"forums" news and stories

FoodCandy is a social networking service for people who like food, a self-described "Friendster for Foodies." Like Friendster or MySpace, there are options for testimonials and galleries of friends, as well as others for food locales. Like eGullet or Chowhound, there are subject- and region-based forums, which have posts dating back to the beginning of the year. It looks like there are just over 400 users at the moment, and I'm curious to see how the site will develop. I have to wonder: if you already use other social networks like MySpace, as well as food forums like eGullet, is there really a need for something like this?

Source

Back in January, I got a letter from CHOW Magazine, telling me that they were temporarily stopping the publication of their print edition in order to regroup. In the interim, their website, Chow for Now, put together some good content. Today I got a small card in the mail telling me that (a) CHOW has been acquired by CNET Networks, Inc., the same folks responsible for the recent facelift of Chowhound.com, and (b) that the rest of my subscription to CHOW would be fulfilled by a subscription to Intermezzo, a food, wine, home and travel magazine. I've leafed through a few issues of Intermezzo in the past, but was never compelled enough to actually buy a copy. Sigh. So far, I think the new Chowhound site is great, mainly because of the searchable forums with RSS feeds. I'm assuming that sometime soon a blend of Chow and Chowhound will take shape. Chow.com is still pretty much vacant, aside from a place to leave an email address for launch news. With any luck, the type of content that made CHOW such a great publication will begin show up online.

IceChewing.com is a forum for people who chew ice. The general tone on the message boards seems to be one of relief and excitement among ice chewers who are all glad to have found each other. There's a board for medical conditions, such as anemia, related to ice chewing, as well as sections for ice chewing stories and recipes. Oddly enough, I didn't see any posts about the dental injuries that are frequently caused by chewing on ice.

[Via The Knowledge For Thirst]

The other day, as I was writing a post about making your own coffee pods, it occured to me that I've come across quite a few websites and forums for coffee lovers. Here are eight of them. As with any list, I'm sure someone will get left out. By all means, let me know of any other great coffee resources online.

• CoffeeGeek.com - Just what it sounds like. Plenty of consumer reviews, articles and a bustling coffee forum with nearly 20,000 users.
• Coffee Review - Articulate reviews of coffees from around the world as well as a huge reference section.
• CoffeeFAQ.com - Got coffee questions? Here are some answers.
• National Coffee Association of the U.S.A. - Plenty of industry info, stats and trends.
• International Coffee Organization - Wouldn't want to leave anyone out. Plenty of info about global coffee trade.
• Latte Art on Flickr - Plenty of frothy swirls to ooh and ahh at.
• LatteArt.org - An Italian guide to creating your own latte art.
• INeedCoffee.com - Another treasure trove of tips, news and other info.