Monday, August 31, 2009

The Necessary Tension between Public Relations and Bloggers



After the 2009 Wine Bloggers’ Conference, there were many bloggers who felt that too many public relations and marketing representatives were there. Not only were they there, but they were there to watch.

Megan (Wannabe Wino) wrote in her post “In the Fishbowl”:
“Have you ever felt like a goldfish? It’s quite interesting really. I think the focus of the conference this year seemed to skew more towards wineries, PR folks, and other industry types. And I felt like people were there to figure out what wine bloggers are, what their motivations might be, and how best to market (I think that’s what I want to call it…) to them.”
Russ (Winehiker Witiculture) wrote in his post “The 2009 Wine Bloggers Conference: a foundation for raising the collective spirit”:
“In the hotel’s meeting halls and hallways as well as in some Napa Valley venues, bridges were not particularly being built between bloggers, PR/marketing types, and winery reps. Perhaps those that were not regularly engaged in blogging or other social media avenues were on-hand merely to witness what all the fuss was about.”
These comments inspired me to dig a little deeper into the relationship between bloggers and public relations.

Media professionals and public relations professionals strike a careful balance in the wine industry. Writers jealously guard the access to their audience while starving for information that will continue to entice readers. Public relations agencies that represent wineries have an over abundance of information that they have been charged to communicate to writers, with the intent that these editors will express such information to their audiences. With the rise of the blogosphere, many more writers have entered the arena, creating an ever increasing pool of outlets for information.

Wine bloggers themselves tend to have very little training in terms of writing for an audience craving entertainment and information. The majority of bloggers are website designers, information technology professionals, lawyers and doctors; occupations that have either given them the necessary skills to run a blog or the resources to experience the world of wine, which can be an expensive venture. Their unifying characteristic is an overwhelming passion for an alcoholic beverage created from fermented grape juice.

There is a prevalent desire among wineries and wine producing regions to be on the cutting edge of technology and media. However, the reality is that the majority of wine producers do not have the resources to follow the ever-changing technological landscape of communication. To meet this need, digital technology firms, advertising firms, and public relations agencies are now in a competition to show that each has the best understanding of the new media outlets. The drive to generate results propels winery representatives to target a wider variety of outlets and any result becomes twice as promoted, both to the nebulous consumer as well as to the client, looking for their hired representative to produce. While sometimes misunderstood, a hired agency’s primary objective is to promote their client, with a strong secondary objective to promote themselves back to their client or other potential clients. This makes bloggers a very attractive focus for these agencies.

Bloggers are currently in search of credibility and recognition. Without certifications from wine education channels, such as the Wine & Spirits Education Trust or the Society of Wine Educators, most bloggers have nothing but their word and their writing to give them defined credibility.

Steve Heimoff, blogger and West Coast Editor for Wine Enthusiast responded to a blog post by Shana (ShanaRay.com), founder of Breath(e) Media and used an example of a wine blogger being invited on a trip to show that wine bloggers can fall into numerous traps that will in the long run hurt their credibility. He wrote in “When blogs go bad”:
“The worst thing a wine blog can do is to shill, however inadvertently, for a winery or region. The minute I read about someone’s “delightful” visit to so-and-so, they’ve lost me. Visits may indeed be delightful, but the writer shouldn’t say so, because it just sounds — I don’t know — smarmy and credulous. If the blogger describes the visit as “delightful” then her credibility suffers, in my mind. What if the wines suck? Would the blogger say so? Or is the blogger so delighted with the visit — with the hospitality of the owners, the personally guided tour of the winery and caves, the lovely luncheon by the pool, catered by the winery chef, and with the gorgeous tranquility of wine country — that he’s unable even to know that the wine is mediocre?”
Shana replied:
“The news (speaking generally) has always had a bias and used scare tactics or fluff stories for the sake of entertainment. I learned at a young age to take the news with a grain of salt… Same goes with anything I read online through a blog, a tweet, a review on Yelp, or even an article in a magazine.

…You stated that you were going to explain the difference of good and bad blogs “for some of us.” My case was that for the rest of us, we read what we like...”
In the end, the only measure of credibility that really matters is the size of a publication’s audience and their influence on the buying habits of other consumers.

Earlier this year Robert Parker was challenged as to the credibility of his contracted reviewers, a charge that Robert Parker has fielded in the past and will likely come across again in the future when he is forced to relinquish his publication to the next generation. However, no matter how many confrontations his publication encounters, the name of Robert Parker is perceived by the wine industry as one of the most influential in the business today because of the influence over consumer purchasing that the Wine Advocate’s ratings embody.

