November 23 2006
Over the last month or so, I’ve been spending a good amount of time checking out blogs—and blogs outside of the normal sphere of blog reading that I already do with wine, food and technology.
With the re-launch of Good Grape I’ve been trying to get a read on what other pockets of the blogosphere are doing with their sites.
And, frankly, I’m trying to get a bead on why wine writing isn’t toppling other forms of wine media like we’re seeing in other mainstream affinity areas. We have no Arianna Huffington. Certainly, wine blogging triumphs are happening on a smaller scale. Though, it’s almost as if we’re granted a seat at the adult table at Thanksgiving, and not barbarians at the gate toppling the Gestapo of traditional media (as we’ve seen in other verticals).
I’m seeing an interesting mix of evolution, overall. Blogging started out as a shorter form of writing; it was a sort of diary style mode of communication. Blogging is slowly, but surely morphing into longer form pieces—not reporting, but certainly more reasoned analysis. In a lot of instances, blog writing is better than mainstream pieces.
I’ve read a couple of football related blogs that break down the nuance’s of a Cover-2 defense in a match up between team A and team B that is not only insightful content, but likely information that couldn’t be produced in a newsroom and if it could it would never see the light of day.
An undeniable trend is the fact that people expect context with their information. Straight news reporting that gives just the facts is leaving people short—folks want to understand the situational or dynamic context to a situation.
The other undeniable fact is that people want opinion. When you take somebody’s opinion counter-balanced with analysis that provides context than you’re coming close to having a 360 degree perspective on an issue that allows you to render your own opinion. They say the definition of intelligence is being able to argue both sides of an issue.
Blogging is and has been moving away from a form of personal expression and more into a communication vehicle to help people learn and understand.
Unfortunately, I think the wine blogosphere can do a lot better in the “providing opinions” department.
I’ve been reading numerous established wine bloggers give an overview of their ethical wine compass over the last couple of months replete with full tasting methodologies and, predominantly, the notion that they don’t write about wines, media, or anything that they don’t like. Simply, those opinions go unexpressed; they are repressed into the “Dale Carnegie” school of politeness.
I find this curious. And, I’m willing to offer up my opinion and say that the benign amongst us would be better stewards for the wine blogosphere if a strong dose of opinion was offered up.
Undoubtedly, the wine industry is genteel, friendly and a bastion for folks that do right for others as much as they do for themselves, but that stance in wine writing will never topple the media elite in the industry and create a truly egalitarian approach to wine, breaking down the snobbery that everybody purports to be working against.
I was browsing Slate, the online NPR-like news magazine, the other day and they’ve figured out this quasi opinion-analysis-reporting angle. Their wine writer, Michael Steinberger, is writing primarily in this first-person style and proffering positions. Headlines, too, leave little doubt about the magazine’s support of his position.
In reference to the Oxford Companion to Wine the headline reads,
“The Most Useful Wine Book Ever”
In reference to Thanksgiving the headline reads,
“The Perfect Thanksgiving Wine”
A Book Review headline reads,
“The latest edition of The Joy of Cooking falls short”
Unequivocally, I know where Slate stands—just as I know what a movie critic thinks about a movie and just as I know where a columnist is coming from … and I’m reminded that Parker attained his position in the industry by indefatigably defending the correctness of his opinion, changing the industry as he went.
Generally speaking, the wine industry is years and years behind other industry in progressiveness, resisting and clinging to a bygone way of doing business. The wine blogosphere should be leading the way, pulling the industry kicking and screaming into a new day of kicking ass and taking names, complete with opinions, complete with calling a spade a spade. Media, influencers and alpha consumers lead the way. Who will join me in this call to arms?
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