Competitor #1: Chocolate: The Nature of Indulgence, by Ruth Lopez
NOTED STRENGTHS:
As a published book, this work is appealing as a keepsake or collector item on chocolate. It executes the balance between informational content and reader appeal very well, catering to a broad spectrum of potential readers. For content, this work provides a comprehensive, academic view on chocolate history and chocolate’s societal impact. The information is detailed, easy to read, and vividly depicted through the rich writing style used. Content is also written in chronological order, facilitating the intake of information for readers. For reader appeal, this book is visually pleasing with colorful images and sharp, clean layout design.
Overall, this is a book that does not deter people with overly academic content on one extreme, or too little content and credibility on the other extreme. It invites people to pick it up and skim through it out of curiosity, at the very least.
CHOCOLATE JOURNEYS ADVANTAGE:
As a website, Chocolate Journeys is more dynamic than a published work. It allows for updates and expansion to featured content. Being a website, it is universally accessible via the Internet, translating into increased and continuous public exposure without reliance on a publishing company. It affords interaction and connectivity for users, thus creating more potential for vaguely interested visitors to explore and further those interests.
Chocolate Journeys aims for this book’s same effectiveness in balancing informational content and reader appeal. For content, the website will place greater attention to the international aspect of chocolate history; by profiling chocolate history in individual countries, Chocolate Journeys will avoid incoherent focus on country to country.
Competitor #2: http://www.chocolate-world.net/history-of-chocolate
NOTED STRENGTHS:
This website is close to what Chocolate Journeys aspires to be. It executes the balance between information and visitor appeal excellently. It provides unique and exciting facts on chocolate, featured in diverse areas of chocolate interest ranging from history to “Chocolate Weird News.” It retains substantial rapport with visitors through the featured recipes, writing style and layout, and overall diversity of content interest. Much of the content is also relevant to current society and affairs, increasing the potential for rapport with visitors.
CHOCOLATE JOURNEYS ADVANTAGE:
This website attempts to cover too many unrelated chocolate interests for its content, stretching itself too thin. The focus of Chocolate Journeys is held together by its focus on chocolate, the world, and history; this website, on the other hand, includes chocolate-related topics that are not linked by stronger threads beyond chocolate. Chocolate festivals, for example, comprise a very different topic from chocolate manufacturing. Moreover, attempting such a broad focus for such a website jeopardizes content quality, something which Chocolate Journeys will strictly control for. This competitor cites chocolate history as beginning in the 1500s, for example, when in reality chocolate history dates back to the Aztecs and Mayans long before then.
Chocolate Journeys aims to provide interesting content and create visitor appeal as this site does, but with greater focus on specific themes and better quality control.
Competitor #3: http://www.exploratorium.edu/exploring/exploring_chocolate/
NOTED STRENGTHS:
This competitor website is more focused on education and quality control than Competitor #2, and is another example of a work that establishes visitor appeal with writing style and attractive visual design. Its content is relatable and digestible; it is not overly detailed, but it gives a concise and representative summary of main ideas. This information is to be trusted; the website is part of the Exploratorium museum in San Francisco. Nevertheless, the content is organized in a manner that facilitates exploration and generates a sense of entertainment. It is organized like an online newsletter dedicated to chocolate; its front page has a menu entitled “What’s Inside,” for example, and it makes the website seem like an exciting box to open. Special features also include well-placed multimedia and featured activities, all which continue to contribute to the website’s educational goal while simultaneously improving its entertainment factor.
CHOCOLATE JOURNEYS ADVANTAGE:
This competitor’s overview of chocolate is not as comprehensive and focused as Chocolate Journeys aims to be. The competitor's website covers early chocolate history and discusses topics in science and health, but these topics are not carefully distinguished and delineated for visitors. Chocolate Journeys will focus on its topics of chocolate, the world, and history with greater detail, extending history up to present affairs.
In sum, the primary difference between this competitor and Chocolate Journeys is the degree of focus and detail in content.
Summary:
For all general competition, Chocolate Journeys distinguishes itself in the following ways:
o Material is targeted solely toward chocolate, world culture, and history with minimal skewing toward other interests/motives
o Special attention to chocolate’s international history, with sections for individual countries
o Includes discussion of current chocolate influence in featured countries
o Multimedia and interactive features, i.e. chat forum
o Improved navigation and organization
o Connectivity to related sites, resources
o Appealing and user-friendly, through writing style and visual features
Chocolate Journeys will consider the positive features of its competitors and endeavor to improve upon them, eventually incorporating them into its particular scheme.