Once a wine writer begins to establish credibility, the agency world begins to take notice, giving a writer more access to different aspects of the industry. The more access a writer has to their subject, the better they become at communicating the nuances and differences, which then in turn leads to better writing and the potential for larger audiences. Then credibility is considered established and the flood of information from the agency world truly begins.

A Survey of Bloggers

In July, I surveyed 100 wine bloggers on their interactions with public relations professionals and wineries. Fifty-one bloggers responded and described an interesting story about how they find their information and how they interact with the public relations world.

Wine bloggers are being reached in a similar manner to how a traditional news reporter is targeted: press releases, focused pitches, invitations to events, etc. The tactics that result in the best response from both types of media are much the same. Mass distributed press releases and story ideas with vague introductions of “Dear Esteemed Blogger” are nearly instantly deleted, while personal correspondence and interaction are rewarded with attention.

And bloggers are definitely being reached. The survey revealed that 60 percent of the bloggers that responded are contacted at least once a week by public relations professionals, with half of those being contacted at least once a day if not more. From anecdotal reports, there are a select group of public relations agencies who are reaching out to bloggers and getting fantastic returns on their outreach. Combined with the fact that wine bloggers read each others’ blogs, the reach of a single blog post can influence another blogger to purchase a wine to review, which then increases the potential audience.

However, just because a public relations agency is reaching out to bloggers does not result in an instant review. The quality of the outreach is extremely important. Only 40 percent of the bloggers surveyed found that public relations assistance was consistently helpful. In fact, 21 percent found that PR people were rarely or never helpful, which highlights the issues of inconsistent quality among the public relations world.

The main complaints that these bloggers had were that they were not being engaged by agencies looking to promote their clients and just being sent mass communications in hopes that they will write about them. What most bloggers do not understand is that this is a common occurrence among traditional journalists and has been a long-time complaint for them as well. This problem is so well documented, that there is a blog set up specifically to expose poorly conceived or written pitches that are sent en-mass to journalists nationally. I leave it to bloggers that are also journalists to tell this story better than I ever could.

The problem stems from lazy public relations practices and just as lazy editorial practices. While it seems impossible for such tactics to yield results, I submit that they must. In the same way that the majority of people would never click on a link in an obviously SPAM e-mail, such e-mails continue because they find people naïve enough to pursue the 2,800,000 Euro prize they won from some far away country, otherwise they would have long ago been abandoned. There are publications and web portals that will publish whatever is sent to them.

Wine bloggers, like the rest of the technologically advanced society, find most of their information on the internet. The survey showed that of the 51 responses, 47 went to the website of the winery to find more information about the wine they taste. The next most common way that most bloggers learn about a winery is by physically visiting the winery. I will accept that this is perhaps biased based on the fact that many wine bloggers live in wine country, however this is a good indicator to show that all aspects of a winery’s image are important, from the wine in the bottle to the people at the tasting room and through to the messaging a winery puts on their website.

It is intriguing how contacting the public relations representative for the winery and reading other bloggers’ reports on the winery were at the same level for the wine bloggers that were interviewed. Almost every wine blogger has a good sense of the other bloggers in the wine category, and especially the top bloggers. The fact that most bloggers do not reach out to PR people as a first course show a possible reluctance on bloggers to trust these contacts for accurate information. It could also be that the public relations contact for a winery is simply not visible enough for a blogger researching a wine to find their information.

Among established wine journalists there has been a prevailing feeling that wine bloggers are only interested in receiving free wine samples, which is what drives a person to blog about wine. There is at least one blogger who promotes themselves as willing to review any wine that is sent to them. There are also plenty of other bloggers, such as Katie (Gonzo Gastronomy) who find this practice distasteful. As for the rest of the wine blogging world, the survey showed the majority of wine bloggers use samples less than 25% of the time to review on their blog. With the current increase in wineries with available samples looking for positive reviews, it is interesting that wine bloggers continue to purchase wines from wineries or trusted retailers in order to find content for their blogs.

Wine bloggers are an ever increasing force in the wine world, and the industry is paying attention. A well written, well researched blog post can become top news in the Wall Street Journal or The New York Times, and has in the past. An event targeting bloggers can spread over dozens of websites. The next step in wine blogger evolution is discovering how the public relations community can work with these writers to not only elevate the wineries and wine regions that they work for, but to also highlight the select bloggers that have influence over consumer audiences.


