After that kerfuffle two years ago with Tastespotting shutting down and then relaunching as an independent site, we thought NOTCOT had decided to steer clear of the food world. So it was with surprise — and tentative excitement — that we saw they’d launched a new site dedicated to foodie eye-candy: Tasteologie.
The site follows the same format as the other NOTCOT sites (and, it should be noted, Tastespotting). Gorgeous photos are arranged like snapshots on the homepage, allowing us to quickly scroll through the latest and bestest from the world of food. A permalink will take you to the original post, and you can also tag an individual link as “Nice!” or “Problem!”
The site has only been live for less than a month, but we’ve been happy with what we’ve seen so far. The collection of links that go up each day feels fresh, relevant, and well-edited. There’s a good mix of recipes, gadgets and products, and straight up drool-inducing food porn. We don’t feel overwhelmed by the number of links each day (as we often do with Tastespotting, admittedly), and enjoy spending an afternoon coffee break leisurely scrolling through the homepage.
This is a “Curated User Submissions” site, meaning we can submit photos and links to our own posts. The editors then pick the ones they like the best for the website. If you’re looking for some exposure for your blog, getting on a site like this can be a good way to go about doing that.
What do you think of this new site from NOTCOT?
• Check It Out! Tasteologie from NOTCOT
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(Image: Tasteologie from NotCot)
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I like it, but it seems to be exactly the same as FoodGawker. I already see a ton of duplicate photos from the latter.
wait, how is this any different from foodgawker and tastespotting? I'm confused.
It's pretty similar, except that unlike those sites, they also feature artsy food concepts, products, packaging, news stories -- more than just recipes from blogs. I feel like it's a more interesting mix overall, so far.
I think food-picture aggregate sites would be of greater value if they specialized more rather than cast an even wider net than the current crop. It's duplication of effort, and is essentially trying to boost quantity over quality. Something like "Healthy Yum" (http://www.iateapie.net/healthyyum/), which only posts low calorie or nutritious foods, is a better contribution because it edits content to suit particular interests.
It just seems like another entry which is feeding from the same trough as foodgawker, tastespotting, Nibbledish, Foodbuzz, and whatever other sites are out there posting pictures and links to recipes that I am not aware of. The bottom line is that these sites are about getting traffic for doing nothing more than picking over pictures for aesthetic value and doing nothing in the way of editorial work. Jumping on this bandwagon to make money for nothing isn't adding value, and I'll pass.
I remember way back in the day, Tastespotting was actually part of Notcot. Never quite heard the inside story why Tastespotting split off.
I agree with Orchid that I would love a really healthy version of Tastespotting/etc.