Information and food blogging as serious leisure

Purpose: To explore aspects of creating, seeking, sharing and management of information in food blogging asserious leisure.

Design/methodology/approach: Participants’ conceptualisation of food blogging and the role of information in it is interpreted through in-depth interviews and analysis of activity on the UK Food Bloggers Association website.

Findings: Food blogging as a leisure pursuit resulted in the creation of new information sources, for which existing information is a source of inspiration. The content and style of blogs, and so their nature as information sources, was influenced by the extent of involvement in a professional – amateur – public (PAP) system.Information about publics or audiences was of great concern and a focus of collegial information sharing. The management of content implies greater personal information management needs, but the data did not show great awareness of this, rather interviewees were concerned with access management. Pre-professionals had an intensified concern withIntellectual Property Rights (IPR).

Research limitations/implications: Food blogs may be better understood by placing them in the context of the PAP system. Practical implications Food bloggers are sophisticated users of information and ICTs, but have unrecognised access management and information management requirements that have potentially significant design implications.

Originality/value: Adds to the growing literature on information aspects of serious leisure by examining activity within Stebbins’ professional-amateur-public system.