Foodista.com
Encyclopedia
Foodista.com is an editable online encyclopedia
of culinary information. Foodista is built by both registered community members and anonymous contributors through a structured wiki. With all content available under a Creative Commons
Attribution 3.0 license, the site contains articles on recipe
s and foods as well as cooking tools and techniques.
in format, Foodista aims to be an open, collaborative resource for information about all aspects of food and food preparation. Rather than soliciting particular celebrity chef
s to contribute their version of recipes and distributing them online, the site creates recipes by allowing anyone to write them. It also discourages multiple articles on the same subject, instead asking that writers work together to create a single comprehensive one. Some have criticized the site for its egalitarian, user-generated content
approach to food information, charging that it can produce inaccuracies in recipes.
The site's wiki is a custom one built on the Django framework which also incorporates social networking features such as user profiles. Rather than a free-form page, Foodista articles are broken up in to topical sections (such as ingredients) upon creation, which you can then edit though dedicated fields. Foodista already has several hundred thousand entries, and is coordinating with bloggers (they have an embeddable widget
for blogs) and culinary school students to expand their content further. In addition to written content, the site allows uploading of photos, and also automatically draws in freely licensed images from Flickr
.
, Sheri Wetherell, and Colin Saunders in February, 2008, Foodista's personnel primarily come from an Internet enterprise background; several have worked for Amazon
previously. Dorfman also worked at Portland Oregon's Marsee Baking prior to entering the tech industry. Foodista is based in Seattle Washington.
The business model
is first and foremost reliant on advertising
, but Foodista hopes to incorporate coupon
s and other promotions from food companies in the future. Despite heavy competition from a wide array of more popular culinary websites, the founders assert that the audience for gastronomic information online has yet to be exhausted.
Encyclopedia
An encyclopedia is a type of reference work, a compendium holding a summary of information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
of culinary information. Foodista is built by both registered community members and anonymous contributors through a structured wiki. With all content available under a Creative Commons
Creative Commons
Creative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...
Attribution 3.0 license, the site contains articles on recipe
Recipe
A recipe is a set of instructions that describe how to prepare or make something, especially a culinary dish.-Components:Modern culinary recipes normally consist of several components*The name of the dish...
s and foods as well as cooking tools and techniques.
Content
Having been compared to both Wikipedia and the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
in format, Foodista aims to be an open, collaborative resource for information about all aspects of food and food preparation. Rather than soliciting particular celebrity chef
Celebrity chef
A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become famous and well known. Today celebrity chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations via mass media, especially television. Historically, celebrity chefs have included Antoine Carême and Martino da Como.-External...
s to contribute their version of recipes and distributing them online, the site creates recipes by allowing anyone to write them. It also discourages multiple articles on the same subject, instead asking that writers work together to create a single comprehensive one. Some have criticized the site for its egalitarian, user-generated content
User-generated content
User generated content covers a range of media content available in a range of modern communications technologies. It entered mainstream usage during 2005 having arisen in web publishing and new media content production circles...
approach to food information, charging that it can produce inaccuracies in recipes.
The site's wiki is a custom one built on the Django framework which also incorporates social networking features such as user profiles. Rather than a free-form page, Foodista articles are broken up in to topical sections (such as ingredients) upon creation, which you can then edit though dedicated fields. Foodista already has several hundred thousand entries, and is coordinating with bloggers (they have an embeddable widget
Web widget
In computing a web widget is a software widget for the web. It's a small application that can be installed and executed within a web page by an end user. They are derived from the idea of code reuse. Other terms used to describe web widgets include: portlet, gadget, badge, module, webjit, capsule,...
for blogs) and culinary school students to expand their content further. In addition to written content, the site allows uploading of photos, and also automatically draws in freely licensed images from Flickr
Flickr
Flickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...
.
History
Founded by Barnaby DorfmanBarnaby Dorfman
Barnaby Dorfman is an American businessman. He is the founder and CEO of Foodista. His previous employment includes a role as chief product officer at kyte.tv, and executive positions at Peerflix.com and Amazon's A9.com....
, Sheri Wetherell, and Colin Saunders in February, 2008, Foodista's personnel primarily come from an Internet enterprise background; several have worked for Amazon
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
previously. Dorfman also worked at Portland Oregon's Marsee Baking prior to entering the tech industry. Foodista is based in Seattle Washington.
The business model
Business model
A business model describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value...
is first and foremost reliant on advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
, but Foodista hopes to incorporate coupon
Coupon
In marketing, a coupon is a ticket or document that can be exchanged for a financial discount or rebate when purchasing a product. Customarily, coupons are issued by manufacturers of consumer packaged goods or by retailers, to be used in retail stores as a part of sales promotions...
s and other promotions from food companies in the future. Despite heavy competition from a wide array of more popular culinary websites, the founders assert that the audience for gastronomic information online has yet to be exhausted.