Twitter Widgets

I use Wordpress 2.5.1 and would like to put a Twitter feed in my sidebar. But, there are so many widgets to choose from and I am pretty technologically inept, so I was wondering if y'all had any suggestions on which to use and where to find it.

Thanks!


This Post was written by Rachel from www.TheFriendlyKitchen.com

Search Gadget

Since the 'new' TypePad unrolled my BlogBar search gadget has disapeared. I can't seem to get it back up and running. What gadgets do you use to allow readers to search through your posts? Are there any that are better than others?

Thanks-
EB


This Post was written by EB from SpiceDish

If you get lots of unwanted emails from PR flacks

I've been receiving a ton of unsolicited emails from PR people hawking products (many of which have nothing to do with food or cooking at all...) and press releases. I've been emailing them all back to ask them to take me off their distribution lists. One guy finally responded that he'd gotten my info from Cision (formerly known as Bacons) a media contact info database that PR folk can subscribe to for money.

I just called them to ask them to remove me from their listings which they said they would (apparently, I was also listed under "holiday gift guides" which explains all the random tech gadget holiday gift guide emails I've been getting...)

Just wanted to pass this info on to you all in case you're suffering from similar deluges of unwanted email from people promoting things. It may not be the only way people are finding you, but hopefully getting off their database will help cut down on the volume.

Here's their contact info:

Media Monitoring and Evaluation Content Support
Phone: 800-252-1427
Email:monitoring.us@cision.com

It's worth a shot!

Companies wanting to advertise on my site

Hi there,

I've been approached by a couple of companies to advertise on my site. I am very flattered but have no idea what's reasonable. Any thoughts? Thanks!


This Post was written by Heather from The Culinary Chase

My photos and words are posted on this website

I know this is a common problem, so how do you deal with it?
http://www.foodrecipeonline.info/ This website has several of my recipes/writing and photos posted (my photos are actually hot-linked). What can I do about it? I noticed nearly all of Elise's posts are there also. Is this just how it is? We just ignore it? The hot linking irritates me more than the content theft, frankly.

So what do I do?

Katie from chaosinthekitchen.com

Content theft

This topic is a nightmare for all bloggers who are so protective about what they publish and who shouldn't be, right?

I don't check for content theft regularly, but now I think I should. When I searched for the websites that I have copied my content. I found that there was a recipe of mine copied and pasted on a forum (Taste of Home). Although I have commented there (after the long drawn signup - ugh!) and email the editors, etc I'm worried.

What are the actions you take when you've discovered something like this? Do those guys take such things seriously and take quick action? It would educational to know how you guys react to this.

Thanks.


This Post was written by Shaheen (Coco) from Ambrosia

Offline Blog Editor

Hello all- I've fallen tremendously behind in blogging lately, and it's largely in part due to the ever-tightening NetNanny at work: most blogs, flickr, etc. have been blocked.

Now, I always completed my work before catching up on blogs, or working on a post, but of course, the head honchos don't see it quite like that. However, if there were an offline blog editor I could use, then simply upload the post when I get home, life would be a bit more cheery.

Does anyone have any experience with any editors? I would be using a PC & Internet Explorer.


This Post was written by Shelley from Bistro 613.

Key Ingredient.com?

Have any of you been contacted about putting a recipe up on keyingredient.com?  I'm just trying to figure out what the benefit of putting one of my recipes up there would be, thinking it does more for that blog than for my own, but I thought I'd see if anyone had any experience with the blog.  


This Post was written by Curt from Bucky's Barbecue and Bread

Is there something beyond Technorati?

I used to find Technorati quite useful for checking out links to my blog, it was a good way of finding new blogs but also find the ones that scraped your content but nowadays Technorati seems to have gotten worse and worse, I get these flashing ads that tell me (n.b. every time) that I am the 1.000.000ieth person visiting and I have won a prize, not to talk about the badly updated blog reaction list. So now I wonder, is there some other site out there doing the same kind of job but better? I do use google alerts and they work well but I want a place where I can go and search myself. Does any one know something?

This Post was written by Ilva from Lucullian Delights

Anybody getting Wellsphere rush?

