Blogging can’t die

June 10, 2012 in blogs with 10 Comments

 

Blogging can’t die. Take the original meaning of the word blog; it comes from the contraction of “web” as in the world wide web, and “log” as in to log ideas, or journaling. Today, and forever, there will be people logging what they think about all manner of subjects that they are passionate about.

I recently saw the statement on Twitter that blogging is dead. Sorry, you cannot kill an idea (journaling) that has persisted since man first took quill to parchment.

Seeing that we work in wine and discuss wine blogs as part of our job, we should talk about what a wine blog really is.

If you understand the idea of blogging as an online journal and nothing more, you will see that the idea of there being A “best wine blog” is just silly. As is, frankly, any system claiming to rate “best wine blogs”. Who is the best “runner”? Usain Bolt, Haile Gebrselassie or maybe Fauja Singh?

People often accuse wine bloggers of not being professional. You’re right, sometimes they aren’t. We need our industry to understand that there are a variety of types of communicators who write about wine. A wine blogger who writes to tell the story of their personal journey in wine is not the same as someone who writes about wine futures. And they should not be held to the same standards.

Just because you have a degree, MW, WSET diploma, have written a book, or have been awarded every prize for wine literature that has ever existed, you are not a “better blogger” than anyone else. You can’t, by definition, be better. You can, on the other hand, be: More persistent, Better at Wine Rating, Better at Wine Science, Better at Wine Educating, Better at anything you wish to communicate about. But you are not better than another person who wants to discover wine and share that discovery with an audience, large or small, online.

The blog part is only the tool, or the physical means, used to log your content. I do believe Robert Parker would have been the first blogger if the software had existed at the time. He wouldn’t be the best wine blogger though. He might be an influential wine blogger in certain circles, maybe even indispensable to the industry. That said, I could argue that he is the worst wine blogger when it comes to recommending a wine to my parents. He uses language that they don’t understand and talks about wines that my parents are never realistically going to taste.

I happen to be the best wine blogger for my parents. I won an award for it. Really! Ok, so not really, but I hope to one day when my parents finally get around to handing out awards for meaningless family skills.

So, to all you people who think your wine blog is more important than another person’s: Get over it! You’re one of many. You may be the best in your niche, or for your audience, and for that I applaud you. The truth is that a blog is publishing tool. Go find a cool way to use it. Quit worrying about what other people are doing. There are plenty of audiences out there, find your own. Or if you have it, remember to give them what they want, which I assume is wine content. Publish it however you want, wherever you want, whenever you want. Have fun. Or don’t, I don’t care.

 

Update: I was remiss in not crediting the image. Tombstone image courtesy of the Tombstone Generator [Robert]

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About Ryan Opaz: I am cofounder of the European Wine Bloggers Conference, Born Digital Wine Awards and run fun things like: The Access Zone at the #LIWF. Contact me if you want someone to speak about where the internet and wine intersect. I am a Liquid Agnostic.

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  • http://www.winetravelmedia.com/about Wink Lorch

    Well said, Ryan. I once read you assert that, taken with its literal and original meaning, a blog could be a status update on FB or Twitter (in which case as the writer in question tweeted that blogging is dead, it can’t be by his own very definition and was just sharing sensationalist claptrap).

    Also as a founder of the European Wine Bloggers Conference you welcomed bloggers who didn’t even have a blog. But, it should also be noted that the latter conference is dead, even if, thank goodness EWBC survives as the Digital Wine Communications Conference…

    • http://thirstforwine.co.uk thirstforwine

      to be fair, the EWBC is not ‘dead’ it grew from JUST blogging to encompass all forms of wine content creation irrespective of the tools employed (though emphasising the ‘digital’ aspect). We didn’t remove the blogging part, we just felt it was too narrow a definition going forward. 

      • http://www.winetravelmedia.com/about Wink Lorch

        As I said EWBC survives, I fully applaud your decision to change the name :) Was just making a pedantic point.

  • http://www.missinwine.com/ Caroline Henry

    Great post Ryan!! I really like the your definition of blog as a tool to log your content – as this is exactly what it is. It is a way to express oneself – in a similar way as graffiti and street art are. And I guess like with the 2 latter examples some bloggers identify themselves with the medium the use to express their opinions. Part of me feels like shaking people who need to identify themselves with their tools and tell them to get a life – but I guess it is their choice – just wish they would not bombard us with all the posts about the death or not of their tool (blogging) or the need to prove they are better than peers using the same tools…  Hope they read this post and give us a break!!!

    • http://www.catavino.net Ryan Opaz

      Thanks

  • http://twitter.com/italianwineguy Alfonso Cevola

    looks like you have provided ample fodder for the Hosemaster with this post – or was it the other once-upon-a-time blogger who no longer works in this medium – Bravo, Ryan!

    • http://www.catavino.net Ryan Opaz

      :)

  • Alana Gentry

    Right on! I 100% agree with the last paragraph, sums up my thoughts exactly!

  • http://twitter.com/chilecopadevino chilecopadevino

    From broadsheet articles to short blog pieces to 144
    characters twitter feeds, the youth of today are brain dead if anyone on twitter
    thinks blogging is dead. I find the attention span of younger people very short
    many act as if they have ADD no wonder so many have been diagnosed as such.
    They think 144 characters are all that is necessary to get their news.

  • roberto mazzei

    The day blogging is dead? None of us will become aware! Not a single human being will be then alive. Yes, technologies may change, the names we give to concepts may be changed, but it won’t be a question of 144 characters. Congrats, this is an intelligent way of blogging!!