Hello foodies and thank you so much to everyone that took the ‘Win Junk’ survey! We are very happy to receive more than 70 replies with a lot of really great feedback! Your feedback has created a ‘To Do’ list for us and pointed us in the direction to go for the next 6 months.

Thank you!
Thank you!
Thank you!

Winners
First we’ve got some winners for you, be sure to visit their blogs. This is an informal dealie, so we are going to keep it simple. Feedback is reported below in an overall with a generalized way. There were no ideas submitted that struck us as ‘insanely great’.

Big Prize (as advertised)
Lori madehealthier.com
Lisa Kuo (no site)

Small Prize (honorable mention)
diva sugarbar.org
Stuart Lindsay flickr.com/thingsimade
Christa isaacstudio.com
Jacelyn Sng daintyflair.net

＊note(s):
Honorable mention was added to show our thanks for all the responses.
More winners were chosen but we are waiting for permission to publish their names.

Background to Survey
Conducting surveys is something Peko sometimes does at his day-job. All bloggers should know that getting feedback from your readers is REALLY, REALLY important. This survey was most inspired while listening to Jay’s interview with Avinah Kaushik on the Ten Golden Rules podcast (info|podcast) while jogging around Kyoto. Avinah works at Google and he mentioned his Three Greatest Survey Questions and we added a fourth to our ‘Win Junk’ survey.

Some of the early feedback from the survey said that people wanted to know more about us – Paku and Peko. People said they really want video. (Our first video was us announcing the survey.) At the same time, I (Peko) had picked up Robit Bhargava’s new book Personality Not Included. Robit’s blog is one that I read a lot to learn all about blogging. Here is a REALLY wonderful video post (PNI Goes On A BeachWalk With Rox) that just sums everything up so well.

So, we are doing more video.

I. KyotoFoodie ‘To Do’ List

A. Content

Do Not Miss List
Feedback: Create a Do Not Miss List for foodie visitors to Kyoto.
KF Reply: Yep. Please stand by.
Status: Not done

More Wagashi
Feedback: More wagashi posts.
KF Reply: Yep. Working on them right now. Regular wagashi posts planned.
Status: In progress.

Q & A Page or Forum
Feedback: A place for Q & A please.
KF Reply: Right. Thinking about what technology to use. Just a single page isn’t going to suffice.
Status: Not done. Investigating.

Video Content
Feedback: Want more videos, want to see Peko and Paku, hear you guys speak, get a feel of the Kyoto atmosphere, etc.
KF Reply: Roger. More on the way.
Status: Done. Three up on KF, 5 on the Mac, more on the way.

Shorter, More Frequent Posts
Feedback: One: “Post more frequently.” Two: “Shorter posts OK.”
KF Reply: Roger. Do keep in mind that KyotoFoodie is a labor of love and that we have day-jobs. Aiming for 2.5 posts per week (two short, one longish), 10 total per month.
Status: In process.

Maps
Feedback: Use one single map and have all restaurants on it.
KF Reply: Right. We are working on it but now we just found that there is a bug in our current version of WordPress that is causing GoogleMaps not to be displayed in posts. Sorry, can’t find the fix yet.
Status: In process. Working on It

More Recipes
Feedback: More recipes. And stuff that we can really cook out here in Kansas. (and Bosnia Herzegovina)
KF Reply: More recipes we can do. As for authentic ingredients, if you don’t live in a huge city over there, dunno. Did you try ordering online? Also, send us photos of your local Japanese food store shelf so we have a better idea of what is available over there.
Status: In progess. More recipes on the way.

Podcast/Videocast
Feedback: A podcast would be cool.
KF Reply: Yes, it would be cool indeed. A podcast is a good deal of work. Would like to do it. How about next year?
Status: Thinking about it.

More Budget, More Super Expensive
Feedback: More budget, more exclusive restaurant reviews.
KF Reply: OK.
Status: Not done. Thinking about it.

Category Organization
Feedback: Categories not organized well.
KF Reply: We agree.
Status: Not done. Be done soon.

B. Visual

Layout
Feedback: Layout is too dull. Grey? Come on! Spice it up, make it as delicious as the food!
KF Reply: Yeah, we don’t like it either. Peko has spoken to some designers about a custom design but we need a budget.
Status: Not done. Will try to make a smart and sexy custom design this year (2008).

