The concept of blogging is one that has been around
for a while now. The metros have had them in constantly
rising popularity for years, but Goa (until the recent past)
has relatively been in the shallows, or so it would seem.
However, the rise in popularity of social media platforms
such as Instagram and Snapchat has seen many a young
person venture into the field of blogging; food and travel
blogging in particular. However, while this has its benefits,
such as a rising number of bloggers, the downside is that
there may not always be quality control. In a time when
people are ever so ready to pull the trigger and claim
that anything complimentary is ‘paid media’, how does a
blogger maintain objectivity? How does one turn around
and say ‘this is an honest opinion’?
Nolan Mascarenhas, founder of the massively
popular blog, nolansatwit.com believes that there are
many factors to account for in this process. Sharing
his carefully crafted views on the matter, he says, “In
the field of throwing open one’s ideas up in the air
(objectively speaking, of course) is the false assumption
of acceptability from multiple thoughts alike. The
objectivity of food is like Russian roulette from multiple
factors, ranging from the chef having a lovers’ tiff to
the improbability of sourcing the right ingredients, thus
leading to lack of continuity and monotony to produce
the same fare time and again, matching to expected
objectified standards by patrons. As a writer it’s imperative
to understand the perception of the chef to allow a
deconstruction of his food through a presentation
and taste storyline for acceptance and approval from
the concerned recipient. Many a times, this is lost in
translation thus leading to objectivity been thrown out
the window without caution. Influencers and foodies
alike play an integral part in this constructed ‘storyline’
and it needs to be cajoled with utmost love and care.
Failure to do so would lead to quite the catastrophe. Let’s
break it down with an example. I’m not a particular fan
of aubergine, but does that make the carefully crafted
ratatouille unpalatable to eat and describe to my readers?
Objectifying the process and the closeness to home is
something everyone looks forward to in a meal, given
the emergence of ‘Nuevo cuisine’ and international
fare. Objectivity of a writer is paramount as their
recommendations form the quantitative basis of food
making its way to multiple palates, for them to make a
decision accordingly.”
For Dr Kuheli Bhattacharya, who is also the driving
force behind foodietrail.blogspot.com, the key is to
maintain a balance by offering objectivity and also
reinforcing that there are many positives to be had,
in virtually any experience. “My priority is always my
readers. If they are the kind that will visit the place, then
I like to be honest and fair about my opinions. If it is an
experience that they may not be able to take part in, like
a food festival which has ended or a sit-down dinner for
exclusive invitees, I like to share the feel and the magic
rather than the nitty gritty. I read somewhere about
the travelling couple who go by the name of ‘bruised
passports’, and how each picture they post is perfect,
and they don’t seem to have a bad holiday experience
because they choose to delve on the positives. In a
crowded, mucky part of the world, they still manage to
get that perfect sunset picture. Not because it was great
weather, but because they were looking for the positives
of the place,” she says.
Adding to this, Kuheli shares her beliefs that
objectivity is relative, and to simplify, she will sometimes
not mention the dish which gave her heart burn, but
recommend something else which she really loved at a
place. “That is our job. We taste 20 dishes at a place so
we can tell our readers the five things that they should
order. I sometimes don’t go into the five they should skip,
because I don’t get that much news space to write about
both, and no one wants to read ‘why you should not
eat at…’ Also after having eaten at many restaurants, and
getting to know the people behind these creations, I feel
that everyone is trying, and running a restaurant is not
easy. There are off days. It is not an international fast food
chain where they have everything standardised. Food is
an art, there are many different artists, and many genres
of that art and I would like to think of myself more a food
enthusiast rather than a food critic,” she adds.
So how does one separate the wheat from the chaff?
Where does ‘paid media’ get factored in, and how do
bloggers stay away from the trap of letting their writing
get coloured by the money that may change hands for
it? Once more, Nolan elaborates, “Monetisation for the
art of writing and blogging is a trend that has long been
in parlance, just as paid media is these days. My opinion
on that is just because it’s monetised, a seasoned writer
should not be influenced by the same. There are two
independent parallels. Writing is an art form indeed and a
mature writer should not allow the cost of words dictate
the truth behind them. Are we saying that if it weren’t
paid for, it would be truthful? There are two sides to that
story. There are many incognito writers I am aware off
who would go unannounced and craft beautifully written
articles, but they died out naturally in coverage, due to
‘life’ happening to them in the interim. Eating out is a
serious business these days, and let’s not forget extremely
expensive. Having said that, the cycle of advertisement
space versus articles is something people are banking on
these days. Also there should ideally be no demarcation
between traditional media and website blogs. A few
known blogs have coverage that can rival many regional
papers and hence capitalise on the same, much like how
newspapers and magazines run. But in the matter of
objectivity, it’s a sharp sword. If a writer is not true to his
word, it shows through the readership of fans, who will
know that monetisation has ruined the piece, as it was not
objective enough. All it takes are a few bad reviews and
voila, one loses credibility in the eyes of all.”
So there you have it. The experts have spoken. Their
take in one sentence? The road less taken may be long
and cumbersome (and clearly fraught with difficulty on
some fronts), but it can be traversed. It just takes a little
more grit than driving along the highway.
