I have decided that I want to analyze food in digital media. Specifically, I am interested in powerful forces in food media, such as social media accounts like Tasty and Delish, which have amassed tens of millions of followers. I am also interested in websites like allrecipes.com, specific food subreddits on Reddit, and the most popular food accounts on Instagram. I would like to analyze what type of content—gifs, recipes, videos, news—garners the most attention, the most reaction, and the most shares. I want to compare and contrast that popular content to see similarities that make for a viral food media post.

I hope to find information about the monetization of these resources in respected publications such as The New York Times, Business Insider, The Economist, Forbes, and other reputable publications that may have delved into the increasing trend of food on social media. How are these accounts being monetized? I may run into an issue in my research in the fact that I am researching social media accounts—this isn’t a usual project, and social media is a tough source to deal with. While content might be hosted on one page, it may have been provided by another user. Since this is a relatively new topic (food and social media), traditional and reliable research about this subject might be hard to come by.

By the end of this project, I will hope to have come up with a thesis that examines how food media can gain massive popularity. What does this media have in common with each other, and how might others emulate the same success with food in digital media?