Note: Rob Bralow has been writing the blog “Wine Post” for almost one year and currently works for Gregory White PR, an agency that represents high profile wine and spirits companies and regions. Any and all ideas and opinions expressed in the above article do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Gregory White PR.


Thursday, August 27, 2009

Been a while since I posted

Sorry for being absent. Between a all too brief vacation, a load of work, and making sure I have something resembling a social life, I have not had too much time to blog. I have tasted oodles of wines, so hopefully this weekend I will write up a short review of each to post each day in the following weeks. I think I will reserve longer posts for topics, while giving a wine review post its due without going into too much detail about the production of the winery.

I do have some exciting news (or at least exciting for me): I purchased an iPhone. I told you exciting for me, so I do not want to hear how utterly boring this news is for the rest of you.

Why did I buy the iPhone? Customer service. I talked to most of the major brands that supply a wireless phone service and AT&T was by far the best. I walked into several retail outlets in New York and I WAS IGNORED by half of them. Unbelievable.

So, I am entering the world of toy phones, with apps for all. I noticed at the Wine Bloggers' Conference that the majority of bloggers owned an iPhone. It gave me i-jealousy. And I will now stop adding the letter "i" to the front of words.

Monday, August 24, 2009

When TV and Wine Collide

There are plenty of people who make a lot of money and then decide they would like to own a winery or make wine. Lil John is now making wine in California, Antonio Banderas owns a winery in Spain, Jay-Z launched a Blanc de Blanc champaign, etc. Sometimes it is even a business decision; a brand can become so large that all you have to do is stick the name on a label and slap that label on a bottle of wine and it will fly out the door.

Or at least that is the hope of the makers of the Sopranos' wines. The brand was launched back in September of 2008 (ah the good old days). About a month or so ago, I was sent a few bottles and I am embarrassed at how long it took me to open them up. I got around to popping the corks this past weekend and I was not disappointed.

Nope, not disappointed at all. The wines were as lacking in flavor and typicity as I could have wished. My expectations were that the wine was being sold on its namesake instead of the juice inside, and I feel as if I were right on the money. The Pinot Grigio smelled nice, lots of citrus and grapefruit with a little minerality. However the taste was so off I had to look back at the label to make sure I was not drinking a California Chardonnay. It said made in Friuli. Then I tasted the Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/Sangiovese blend. Not bad, but certainly not exciting. There was nothing in the taste that I could point to and say "yup, that's a fruit."

Does that make this wine something to be avoided? Not if you are doing a Sopranos marathon party...

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

All about Zin – Wine Blogging Wednesday #60

Five years ago, Lenn of LENNDEVOURS founded Wine Blogging Wednesday, where each month wine bloggers from all over would participate by holding a wine tasting with a similar theme. This gave wine bloggers searching for direction a purpose and a sense of unity and community. Five years later it is still going on and looks to have no end in sight.

The theme for today’s WBW is Zinfandel, brought to us by the brilliant Sonadora (who also happens to have a great smile while she talks and amazing teeth… a story for another time). Sonadora is the editor for Wannabe Wino Wine Blog.


So, for today’s Zin review, of which I am sure there are 40 bad jokes about Zin being written, I have chosen the Titus Zinfandel 2006 from Napa Valley. I was able to hang out with Christophe Smith, the Sales Manager of Titus Vineyards at the most recent Wine Bloggers’ Conference and he let me taste some of Titus’ wines. I thought they were all pretty good. I happened to be in the wine shop and saw a bottle of Titus on the shelf, so I decided to buy it and give it a try.

I opened up the bottle with a few friends that are not really wine people. In fact, one got excited that she knew what legs were. I then started going through the motions of tasting the wine. It was cooked. My friends did not pick it up; to them it was just a wine. There was an oxidized thinness to the wine where I knew it should have been fuller and fruitier. It was really sad, but something that every wino needs to be aware of during the summer. Wines that have been sitting too long on a hot truck, on the tarmac of an airport, in the backseat of your car for too long can become damaged within hours.

Lesson learned, be kind to your wine, keep it comfortable and at a reasonable temperature and always go to a wine shop you trust.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

A hammock and a campsite


I am off on vacation at the Philadelphia Folk Festival! It is one of my favorite places on earth, with good friends, music, and the best vinegar fries I have ever had.