Greetings. My first post here (not counting comments). I have received over the last month or two several messages from one Dr. Geoffrey Rutledge to be a "featured blogger" on the Wellsphere site. It's a request to use my content with my compensation being the exposure I'd get to Wellsphere's vast audience. Have any of you taken him on on this offer? Does it come across to you as simply a way to give my content to him or indeed a great way to expand my audience? I'd appreciate your thoughts.

This Post was written by Janet from foodperson.com

Know anyone at Gourmet or Food and Wine?

I have a story idea I would like to pitch to Gourmet and/or Food and Wine.

Anyone have any editorial contacts at either place they're willing to share?


If you'd rather not post them via comments, you can email me at evefox at gmail dot com.


Thanks in advance!

-Eve


This Post was written by Eve from the Garden of Eating

Food Blogger Aniversary Calender Update

I had an idea I thought would be a fun way to support our fellow food blog authors. And help create a even closer community.

I started a calender for listing food blogger blogoversary dates. The date of your food blog's official launch or first post, is your blogoversary.

The calender will allow for clickable links in the description, so you can put your blog's title in the event title, and a description of your food blog, then any links you'd like such as : your blog's link, twitter account, face book page etc.

You can view more details about the calender here:

food blogger blogoversary calender

I also burned it through feedburner. So you can subscribe or use it to add to another feed you are aggregating on your sidebar etc.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/FoodBloggerBlogoversaryDates

I will set each event to continue to be celebrated yearly, so you will get updated every year.

I hope this can be something that is fun and usable for everyone . It gives another way to celebrate and promote your wonderful food blogs.

Until recently you would need to email me with your blog info, but I have created a form in google docs that you can fill out to add your blog (alcohol /food /dining related blogs all are accepted):

Food Blogger Calender Form

If you have more than one blog - you will need to fill out the form again separately for each additional blog.

Here are the food blogs added so far:

Shop'NCook blog
Recurring Event
First start: 2008-09-23 PDT
Where: Switzerland

SpittoonExtra
Recurring Event
First start: 2008-08-31 PDT
Where: United Kingdom

Spittoon.biz
Recurring Event
First start: 2008-08-16 PDT
Where: United Kingdom

FoodieTots
Recurring Event
First start: 2008-10-15 PDT
Where: Alexandria VA

The Messy Vegetarian Cook
Recurring Event
First start: 2009-08-12 PDT
Where: Southeast England

Bake My Day
Recurring Event
First start: 2009-09-20 PDT
Where: the Netherlands

CHEAP FUN WINES
Recurring Event
First start: 2009-01-23 PST
Where: USA

CANDY SNOB
Recurring Event
First start: 2009-01-02 PST
Where: USA

Tempered Woman
Recurring Event
First start: 2008-10-02 PDT
Where: formerly St. Louis, MO ; Moved to Denver, CO

Aidan Brooks: Trainee Chef
Recurring Event
First start: 2008-08-05 PDT
Where: Barcelona, Spain

Wasabi Bratwurst
Recurring Event
First start: 2009-01-03 PST
Where: Carlsbad, CA

Cooking With Amy
Recurring Event
First start: 2008-12-24 PST
Where: San Francisco, CA

The Foodie List
Recurring Event
First start: 2008-10-27 PDT
Where: United Kingdom

Cooking Up A Story
Recurring Event
First start: 2009-05-24 PDT
Where: Portland, OR

Platelickers Unite!
Recurring Event
First start: 2008-11-25 PST
Where: Portland, OR

a good eye
Recurring Event
First start: 2009-02-01 PST
Where: Chicago, IL

Doña Lupe's Kitchen
Recurring Event
First start: 2008-12-04 PST
Where: Los Angeles, CA

Simply Trini Cooking
Recurring Event
First start: 2008-12-28 PST
Where: Trinidad and Tobago

Sara Bakes Cakes
Recurring Event
First start: 2008-09-11 PDT
Where: Westchester County, NY

Renaissance Culinaire
Recurring Event
First start: 2008-12-14 PST
Where: Oregon, USA

El Bloggo Torcido
Recurring Event
First start: 2009-05-06 PDT
Where: Twisted Oak Winery in Vallecito, CA.

