – don’t see it as a career.”
*
Laura found
chains to be better: “individual establishments struggle; high turnover doesn’t
help”
* Caleigh said
some have got it right; but sadly many more remain “hard work”. There remains a
problem with lack of servers with knowledge of the menu and coeliac disease.
* This “grinds
my gears” said Sarah K (thus providing your chair’s laugh-out-loud moment of the
night…)
* Sarah H felt
her local restaurants were doing a lot better lately.
And finally:
* Kevin has
started a Plymouth-based blog.
Here it is.
That’s it, I
think. Please correct me if I’ve misrepresented your views – either privately
or in comments below – and I will correct. Ditto if I’ve missed an important
comment (possible as there were some good ones without the
#cdchat hashtag that
may have passed me by).
Obviously, feel
free to expand on or clarify your thoughts in the comments.
I found some of
the remarks on blogging very interesting, and I think my views are very much
driven by my background as a journalist. I view blogging more as a publishing
venture – like an online magazine or paper. One of the key aspects of a
magazine or paper is a healthy and active letters page, where opinions and
views, often at odds with those expressed in the publication, are aired and
subsequently debated. I think blog comments serve the equivalent purpose online,
and is why I like them to be vigorous and a little provocative, and to challenge – and I tried to
introduce a bit of that spirit into the discussion last night.
Would it be fair
to say that many bloggers don’t see it this way – and see it more as the
expression of a hobby, a medium for ‘socialising’, in a sense, and a vehicle
for sharing a passion, for indulging in their loves and in helping others out?
I’d like to know
whether any who took part, on reflection after sleeping on it, have rethought
their views at all? Or might change the way they blog or interact online? Or,
conversely, has the discussion reinforced your previous approach / thoughts
even more?
A few have
already asked when the next #cdchat might be. I guess autumn, post holidays,
might be good, but please feel free to organise one sooner if you’re keen. John
(
GFLifeIreland – where is he?) has chaired one in the past, and anyone else
wanting to take one over and run it how they please is more than welcome to go
ahead.
Thanks to those
taking part, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts in comments – and you
can be contrary and provocative if you like! :)
Labels: Gluten Free Tweetup