More Food Porn
Feedback: More food porn. More big, colorful, super seductive images.
KF Reply: Ah yes, sweet seduction. Peko installed this NextGEN Gallery dealie but hasn’t released it yet. Also, we want to use larger images in posts but need a new page design to accommodate it.
Status: Not done. Working on it.

C. Fun

Contests and Prizes
Feedback: Have more contests and prizes, something like Daring Bakers.
KF Reply: Oh yeah! Want to do! Will need to drum up some sponsorship in town though.
Status: Not done. Peko will court sponsors this summer.

Organize Tours
Feedback: You guys know the town, offer tours.
KF Reply: Yeah, we did think of this and Paku has done this kind of thing. Please see Paku’s Kyoto ‘Experience’ Tour page for details.
Status: Open for business.

Feed Me
Feedback: Will access KyotoFoodie for food.
KF Reply: Ah, we can deliver digital food but not physical food, via the web. If you REALLY want food from Kyoto, visit Peko’s Source Delish! page for details.
Status: Open for business.

Kyoto Foodie Meet-ups
Feedback: Get people together in person and chow.
KF Reply: Yeah? Ah, OK. Sure. Send us an email with ideas.
Status: Not done.

II. The Good and the Bad

Good
lots of images
nice mix (restaurant review, homecooking, etc)
in-depth reports (sake, etc)

Bad
too infrequent posts
dull interface
impersonal: Show the hosts, Peko and Paku more.
no video
poor category organization
multiple maps

III. KyotoFoodie No-Can-Do

Every thing that we can’t do we would like to do, so thanks so much for the input! Maybe in the future.

Searchable Index of Recipes
Why not: Huge project, a whole new site.

Non-japanese Food in Kyoto Reviews
Why not: You can only get Kyoto cuisine in Kyoto, so eat it up while you are here!

Other Places in Japan
Why not: We will do day-trips from Kyoto, but generally this topic is a huge project, a whole new site.

Non-culinary Kyoto Topics (other sightseeing destinations, festivals)
Why not: Huge project, a whole new site.

Fast Food and Junk Food Articles
Why not: Great, great subject. But, huge project, a whole new site.

Hello Foodies and to all of you that took the Win Fine Japanese Junk Food, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!

We will go through the survey submissions and announce the results in the near future. We will also of course be sending out some prizes to participants that gave us great ideas. Stay tuned!

Special thanks to Sparklette in Singapore for telling all her readers on her Want Some Kyoto Treats? post about the survey! Sparklette.net is a beautifully designed blog about the art, culture and cuisine of Singapore.

Hello everybody out there in FoodieLand and BloggieLand!

Hello from Peko and Paku at the ‘Gosho’ Imperial Palace

KyotoFoodie has been a lot of fun for us! We have enjoyed writing about the culinary culture of Kyoto and have learned a lot in the process. We have also made friends with some interesting people from all over the world and discovered some incredible foodie blogs and recipes!

Thanks so much everyone!

Judging from our stats, over the last months KyotoFoodie has become a big hit.

Our next step is to refine and fine-tune the site and to do this we REALLY need to hear our readers.

To help us understand how to make the site more interesting, useful and relevant to you, we are conducting a survey AND will award prizes for great feedback and ideas.

Please take this survey!

The survey is short, just 4 questions. Please tell us what you think!

Details:

• Survey ends May 16, 2008 at 11:59pm (Kyoto time).
• Several prizes consisting of ‘fine’ Japanese junk food will be awarded. The more great ideas, the more prizes!
• For ‘insanely great’ ideas, fine Japanese junk food AND something exquisitely ‘Kyoto’ will be awarded.
• The value of the prize will be about $20-25USD.
• Winners will have their prizes sent to them by post.
• The ‘fine’ Japanese junk food will be candy, chocolate and so on, nothing fresh. So it ought to be deliverable to your country. If it is not, our sincerest apologies.
• Multiple entries are permitted.
• Winners will be notified via email. We’ll ask for your mailing address then.
• If we announce the winners on the site, we will ask your permission first.