Vegan Bits
Recurring Event
First start: 2008-12-27 PST
Where: Southern California, USA

Food Stories
Recurring Event
First start: 2008-07-08 PDT
Where: South East London, England

Becks & Posh
Recurring Event
First start: 2009-05-13 PDT
Where: San Francisco, CA




This Post was written by Amber from Renaissance Culinaire

food bloggers, food blogging, calender, google calender, links, foodie promotion, wine bloggers, beer bloggers, dining blogs, food & drink blogs, networking

Interview with a Foodie

I recently interviewed Jenn of The leftover queen' and it was really informative and fun. I would like to share it with the Food Blog S'cool readers as it will be of some help to the newbies.

Jenn shares her experience as blogger and how she have evolved from a newbie to a successful foodie. Don't miss it.

The Interview


This Post was written by Sangeeth Raghunathan from Art of cooking Indian Food

PR: wait... I: wait... L: wait... LD: wait... I: wait... wait... C: wait... SD: wait...

Top 10 Social Networking sites for a Food blogger/Foodie

Don't we all love Myspace, facebook and Orkut? Atleast I do. The social networking sites helps me to find new friends not only friends, it helps me to meet foodies. Foodies are people who love to cook, eat, visit restaurants etc i.e those who love to do anything related to food. Most of the foodies share their experience with others through theirs blogs. This helps us gain knowledge on various other cuisines. But, it is really hard to locate a foodie in a large group of social network which lead to social networks for a niche.

Social Networking is the best way to communicate with people of your niche and if you want to drive your blog's traffic. Blogs have become very famous now a days. 1 in every 5 blog is a food blog. Wow! it really is huge. How to get to know these foodies? How to introduce them to your blog? The answer is through social network.

Networking is the best way to increase traffic to your website. Making new friends not only increases your traffic but also you get a "real friend". I know people who have had great friends through social network with whom they even share their personal problems. hmm... now you are getting the impact of social networks. Good. Why wait. Let me introduce you to the top 10 social networking sites for foodies/Food Blog.(Not in any order)

Image from smartmobs.com


Group Recipes
Open Source Food
Foodbuzz
Epicurious
Eats
Chowbound
Food Candy
Bakespace
Tastespace
Menuism

Ofcourse Food Blog S'cool is a great way to learn about food blogging. Check out for more social sites for foodie here.

This Post was written by Sangeeth Raghunathan from Art Of Cooking Indian Food

PR: wait... I: wait... L: wait... LD: wait... I: wait... wait... C: wait... SD: wait...

Pitchy, Pitchy: What flies and what flops?

Between my regular freelance work and my cooking blog, I get inundated with PR pitches from flacks eager to get a mention of their product in one of my articles or posts. The vast majority are either off-topic or just plain annoying (what is up with the ALL CAPS thing, anyway?), but I don't banish them all--not that I could--because there's always that one odd one that slips through with actually valuable information.

I am sure I am not alone in experiencing this, eh?

What I was hoping to hear from the rest of you is how you feel about all of the food and drink related pitches you get. What works? What doesn't? Are there tones that work better than others? Are there things that flat-out offend you? (An example: I go a little batty when I get an email from a complete stranger asking me what my site traffic is so they can send me free stuff I don't want. As if!)

Disclosure: I am presenting on this topic at a conference this fall, and want to get as much research in as possible before running off at the mouth, as I am sure to do anyway. I would, of course, never quote you without your permission, but I suspect that you're all going to suggest things I hadn't considered.

Thanks so much, in advance!


This Post was written by Deb from smittenkitchen.com

Facebook Blog Network

.
So for all of you on Facebook (hi!)...are you familiar with the Blog Network application? Are you using it? What is the point?


It just seems like an RSS feed right to my FB page...is that about right? And does that mean I have to befriend anyone who wants to look at my blog? Or, is it just for my friends to look at anyway...


And what other applications are you using on that site for your blog?


Just curious!




Mwoah!



