Skipping straight to the recipe on recipe websites is sexist & culturally insensitive, according to CNN article

[iamthewalrus_3]

@Pleonast

That’s an effect of copyright law. A recipe cannot be protected by copyright, while any accompany story is. Thus, the scraping of recipes. Not saying it’s right, but that’s why they do it, because if they took the whole article it would be an infringement.

The reason the stories exist is a byproduct of Search Engine Optimization. Google ranks you higher if you have more text and people are “more engaged”, ie, spending more time on the site trying to actually find the thing you want.

There are lots of cookbooks, and most of them are about 90% recipes, 10% other, while recipe blogs are usually the opposite. This isn’t because people want to read pages of stories about food before they find an ingredients list, it’s because an algorithm favored it.

@Odesio

I enjoy watching programs where the chef talks about the dish or the host takes us to where the ingredients are grown, talks to people who have been making it for years, and gives us the cultural context of the food. But when I’m looking for a recipe online I’m not usually interested in any of that. It’s not that I don’t value it. It’s just not a priority at that time.

Well put. It’s not that I’m not interested in the culture of food, but when I’m on a recipe website, I’m trying to figure out how long before dinner I have to start cooking, or what things need to go on the grocery list.

@Cheesesteak

a leech website scrapes off the work and resells it as if they’ve done something of value.

They have done something of value, though. They’ve gotten me the information I actually want.

Interesting that the site linked in the article now has a static “mea culpa” from the creators, so apparently they have been convinced/scared off by the criticism.

[DavidNRockies]

@iamthewalrus_3

The reason the stories exist is a byproduct of Search Engine Optimization. Google ranks you higher if you have more text and people are “more engaged”, ie, spending more time on the site trying to actually find the thing you want.

I was assuming the same thing.

Traditionally, drug stores put the pharmacy at the very back of the store. Why would they let you walk in, get your pills, and then walk out again without first exposing you to 7,356 different SKU’s that you may not have been aware you so desperately needed ?

I would guess that these food bloggers’ advertising rates directly tie in to that time-on-page engagement.

Similarly, particularly during the pandemic, I say a quiet thank you to any YouTuber who (I presume they’re the ones deciding) allows me to skip their ads, though I’m sure it’s also a hit to revenue.

[Chronos]

[Moderating]

I think this thread has been too sidetracked by the misrepresentation in the OP. If anyone wants to continue the discussion, start a new thread on what the article is actually about.