And people in marketing? She is in marketing. I seem to recall when she first interviewed for the job it was for a “data analyst”, and thats what I would say for awhile, but she said " it’s digital marketing."
BTW, I have seen some “cherry picking” among “scientists” as well.
MGM, does that mean another Vegas lobster story to come one day?
Then they aren’t very good scientists. Always question, always look for bad assumptions. I don’t trust anyone, including myself. Footnotes. Peer review. The best experiments are those that lead to a change in perspective that leads to learning. Same with analysis. Think … Copernicus.
I agree. I was trying to be tactful. The association of aluminum with Alzheimers is another example which still echoes through food fora. Thoroughly debunked it just won’t go away. I call this the FoodBabe effect.
I was thinking the area between science and marketing might be more grey than black ad white.
I can pretty much assure you there will never be another Vegas (let along Vegas lobster) story. Long after the lobster story I had an office in Vegas for about 6 years and during that time Vegas kicked my ass in ways that make the lobster story seem like kindergarten. Both of my kids wanted Vegas 21st birthday parties there and I flat out declined. I have -0- interest in every going back to Vegas, ever. lol
So… Chowhound does kick people out. Sorry if that has been rehashed a million times, I wasn’t really around 2015 and I don’t remember all the stories. Melanie Wong swears that CH would never do such a thing.
I had to comment, and this is to @NotJrvedivici and @shrinkrap ap too, so people who are on forum boards, they are really digital marketing people? I’m sorry I’m naive, I really do read forums because I like food and I’m bored. But the main goal of a forum is to market, much like a magazine?
Instagram was a big eye-opener for me. First, the enviroment is toxic af. Secondly I’d see these “foodies” I knew irl and they were promoting shit-food on their Instagram that I knew they wouldn’t eat in a million years. When I jokingly would comment on their Insta, I got the immediate Insta-ban. So… you mean they weren’t my real friends? They just wanted to up their follower count! I’m crushed.
Secondly, the ones that became “influencers” all worked in some kind of marketing, like for casinos, or they were graphic artists, etc… Over a few years, they had tens of thousands of followers. So, it’s like a big ring, they all follow each other and comment, but it’s all for show?
I’m not trying to start drama, I just like to know. Because if I knew it was a big racket, I wouldn’t take it seriously at all. I’ve pretty much abandoned my Insta because I grew disgusted with it.
I kinda feel that way with some food forums and FB groups, the group-think is so strong, sometimes irrationally so, I feel like they have another agenda, it can’t be because they LOVE Costco toilet paper SO MUCH.
I kinda feel stupid for posting this. I feel like everyone is saying a simultaneous, “duh, she finally gets it.”
They banned many of us - put us in a “time out”. I chose NOT to return, and others just left. But prior to the 2015 kerfuffle, I believe they had perma-banned a few members.
Thanks for replying, that’s what I recalled.
Not everyone. I’m not on IG - I keep to HO and a private FB group.
But yes - some people create IG/Pinterest/FB accounts strictly for the click-throughs to generate ad revenue and become “influencers”. It’s just a part of the online world. But no - I would have to say they’re NOT all originally marketing people - perhaps they just posted a funny video of their dog or kids, and it blew up virally, and they realized they could generate some income from it.
My Instagram account is how I share pictures with my friends. it has nothing to do with marketing, and most of my friends use their accounts for the same purpose. Not all - there’s some overlap between the personal and the professional, so friends of mine with bands or gallery shows or benefits to promote certainly do that, too. I think the difference between the way I use the site and the way (I presume) you did, is that I only interact with people I know in real life. I occasionally pick up “likes” or get followed by people I don’t know, but I see no need to reciprocate.
This is really cringe-worthy, but I just followed the template that other “influencers” in my community used (that I know irl, btw). I knew most of them through Yelp and friends of Yelp friends or through this bakery I worked at whose owner was a major influencer, like over 100K followers iirc. I had NO idea at the time that Instagram was a way for them to market and generate income, I just thought this is what you did if you opened an Instagram account.
Then I’d get DMs like, “I liked your post, why didn’t you like mine?” And I’d be, wtf? I was suppose to like yours? I didn’t like it because it looks like crap?
Then I got almost-famous cookbook authors and bloggers following me then unfollowing me. That was the biggest blow. These were people I looked up to and respected. The fact that they’d take my admiration to get one extra follower then unfollow me? Uh-uh, that is just parasite scum behavior. And yes, they were people that regularly get mentioned on CH.
That, and the overall, the more popular I became, the more political it became, especially with my job at the time. So I just dropped it, it didn’t really matter to me.
I guess you came full circle on swearing off CH and the mods and deletion.
Lol.
(J/k - some version this discussion happens every few months, I think 
)
I forgot all about that, so it isn’t my imagination, Chowhound does delete posts at will, sometimes I feel like I’m losing my mind talking to people on forums. Their reality is so different from mine. There’s always that split second I ask myself, “am I crazy?”
And lets be honest, some of the posters there are employees, I can’t believe they’re real, and I miss RainyRamone the most. BTW: whoever is modding the homecooking forum is doing a great job.
Forums, are what participants make of them.
While I don’t think most people come with the goal of making friends, it is perfectly possible to interact in a friendly manner and have a pleasant and cordial discussion about food and related topics. That’s why we come here - otherwise one can read an article, look up a recipe, publish information to a blog, or do other non-interactive internet things, no forum required.
Some people enjoy drama and provocation and trolling more than discussion - this overlaps across venues. Over time one can recognize these users / words / threads and not rise to the bait (ignore them, if you will, whether there’s a button for that or not). Occasionally it’s too hard, as in real life, as some buttons are easy to find and push. This can also be where the mods make a difference.
For me.
IG food pages aren’t really meant for a discussion, though you can get a response back from someone - high profile if that’s your thing - you wouldn’t otherwise interact with.
Yelp isn’t for discussion either - and I don’t trust most yelp reviews. Great source of information, though - I use it for pictures of food and menus when I’m researching places to eat.
TripAdvisor I rarely use anymore - their “top” lists aren’t real, and I’d rather have local info than tourist info for restaurants. If I was going to a small place with little other information, though, I’d still take a look…
Life is too short. Enjoy the discussion, or start one you enjoy, or use other sites you prefer.
I didn’t even know it was possible to DM via Instagram. I would like to be able to do this! Not to harass people, just to make private comments.
Oh yes, you can DM famous people and sometimes they DM back to you, it’s one of the great things about Insta. Like if you have questions with one of their recipes, you can try DMing them, sometimes they reply, I know Stella from Bravetart does.
I think you have to follow them first, I don’t remember, there’s a button on their profile page that says “Message”. Click on it for a private message.
A-HA! Many thanks.
