think globally, act locally

the austrian public service broadcaster finally figures out what "foodies" are! you can not really call us austrians "early adopters", we have the image to be rather cranky, stubborn and a little backwards ... too bad, because i myself like to dive into every new online trend and i like to keep informed about every new digital gadget on the market. hell, i even hop aboard a fashion trend every once in a while (though i am not a girly-girly) which might have my peers raise an eyebrow or two, but sooner or later they all chime in ... i sometimes can not hold back that proud "i told you so!" - feeling ...

you see, the austrian broadcaster is a little like me. when i tell my friends about brand new online things (like flickr back then or twitter now) they shake their head in disbelief, worry about my sanity ... and open an account on these services about two years later. am i really this ahead of my time, folks? because in the digital age two years seems like forever!

man, i should really work for the ORF. they get loads and loads of money from us austrians (about 20 euros per month) in fees and you better not get caught with an unlicensed tv-set - as far as internet phenomena or trendy hightech news they seem not to use that money for the most competent people in their online research. sure, they need to be neutral and they don't want to confuse their old fashioned and backwards readers / viewers (please don't quote me on that) with spooky new trends.

yes, they do say some nice things about foodblog-celebrities in the usa in their article (bravo! good work guys! did you google the word "foodblog" or what?!? too bad they once again concentrated on the international scene and their foodblog-celebrities and did not even bother to check out the few austrian foodies ...).

and yes, the also highlight the lively debates that go on in foodblogs regarding controversial gourmet topics like foie gras.

but they also say in their article that most foodbloggers are merely hobby-gourmets with the power to put a small or medium sized restaurant out of business with one bad review (does this really happen?). to them, (american) foodies (in new york and los angeles) (*sigh*) that concentrate on reviewing new restaurants are critics without morals.

yes, i am a hobby gourmet, there is nothing wrong with that! i actually really like that expression. man, but check out my statistics: would i really have the power to put a restaurant in linz out of business? i highly doubt that ... hardly anybody in austria even reads this thing!! no austrian foodie could ever put a restaurant out of business, believe you me! because nobody in austria reads our austrian foodblogs (don't quote me on that either)! there is a reason why i don't write in german.

what am i saying with this rant? the austrian public service broadcaster, this teeny-tiny broadcaster in this teeny-tiny country in the heart of europe definitely should focus on a trend/hype and get their clientele acquainted with international topics! nothing wrong with that! but they definitely need to think globally and act more locally ... sometimes they really seem like globetrotting wannabes, that lost touch with their real crowd ...

now let me get back to my morning coffee.

aaaaaahhh!
that's what they mean! foodies are impulsive brats that blog before they think!
now i get it!