See you on the flipside!



Monday, August 10, 2009

Embarrassing how long it’s taken

Finally I tasted through the Clos LaChance, and I am kicking myself of letting these wines sit in my sample grab-bag for so long. It has taken me nearly three months to taste through these wines. It seemed that there were always other events, other stories, and other wines in my way of these beauties.



Clos LaChance had a Twitter Taste Live event back in June, but I received the wines after inquiring about wineries growing vines using sustainable practices. I got somewhat the best of both worlds. More and more wineries are turning to sustainable agricultural practices, a great way to plan for the future. There are of course companies that say they are doing involved in sustainable practices, just to be part of the group and use it as a marketing tool. To see some of the different ways that Clos LaChance is sustainable, see their PDF here.


And more importantly, their wines are good. I tasted the Clos LaChance Hummingbird Series “White-Tufted Sunbeam” Sauvignon Blanc 2008 and the Clos LaChance Hummingbird Series “Glittering-Throated Emerald” Unoaked Chardonnay 2008. The names on the labels made my acid reflux act up slightly, but getting past that, the wines were very good. The Sauvignon Blanc was fruity, with an upfront hit of cream as well as apricot and grapefruit. The unoaked Chardonnay was zippy, with lots of green apple.

I also really enjoy it when a winery goes beyond text on their website. When I started researching this wine I went to the winery’s website and found videos from the winemaker and the vineyard manager and the owner of the winery. They are not riveting by any means, but each is a short personal view of what is going on at the winery.







Not sure how herbicide helps their sustainability… but I’m just a blogger.

Others who have written recently about Clos LaChance:

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Kissing under a vineyard canopy


Wouldn't you like to get married with a vineyard and roses backdrop? Well, the WineBard is getting married and wants to say her vows (not have the ceremony, just say her vows) in a Napa vineyard.


So there is a general call out to all the vineyards in Napa, how would you like to have bloggers talking about how awesome you were by offering to host a blogger to say her vows.


Her K.I.S.S list:


  • Rose bushes at the end of the rows of vines

  • Picturesque location for Wedding photos

  • Can accommodate four people for about one hour on Aug 18th

  • No staff, or event space required from the vineyard

For more information, you can email winebard@gmail.com with a brief description of your winery and why your vineyard would be perfect for the special day. Entries will be posted on http://www.winebardweds.com/ as they come in and notifying the chosen winery on August 14.


The official announcement will be made on the wedding day, followed by a post of how it went.


Please email no later than August 13 at 4pm PST, the bride has some planning to do!

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Value Sauvignon Blanc

In May, I wrote about the Wines of Chile Online Blogger Tasting. Los Vascos was one of the wineries that participated in this tasting, allowing dozens of bloggers to taste the Los Vascos Reserve 2006. Now I have acquired a bottle from the importer of the Los Vascos Sauvignon Blanc 2008 from the Central Valley of Chile.



Here is what I said about the winery in May:

“In the power hitter spot is the Los Vascos Reserve 2006, presented by winemaker Marcelo Gallardo. I had the good fortune of visiting this winery last time I was in Chile and took a tour of the winery and vineyards. The land there is absolutely stunning. There is a small hill that we climbed up, which allowed the group of us to look at the entire valley at sunset. I also was able to meet Marcelo, and I am not sure the man ever stopped laughing while we were there. It was a great visit. Los Vascos is definitely one of the largest wineries in Chile and makes a VAST amount of wine, although they only make six wines. What most impresses me about the winery is that they consistently produce wine at a great value. It is also worth noting that Los Vascos is owned by Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite).” (Wines of Chile Online Blogger Tasting, May 20, 2009)

A change that has happened between then and now is a recreation of their website. While Los Vascos used to have its own website, it has since been moved to become part of the Domaine Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) website. But I think that might only be interesting to me.

Another thing that is interesting to me is that this wine has been declassified. In Chile there is no classification system that has anything to do with the actual making of the wine. The terms reserva, gran reserva, winemaker’s reserve, super reserve, oh-man-this-is-so-reserve do not mean anything. Instead it is all about where the wine is from. This Sauvignon Blanc used to be classified as from the Casablanca Valley. The 2008 is labeled “Central Valley,” which means that this wine could come from anywhere in the winemaking regions of Chile. The grapes in this wine do come from Casablanca, with additional grapes sourced from the Leyda Valley, a valley south of Casablanca and within another coastal region named San Antonio. While these recognized wine growing regions are close to each other, coastal, and known cool climate grape producers, the moment that there were more than 15% of grapes from a region other than Casablanca in the wine meant that the label could not say anything but Central Valley.

