Who doesn’t love a big wet sloppy kiss every now and then? Oh good grief: perhaps it is a wild frontier in the wine industry with the emergence of Web 2.0. It isn’t easy trying to figure out where wine industry, wine/web 2.0 companies and wine bloggers all fit in together and how they fit together. But no one can deny the direction and the trend toward web 2.0 participation in social networking, wine consumers and wine technology businesses. Yes, I’ve covered parts of this topic before (Wineries and Bloggers). And there is something to add to this conversation based on recent blows, insults and online conversations between old media and wine bloggers.
Frankly, I’d like to see wineries sponsor wine bloggers to get to the WBC. I may end up in hot water for saying this, but I believe the community will benefit if the experienced, contributing, talented bloggers are in the room (and not just the ones who can afford to be there). And why not? Why shouldn’t the wine industry invest in the blogging industry as a whole. It certainly isn’t going anywhere. Do we want honesty? Sure. Transparency? Of course. So let’s set it up that way. We’ll need the voices of capable, committed of bloggers (or blobbers) with talent and integrity. Fortunately, I don’t think it will be too hard to find those wine bloggers.
The last paragraph was an excerpt from a comment I posted on DirtySouthWine ‘s blog. I continue to think there is value in wineries and bloggers working together to increase the flow of information, education and all that is extraordinary about the wine experience to consumers and anyone passionate about wine. Initially I approached Joel Vincent regarding a winery funded sponsorship for bloggers to attend the WBC. Unfortunately, resources (human, time) were in short supply to make it happen this year. Alternately, wineries could offer to sponsor bloggers directly. Certainly include transparency, honesty, and what works for your program. The idea is to contribute value, increase access, information, education and promote the wine experience.
Bloggers are different from journalists. They have been called “other” (thanks, 1WineDude) and they have been likened to “Faith Healers” (Jeff Cox). Wine lovers who are moved to blog have also been called influencers (Joel Vincent). Similar to getting advice from our most trusted friends and family, regarless of their certification or education, bloggers are also influencers to their peer-like community. Research indicates that people trust their chosen influencers in their friends and family circle more so than they trust advertising, marketing and businesses. Likewise, it seems many bloggers have already decided that their own audience will determine their value, appreciating their integrity and content. Or not.
I’m hoping to have Joel come on the show and talk about this (a good intro to the bloggers conference, too). I have my take on this, which is probably worthy of an hour’s show by itself.
However, I think that non-commercial wine blogging is perhaps the purest expression of what The Wine Advocate was originally intending to do. Whereas TWA was a product of the 80′s, wine blogging is truly a product of its time. Expecting RP and TWA to “get” wine blogging is the classic fish-out-of-water scenario: they can’t even conceive of what going on, so they react out of fear and a profound lack of understanding.
I liken it to the much-storied peril that print newspapers face.
The paradigm that an individual can easily “hang out their blogging shingle” and build their own audience runs so counter to the print world, it blows fuses. That it can be cheaply run as a hobby confounds them. That these individuals are not so well-heeled that they can afford to buy every bottle of wine they taste is more a sign of the times than an ethical question.
[...] addition, Lisa de Bruin addresses the issue on her blog, California Wine Life. She argues that counter to the crux of the arguement, that bloggers may benefit from winery [...]
Hooray!
Exactly my thoughts (but yours are a tad more coherent).
I’ve been laughing about the “big wet sloppy kiss” quote for days. I kinda want a t-shirt with it.
As always, you rock.
OH! Let’s do that…Like the photo above…get some t-shirts made with that on them for the WBC!!! O you crack me up
Thanks. Most appreciated. Agreed, Randy. Joel is particularly articulate and thoughtful on these topics. Would love to hear that one!
The fact that social media allows the unwashed masses to have a voice should be embraced by wineries as the best way to get their message to the consumer, who is paying less and less attention to the one-way, force-fed old-world method of communicating via traditional channels.
Indeed, Mark, which is where their fear comes from: Their rarefied air depends on exclusivity …instead of the inclusivity of Social Media and the web.
Social media is the best thing that has happened to wine in the 21st century. And the perfection of the fit cannot be underestimated: wine is made for all things social.
The idea of generating industry sponsorships for individuals to attend WBC is great. Alas, organizing such a program takes time, and some sort of criteria. Maybe in 2010. Meanwhile, I look forward to sponsoring myself to go this year.
[...] there was a controversial thread on erobertparker.com that led to responses from all over the wine blogging world. I am not going to sum up all the arguments or debates because I think Michael did a good job [...]