Food is hot in Singapore, and it’s getting social.
The inaugural Food & Socialikes Connect (FSCSG) was held at Lime House over a week ago, and saw some 50 food bloggers, Instagrammers and blogger-come-Instagrammers tuning on some of the things that FSCSG’s panel of F&B professionals and insiders had to say about the local F&B and blogging scene.
It’s funny how most of us are kind of “competing” against each other for a share of voice in this hyper saturated field, yet our blogs and social media profiles also complement each other in terms of how we cover different areas in food. That said, it was great to finally see some of my favourite food bloggers in person and bask in their reflected glory-I mean, spend a fruitful day getting their insights and strategies on how to be a better blogger.
Oh, and there was also a friendly mobile photography competition after photographer Alex Ortega shared tips on how to take great pictures without a DSLR. No pressure. 😉
The lunch and tea-time competitions centred on capturing our food in the most creative way possible.
As someone who has just started event planning in my new role at work, I think it was amazing how the organizers managed to secure so many sponsors! I personally liked how Soon Huat, who sponsored our bento lunch, was founded to give ex offenders gainful employment (information and links to the event sponsors listed at the end of this post).
Since it’s a blogger and Instagrammer centred event, it’s no surprise that the food should look and taste good. 😉 Teatime featuring a trio of yummy cakes and desserts from The Palette Knife! There was also coffee from Kafve Coffee.
Food blogging and Instagramming is hard work – check out all that action in the background!
One thing everyone agreed one was that social media is definitely becoming a huge part of Singapore’s F&B and blogging scene.
If you’re a F&B professional or restaurant/cafe owner trying to gauge the crowd’s opinion of his or her menu, you need to know what people are saying about it, and how often an update is in order to stay relevant (especially with blogs and Instagram accounts dedicated to sussing out new places or menus). If you’re a blogger who’s starting out, leveraging some of the hotter social media platforms is definitely essential in getting your presence.
Ethics is also a big part of it, though it is sadly ignored not just here but in many parts of society. I was quite shocked to hear how rampant plagiarism is even among news outlets.
Had a really great time learning and connecting with fellow bloggers and Instagrammers at FSCSG 2015! 🙂 Kudos to the team for putting it together and it’s great to be part of this growing community of like-minded writers, photographers and professionals. And not forgetting the sponsors who made sure we were well fed and happy during and after the event!
chueonit.
Chue On It 
Thanks for the write up and once again thanks for supporting the event. Welcome to the community and hope to see u around more often.