In-country the laws are a little looser, but since most of the wine in Chile is exported, the stricter laws are followed.

What makes this wine so good is that it has all of the qualities you would want in a Sauvignon Blanc for a bargain price. I found grapefruit, lemon zest, and pineapple in this wine and I wanted a full plate of oysters and another of asparagus to eat. All for the price of $12.

Find this wine here.


Disclaimer: I once worked for Wines of Chile

Others that have written about this wine: http://www.anotherwineblog.com/archives/5276

Others that have written about previous vintages: http://2daysperbottle.blogspot.com/2008/08/los-vascos-sauvignon-blanc-2006.html

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

In Praise of the Saint of Margherita

Perhaps not as interesting as my recent topics, but I felt as if I needed to get back to the recreational part of blogging, rather than the academic.

There is no question that I am a fan of the occasional margarita. In fact, for most of college I remember going into the local Chili’s for one or two or three Presidentes. I may or may not have remembered leaving the Chili’s…

With such pleasant memories of college fresh in my mind, I was more than happy to taste a few bottles of Santa Margherita. Yes, the spelling is slightly different, but if you drink enough of them you’ll never notice.

Santa Margherita, founded in 1935, currently makes 32 wines according to their website. Which means it is somewhat unlikely that this is a small company. In addition, Santa Margherita sponsors environmental initiatives in Italy as well as AIDS research in Canada. Hopefully this company will also begin doing some sponsorship in the U.S.

I tasted their Brut Prosecco NV from Valdobbiadene as well as the Chianti Classico 2006, which does not seem to be listed on their website. The Prosecco had medium sized bubbles with peaches and kiwi coming through on the nose. The taste was of white fleshed fruits, but nothing really discernable. The Chianti Classico was smooth, with some rich stewed red berry theme running through it.

Neither was amazing, but then again, I would not have passed up a second glass.





















But, why is the bottle image that is on their website, different than the label which is actually on the bottle?

Monday, August 3, 2009

What is a wine blogger?

Let me start small and move from there.

Blog – A blog (a contraction of the term "weblog") is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. (Source: Wikipedia)

Blogger – A blogger is person who writes a blog (or weblog). Bloggers are not a homogeneous group. They have a variety of personal and professional motivations for blogging and they come from a variety of political, economic and social backgrounds. One way of segmenting bloggers is by their blog type:

  • Personal: blog about topics of personal interest not associated with work
  • Professional: blog about industry and profession topics but not in an official capacity for a company
  • Corporate: blog for a company in an official capacity

Blogging is not a full-time job for most bloggers, nor is it their main source of income. A blogger can also be a doctor, a mechanic, a lawyer or a musician, and thus bloggers typically maintain a variety of professional professions for which the act of blogging is their communicative outlet with the public. (Source: Wikipedia)

Wine – Wine is an alcoholic beverage typically made of fermented grape juice. Wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast consumes the sugars found in the grapes and converts them into alcohol. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are used depending on the type of wine being produced. (Source: Wikipedia)

Note: I used Wikipedia because, when compared to other online resources such as Dictionary.com, I found that Wiki actually gave a much fuller and comprehensive definition. I leave it up to you, the reader, to determine if you believe these definitions are accurate, as Wikipedia is known to be a reference source that can be edited by anyone, even me.

Therefore, a Wine Blogger is a person who writes a blog, in either a personal, professional, or corporate genre, whose content is focused on the topic of wine.

That is it. That is all the definition you need to identify a wine blogger. However, having met hundreds of wine bloggers, there is so much more to them.

Wine bloggers approach wine the same way that sailors approach a dock full of boats. There are so many boats in the water, so many bodies of water to sail on, with a different direction of wind and strength of gust. And each has its own pleasures.


Some sailors like a fast race, with the wind kicking up 30 knots and the boat heeling to the point where you can touch the water with your nose. Other sailors prefer a leisurely ride, a soft downwind day with a cool breeze behind you and the horizon stretching away in front of you.

There are beginner sailors, who have yet to find the points of sail, others with intermediate skill and have graduated to taking a Laser out by themselves to tack across the bay. There are still other sailors that have been sailing for so long that they do not even need to see the sheets in order to know where the wind is or how the boat is doing; the vibes from the hull tell the whole story.

