While the world of internet publications has become saturated with everything from food to fashion, blogs can still have a tremendous impact as a space to collect the stories of those who might not be included in the dominant narrative. Blogs are an inexpensive, unlimited platform that can be accessed by audiences around the world with the click of a button.

Things to Consider

  • Writers: Are posts written by the storyteller themselves or translated into article form based on an interview or experience by other writers?
  • Platform: Who will set up the blog website and maintain it?
  • Engagement: Unlike print publications, blogs are dynamic and living documents that need to be updated and added to in order to hold readers’ attention.
  • Contributions: While space is not an issue, will guidelines be put into place to ensure that a diverse set of voices is featured?

Affordances

  • Blogs can reach a wide audience
  • Accessible format that does not rely on academic or institutional affiliation to exist
  • Fairly inexpensive to create and maintain
  • Opportunity for audience engagement via comments and social media
  • Flexibility of format– blogs can include visual , audio, and written expression
  • Unlimited Space

Constraints

  • Blogs require continual maintenance to retain readership
  • If the narrator is not writing their own story, it is being filtered through the words of someone else which can leave room for misinterpretation or misrepresentation
  • The world of blogs is very saturated, a new blog will have to work hard to stand out or take on a very unique perspective

 

Blogs to Explore

Name Description Link
Invisible Farmer Project Extensive collection of blog articles and photos of female farmers in Australia, created to celebrate and promote female land stewardship and involvement in agriculture and tell the stories that are not told https://invisiblefarmer.net.au/featured-stories
Earth to Tables Legacies Earth to Tables is a food and climate justice organization that works to promote food sovereignty and rethink the food system by revisiting indigenous agricultural and culinary practices. An intercultural collective of food activists share their stories about their place in the system and passion for food through blog posts, videos, and photo essays https://earthtotables.org/storytellers/
Telling the Story Project Stories of farmers, agricultural workers, and family and community members who’ve been impacted by injuries, fatalities, or close calls shared in attempt to prevent future accidents https://tellingthestoryproject.org/about/
The Female Farmer Project Blog featuring interviews and stories of female farmers and the work that they do in a field that primarily recognizes male participation http://www.femalefarmerproject.org/
The Jemima Code Eventually turned into a book, each blog post features a historic black cook, their story and recipes, all in the effort to shine a light on the extensive contributions black cooks made to cuisine and foodways in the United States https://thejemimacode.com/blog/page/5/
The Street Vendor Project Research project and blog collection archiving the personal stories and experiences of street vendors in NYC http://streetvendor.org/
Why Hunger? Articles and narratives of everyday experts, grassroots organizers, community members working to promote narrative change around hunger and food justice https://whyhunger.org/storytelling/
Womyn Powered Food Diaspora Co. blog collection featuring WOC chefs, food entrepreneurs, artisans who share their stories and their favorite way to use turmeric https://www.diasporaco.com/pages/journal