iFood.tv Social Network for Food Lovers
A couple of week's ago, we wrote about iFoods.tv, which was attempting to create "Facebook for foodies." Recently, I was contacted by a very similarly named start up: iFood.tv (notice the lack of 's'). If iFoods.tv (s) is trying to become Facebook for foodies, then iFood.tv (no s) has already nailed MySpace for foodies.
As you might have guessed, iFood.tv is a social network built about users sharing and discussing recipes. Though it supports text/photo recipes, the site really emphasizes videos.
According to iFood.tv co-founder Sharib Khan, the site has more than 2000 recipes, 400 of which are videos. Many of the videos come from home cooks, but iFood.tv also has a production team that films professional chefs in the New York area (such as this one). Each video recipe is accompanied by a text summary, ingredients list, and instructions. The site also has correspondents, like The Tortilla Guy, that it sends out to report on various food conventions and events.
Where iFood.tv shines is their social networking features, which are very well developed compared to the competition. Every member of the site gets a MySpace-style profile (sans the customization) that includes biographical info, a guest book, links to recipes (and favorite recipes), videos, blogs, groups, buddies, and "tastemates." Tastemates is a feature unique to iFood.tv that attempts to match users based on their taste in recipes.
Each recipe page also includes rating, commenting, and fans (those user who marked the recipe as a favorite) to round out the social features.
The site was launched about 11 months ago, and according to Compete it has experienced a large amount of growth over the past couple of months. Khan told me that the site was currently stretching the limits of their servers and that they are planning to scale up their infrastructure.
Embedded is below is a video recipe from iFood.tv member LizzieMarieCuisine, who I'm expecting to see on "Food Network" when she's older. iFood.tv also lets users embed pictures from non-video recipes.
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www.activecooks.com is also a community for food lovers to post videos of their favorite recipes. They also have a social network capability with forum, blog and comment features. It's a great site with a nice look and feel for users to enjoy.
Posted by: Tommy | September 11, 2007 3:35 PM
We did a related post on AltSearchEngines about "Food" search engines. Don't miss the Wheel of Lunch!
http://altsearchengines.com/2007/09/11/food-fight-do-we-really-need-food-search-engines/
Posted by: Charles Knight | September 12, 2007 7:39 AM
It is great to see this post! I am a regular visitor to ifood but I thought it was just a small site. Apparently not! ifood.tv is a fun place. The community is still small so one can really get to know people but given all this coverage that may change soon.
Posted by: butterb | September 12, 2007 9:56 PM
yes,ifood.tv make democratization of media possible,really this site for the food lover, by the food lover,of the food lover...overall a great site for food lovers!
Posted by: ganesh | September 13, 2007 3:16 AM
I am a contributor at ifood.tv. The reason I love this site is that it gives you ability to express yourself in variety of way you can blend in videos with recipe details and stories. However the top ifood.tv attraction to me remains the tastemates, I just keep on changing my favorites to match with new people and make new friends. If you happe to be on ifood.tv add me to your buddylist.
Posted by: Joe Bush | September 16, 2007 3:34 AM
gud website..
Posted by: anand | September 16, 2007 3:34 AM
I love iFood.TV and often contribute recipes, videos, etc. I have tried other food sites and none can hold a candle to this exciting site for content, search features for recipes, those with same tastes, etc.
It is an amazing International Foodie site-watch this one grow.
Posted by: mary-anne/shantihhhh) | September 24, 2007 11:48 AM
PS-iFood.TV is moving servers right now-so watch for faster and improved service that flies!
Posted by: mary-anne/shantihhhh) | September 24, 2007 11:50 AM