The different sizes and shapes of a sailboat are just as important as the different types and shapes of a wine glass. Each does particularly well for a different situation. A sailor would not cross the Atlantic in an Optimist and a wine blogger would not taste a Cabernet out of a Champagne flute. Well, you could, but you would not get as pleasurable an experience.

Some sailors work on boats to show others around. Some are captains aboard commercial liners, recreated for the long voyage experience. Most sailors sail because of the pure joy of being on the water with the wind in your face.

And just the way that there is a basic definition for a wine blogger, I put forth the definition of a sailor to be “one who sits (or has sat) on a boat while it sails.”

It takes time and experience to be a good sailor and it requires similar qualities to be a good wine blogger. It takes money, it takes commitment and (more often than not) it takes a good teacher. And just because one is a good sailor, does not mean that one would get paid for doing it. More importantly (for me anyway), one might not want to get paid (the topic of another blog post).

Most wine bloggers are not the youth of America. No, these are individuals that have established their place in life and built for themselves successful careers, more often than not in web-design, information technology, medicine, law, etc. Some are in the wine industry, but the vast majority came to wine through a passion for exploring the cosmic universe of their local wine shop.

And when it comes down to it, they are all regular people. They like wine, and have studied and experienced more than the average person. Wineries should treat wine bloggers the same way they treat their best customers, most of the time they are one and the same. The only difference is that what a blogger thinks about a wine is then expressed where the world can find it.

There are many out in the blogosphere who have the necessary tools, experience, and know-how. Some of my favorites are: 1WineDude, Another Wine Blog, Good Grape, My Wine Education, The Passionate Foodie, Rockss and Fruit, Vinography, Wannabe Wino. And there are plenty more that are also doing a great job (see the links on my blogroll).

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Blog Sniping

The Internet is a many splendored thing. It really and truly amazes me that there is such a huge potential for communication and discourse. And that it is mostly used for flinging mud.

Although, really, who does not like a good mud fight?

I submit to you, my readers (Hi Grandpa! Hi Mom!), the following interesting discussions that are happening right now (or recently) in the wine blogosphere:

… And Who Regulates the Bloggers – by Anthony Dias Blue, Editor of Tasting Panel Magazine (Page 4, July 2009)

Rats, the “Established Media” did it Again – by Erin McGrath, Editor of Vintwined

Leave Me out of Your Tail Wagging, Finger Pointing Ego Contest – By Jeff Lefevere, Editor of Good Grape: A Wine Manifesto

Anthony Dias Blue, bloggers and the exposure package – By Tyler Coleman, Editor of Dr. Vino and published author of multiple books on wine

A Controversy Akin to Shakespeare Meets Chop-Socky – By Kevin Keith, Contributor to Under the Grape Tree

Paper Based Wine Magazines: We’re Still Standing – by Steve Heimoff, West Coast Editor for Wine Enthusiast Magazine and editor of his self named blog

Social Media is a Tool People - A Tool! – by Shana Ray, Social Media Consultant and founder of Breath(e) Media

When Blogs Go Bad – by Steve Heimoff, West Coast Editor for Wine Enthusiast Magazine and editor of his self named blog

In response to “When Blogs Go Bad” - by Shana Ray, Social Media Consultant and founder of Breath(e) Media

Beware of Wine Bloggers – by Amy Corron-Power and Joe Power, Editors of Another Wine Blog

“Karma Police, arrest this man…” – by Katie Pizzuto, Editor of Gonzo Gastronomy

Personally, I think this is some truly riveting discourse. Much better entertainment than Harry Potter and The Half Blood Price (you mean there are TWO more movies still to come??? Sheesh…). I love every minute of it. The more discussion the better! The more opposing points of view the better! The new age of information dissemination has a long way to go before we figure out what works, who to listen to, and where we want to get our information. I still read the New York Times (whenever I can) as well as about twenty magazines. In addition, I also read hundreds of blogs DAILY. And of course I watch the most fair and balanced as well as trusted voice in news, The Daily Show hosted by John Stewart.

Professionally, I have no intention of getting involved. It is my job to understand and relate to both bloggers and “traditional” media, even as that line is being blurred with every word published online.
 
Copyright 2009 Wine Post: Wine & Spirits Blog. Powered by Blogger Blogger Templates create by Deluxe Templates. WP by Masterplan