Food transmedia: which came first, the supply or the demand?

When the iPad launched, the press rumbled about how foodie applications would come in the plenty, then numerous blogs and even big media started to add food-centric sites. News network CNN is the latest to jump on board with their Eatocracy site that launched on June 17.

It is one thing to be immersed in food news if you are a food critic or writer but it has become a media force and the question remains if it is a trend based on interest or whether it's constructed by the media.

Eating and preparing food crosses so many aspects of one's life whether it be social, health, art, education, sign of love, or familial/cultural tradition so it's logical that people would want to share the experience virtually and virally.

In addition to CNN's Eatocracy, news blog HuffingtonPost launched a food section in April, and Tina Brown's The Daily Beast has The Hungry Beast.

Along with mainstream news media jumping on the food train - transmedia projects have emerged as a new trend with the internet channel Revision3's "Food Mob," a social networked cooking series.

The web is also filled with foodie vlogs (FoodWishes.com) and renowned chefs and bloggers sharing tips (DavidLebovitz.com) online and via iPhone apps.

Internationally renowned celebrity chefs (Jaime Oliver) are also twitter friends; Oliver has 497,009 followers to date.

According to Alexa.com, a web statistics resource, here are the most popular food-related websites and blogs to date:

Websites (top 10 in popularity)
AllRecipes.com
Cooks.com
Recipezaar.com
epicurious.com
Southernfood.about.com
BettyCrocker.com
GroupRecipes.com
SimplyRecipes.com
JamieOliver.com
BBC.co.uk

Blogs (top 10 in popularity)
SimplyRecipes.com
Slashfood.com
TheKitchn.com
deliciousdays.com
101Cookbooks.com
YumSugar.com
AskMsRecipe.com
KalynsKitchen.blogspot.com
CookingForEngineers.com
JustHungry.com

The new food information explosion has also brought about everything from secret online global chef clubs (The Daring Kitchen) to anti-foodie blogs (Shut up, Foodies) and even forums devoted to the technical aspects of photographing food for blogging and food photo portfolios (Food Porn Daily, FoodGawker).

Whether or not the media has force-fed the trend, it appears food lovers are eating it up byte by bite - the future holds a whole new world of interactive e-cookbooks.