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The catchall for food and recipe brands online.

Many considered it a sobering milestone in the media tide changes when Conde Nast closed Gourmet magazine this month after a 68-year run. In light of it, a thoughtful article on MediaShift contemplates who is to blame. The suggested culprit is a popular one these days: the Internet (cue: unison gasp). Even more interesting, however, author delves into some of the online efforts of other popular food magazines. Titles such as Cooking Light and Real Simple have approached the Web ambitiously, using their online versions as platforms for user-generated content and community engagement.

These new strategies appear to hold promise and justify the concept of combining content and community. The success of this new model, however, depends on the quality of the titles’ SEO, says the article—can the magazines build a brand strong enough to stick out in the search engine results?

From a personal standpoint, I do gravitate toward food Web sites I know and trust. After all, on my less adventurous days, I would choose to eat my favorite dishes in my familiar places instead of a sketchy looking diner. I like what I’m seeing on food Web sites and hope the magazines succeed!

Learn about the new foodie models in the full MediaShift article.

By Noelle Chun