Rachael


This Post was written by Rachael from Fresh Approach

SF Bloggers & Hunger Action Month

This is Sam Breach posting on behalf od Amy Sherman

With Slow Food Nation behind us and the Eat Local Challenge in front of us, I'm hoping you'll make time, and a space on your blog, for the Hunger Challenge, benefiting the San Francisco Food Bank.

September is Hunger Action Month. In San Francisco, a city overflowing with great food, 150,000 people aren’t sure where their next meal is coming from. That’s 1 out of every 4 children

You may already know that earlier this year Jill Wendholt Silva of the Kansas City Star was nominated for a James Beard award for her article, "Food Stamp Challenge: One Week, Four People and a Tight Budget." Now is your chance to take the challenge too.

The San Francisco Food Bank would like to invite you to raise money and/or awareness of hunger in our community. On Cooking with Amy I'll be creating a series of recipes that keep within the budget of $1 per person, per meal. Here's how you can get involved:

1. PARTICIPATE: Try spending just $3 per day on food or $21 a week, per person. Try it for a week or for just a meal. Share the experience with your readers.

2. CREATE: Post a recipe that costs $1 per person and share it with the Food Bank to benefit our local community.

3. DONATE: Contribute to the Food Bank. Consider contributing the amount of cash you saved by spending only $21 on food for the week. For every $1 donated, the San Francisco Food Bank can provide $9 worth of food to the hungry.

4. ADVOCATE: Get your readers to take the challenge, too!

5. FILL A PLATE: Prepare for another blogger volunteer event at the Food Bank, so you can help put more food on people's plates.

The challenge begins on September 21 and runs for one week. Gayle Keck at the Food Bank is currently working on resources for bloggers including a blog, badge, a sample $20 shopping list, fundraising links and special prizes. If you would like to participate in this challenge, please email Gayle, gkeck@sffb.org and she will be in touch as we get closer to the launch.


BACKGROUND: Food stamps were meant to be a supplemental program, but now most recipients rely primarily on food stamps to put food on their tables. With food prices skyrocketing, this is even more of a challenge.


According to the California Budget Project, it takes $50,383 a year for a California family of four - with one working parent - to make ends meet. It takes $72,343 if both parents work. But a family of four is eligible for food stamps only if its gross annual income doesn't exceed $26,004.




This Post was written by sam from becks& posh on behalf of Amy Sherman

Eat my tweets!

Hey everyone,

Now that I am (almost) done with the cookbook and have a moment, I am getting back to other projects. The first thing on the list is a site, not quite live, for which I need everyone's twitter feeds. At least if you want your feed to get a little more visibility. I have collected the lists here in that older thread, snagged a few others, but I need more, more, more!!! 

There's a special (new) account for this purpose: eat_my_tweets because the old account...well, let's just say I set up a new one. If you follow me, I'll follow you and add you that way. More info soon. 

This Post was written by kitchenMage from kitchenMage

Monitor Resolution and Food Blog Design

I'm working on some design tweaks to my site, and one that I'm considering is increasing the width to 1024 pixels, an increase of about 100 pixels. I plan to add some white space between the content area and the sidebars and allot more space for the sidebars. My stats show that 95% of my visitors have screen resolutions of 960 pixels or higher, and almost 41% have 1280.

I've looked at the current design in www.browsershots.org, and it shows that the right sidebar gets cut off at 800 pixels. About 4% of my visitors have that resolution.

So I'm trying to decide what to do. I want to keep up with the majority of my visitors in terms of design without making the site unusable for the rest. I'm conflicted. My gut says to stay put so I don't put off visitors still operating at lower resolutions, but I'd love to give the design more white space between the columns because it makes it more readable, without sacrificing content space.

All thoughts are welcome!


This Post was written by Andrea from Andrea's Recipes.

DCS vs Viking stoves - any advice?

Anyone have advice on kitchen stoves? My next door neighbors are considering either a Viking or DCS (6 burners) and had asked if I had any advice.

Would love to hear any feedback you all may have about either brand (or other brands) as well as features, what to look for, etc.

Thanks!


This Post was written by Eve from the Garden of Eating