A few days ago I published a somewhat controversial post giving you three reasons why you shouldn't become a wine blogger.
Now, I'm about to give you three reasons why you should wine blog. [Editor's note: is 'wine blog' a verb now?]
My intention is not to flip-flop a position. I'm just trying to give you both sides of the bogger coin. And this is definitely the shinier, more polished, 'much-more-coolly-embossed with some awesome emblem' side of that coin. [Editor's note: is 'coolly' an adverb? My god, man, we're off to a shaky start here!!]
Anyway, let's get down to business; here's my Top Three Reasons Why YOU Should Be a Wine Blogger...:
1) You need to be original from day one.
No, you're not going crazy. Yes, this is the #3 reason I listed previously for why you shouldn't be a wine blogger. No, it's not easy to offer an original voice in the wine blogging community. Or is it...? The positive flipside of this coin is that you have a no-to-low cost opportunity to have your voice heard on a topic that you are passionate about - and in time, people will listen to that voice. The line between professional/expert opinions and the voice of the on-line masses is blurring. There's never been a better time to be a part of any topic for which you have a passion.
2) Two's company, Three's a crowd, and 600 is a Wine Blogging Community.
This one might look familar to you also [Editor's note: Sensing a theme here? ]. According to some sources, social media has overtaken porn in on-line popularity. We musicians in the rythym section often say "if you're not part of the groove, you're part of the problem." Well, if you're not part of social media, you're really not part of the Internet. Not only is it a great time to be a part of the wine blogging community, it's ridiculously easy to do so. Hop on over to OpenWineConsortium.org, join (for free), friend me up, and start blogging. Total cost: $0.00. Total time: about 6 minutes.
3) Democratize the Wine World.
It's not often that you get to be a part of history. And history is being made in the world of wine, on the web, right now as you read this. It might sound a bit overly dramatic [Editor's note: OK, a lot], but can you think of a better term to describe a movement that gathers people together (albeit virtually) from all over the globe and tries to put the power back into the hands of the people? That is what is going down in the Wine 2.0 movement; the view of what is considered quality wine is shifting from the hands of a few influential critics, and into the masses. Don't miss out - we just might be onto something special here.
There you have it. Enough positivity to rescue from the depression of my previous post. Come on in - the water's (or is it the vino's?) fine...
Cheers!
(images: gapingvoid.com, suzylamplugh.org, biziki.com, preston.gov.uk )
Three Reasons Why You Should Be a Wine Blogger
1WineDude.com Readers - Save Some Coin When You Buy Your Wine! That, and other tidbits...
The Main Domaine
For some time now, I've been digging the blog stylings of 1WineDude.com friend Jill over at domaine547.com. The domain457 on-line wine store has recently gone green, which is a move always viewed favorably by the Dude. Not that my opinion on green livin' matters in the grand scheme of things. But it's worth some props!
One of the especially cool things about an on-line wine retailer that also participates actively in wine blogging, is that they can leverage the knowledge of the "wine blogosphere collective hive mind" to construct a killer wine selection. Not sure if anyone is also considering leveraging the knowledge of the "wine blogosphere collective hive mind" to attempt an evil plan at world domination, but if I hear about that, I will definitely blog it (but it will probably still only get, like, at most 3 diggs...).
Anyway, constructing a killer wine selection is exactly what domaine547 has done. Case in point: they've got a special category in their product line up called Wine Blogger Sampler Packs. These packs are made up of wines recommended by the wine blogging community, including selections from the likes of BrooklynGuy Loves Wine. Some very intriguing stuff is in them there packs; wish I could order some and have them delivered to PA... but... alas...
domaine547 is kindly offering a 5% discount to 1WineDude.com readers - so check out their store and take advantage of the savings! (Use coupon code "dude" during checkout).
Wine 2.0 in Yo Face
Oh, got another tidbit for ya: this week has seen the launch of a wine-peeps facebook-style online community called the OpenWine Consortium. I signed up as user #20-something. Their now up to 200+ members in only a few days - explosive growth.
It's a great mish-mash of wine consultants, wine industry folks, wineries, wine bloggers, and wine lovers. New groups / discussions are popping up like mad, such as this one for WSET students (wish I'd had access to that kind of brain power when I took my WSET exams!). Check it out - join up and get yerself a little bit of Wine 2.0!
Cheers!
