پیوند زنی فرهنگ های غذا در محیط های با واسطه کامپیوتر: خلاقیت و ابتکار در وبلاگ غذای یونانی

This paper focuses on the ways in which food blogs influence the evolution of food cultures in computer-mediated environments. Food blogs provide a unique setting in which to study individual creativity and improvisation, as they make everyday food practices visible, pubic and transmittable. This paper proposes a cultural framework of human–computer interaction (HCI) and applies it to the context of food blogging. It stresses the effects of remediation on hybridisation of disciplines, roles and practices, which in turn lead to individual creative practices in the form of bricolage. Three case studies of Greek food blogs abroad are analysed to illustrate the proposed framework and to develop research implications for human–food interaction (HFI).

The study of ‘food culture’ is a long-standing topic in cultural studies and sociology (Bell and Valentine, 1997 and Lindholm, 2008). The literature addresses issues, such as the origins of national cuisines, the creation of tastes or the impact of migration flows on food culture. Food cultures are broadly understood to be social, hybrid and ever-evolving phenomena (Burke, 2009). Coupling a cultural perspective with technological attributes of human–food interaction (HFI), this study aims to uncover an area of food practice that is hard to explore without the use of digital media: everyday creativity and improvisation by individuals within food cultures. Food blogs and social media contribute to the evolution of food cultures primarily in two ways: they accelerate the exposure and transmission of food practices to a broader audience, while simultaneously rendering more visible and public practices which had previously been private, as bloggers and users increasingly share information and experiences concerning food (Choi and Blevis, 2010; Choi and Blevis, 2011 and O’Hara et al., 2012). This research shed light on the ways in which food blogs become interactive platforms of representing food cultures, allowing bloggers and users to participate in culinary experiences and adapt or innovate recipes (Deuze, 2006). The main objective of the research is to understand the ways in which a national cuisine can be represented in computer-mediated food cultures, while identifying the ways in which food blogs allow bloggers and consumers to interact with each other and develop hybrid food practices (Burke, 2009). This distinction between representation and interactivity has been addressed in new media studies using the concept of ‘remediation’, which explains how ‘transparency’ and ‘reflectivity’ lead to the evolution of new media forms from older ones (Bolter and Gromala, 2005). In the context of food blogging, ‘transparency’ refers to the effective representation and communication of certain recipes and culinary practices through digital media which give little room for improvisation, while ‘reflectivity’ shows users’ interactivity and improvisation to be compelling experiences at the interface. Remediation influences food cultures in both cultural and technological ways and intensifies the process of hybridisation. To understand the effects of remediation on hybridisation of food cultures, we introduce a new analytical framework concerning cultural effects of human–computer interaction (HCI). By reviewing the relevant literature (Foth et al., 2011), we have identified three hybridising effects of remediation: (1) hybridisation of disciplines: computer-mediated food cultures integrate knowledge and skills that range from programming to photography, videography and writing about food practices; (2) hybridisation of roles: food blogging is seen to be a hybrid role, while users often blur the boundaries between the expert and non-expert; and (3) hybridisation of practices: in computer-mediated food cultures, food practices and technologies are deeply intermingled, so that food cultures cannot be realised without digital technologies. Hybridisation provides a novel context in which computer-mediated food cultures arise, while the agency of blending, re-inventing and mixing cultural and technological elements takes place as ‘bricolage’ ( Burke, 2009 and Deuze, 2006). Interestingly, this transition from representation to bricolage stresses the cultural effects of HCI, as social media provide platforms of cultural integration for culinary practices in cross-cultural, hybrid and interdisciplinary contexts. In this study, we examine three popular food blogs of Greek cuisine to capture the experiences of food bloggers who are mainly Greeks nationals or people of Greek descent living in countries other than Greece. These have been selected as examples of food-related content in cross-national settings which represent evolving cultural and food traditions, ultimately using the social medium to disseminate and re-evaluate them. Greek cuisine has been selected for this research because of its lack of institutionalisation in terms of training systems, rules and grades, compared to French or Spanish cuisines. It represents a case in which the social and cultural dynamics of culinary practices, including internationalisation, depend less on professional chefs, graded restaurants and industry associations and more on the ways in which ordinary people maintain and develop food practices. The key argument of this paper is that food blogs mediate the evolution of food cultures, accelerating the exchange of information and knowledge about food, while also broadening the spectrum of hybridisation and interactivity. On the one hand, food blogs provide a platform for the sharing of original versions of food practices, while on the other hand, user participation and interactivity (O’Hara et al., 2012) enable hybridisation of food practices based on structured improvisation (Hebdige, 1979) and bricolage (Deuze, 2006). This has also been described as ‘mass innovation’ (Leatbeater, 2010) and collaborative creativity (Choi and Blevis, 2011). The paper is organised as follows: the first part discusses the interplay between originality and hybridisation in food cultures, and then outlines the proposed framework of ‘cultural effects of HCI’. The second part provides contextual background to the field of food blogging. The third part presents three illustrative cases of Greek food blogging as a conjoint narrative after explaining the research design, method and objectives of the case studies. Finally, we analyse the findings in the light of the proposed framework and discuss the implications for future HCI research.

In summary, this paper proposes a ‘cultural framework of HCI’, and applies it to the context of food blogging. By examining three Greek food blogs based in foreign countries, this paper demonstrates the particular ways in which bloggers engage with remediation of food culture. While all three bloggers engage with transparency in order to represent the originality of the Greek cuisine, they also show reflectivity of interface design to express their individual creativity and improvisation. This varies from the visual exploration of food cultures (Souvlaki For The Soul), to narrative writing about relatively unknown Greek food practices (Kalofagas), and interactivity with the audience (Digital Scullery).