When I’m looking for a place to go out to eat, I narrow the choices down by location first. Whether it’s my neighborhood, a friend’s neighborhood, or somewhere in between, location provides the primary criterion. Therefore, I’m always looking for easy ways to find restaurants by location. StoryMaps on food blogs fit the bill. With a quick glance at my favorite food blog’s StoryMap, I can see if there are any reviews of places in the neighborhood where I want to eat.
I like restaurant reviews on blogs because the posts are usually all written by the same person. By reading just a few posts about places I know, I can quickly learn her taste and deem her trustworthy (or not). Her StoryMap isn’t just showing me restaurants in my area of interest, it’s showing me vetted restaurants. A GoogleMap search, on the other hand, will show me restaurants in the neighborhood reviewed by people I don’t know and don’t trust.
Navigating a food blog with a StoryMap gives me a direct path to relevant content. Restaurant reviews are not time-sensitive, but blog posts are organized chronologically. A blogger could have a slew of reviews that matter to me, but I’d have to dig through her archives to find them. The StoryMap brings those relevant posts to the forefront. (I could also search the tags, but this involves several arduous steps, like typing, as opposed to a mere glance and a click.)
What’s good for the readers is good for the bloggers. Here are some great food blogs that understand how the improved navigation of StoryMaps increases their pageviews. As always, go to GeoToolkit to get your StoryMap and enjoy the benefits. Don’t have a food blog but love reading them? Leave your favorites in the comments.
LA and O.C. Foodventures (Los Angeles and Orange County)
Writing With My Mouth Full (New York)
Adventures in Baltimore Restaurants (Baltimore)
River City Food and Wine (Richmond, VA)
