Heimoff himself is a victim of this controversy. He is a long time staff writer for Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator. He began his own blog and has been a target of criticism. While he is diligent about not connecting his blog writing to his Wine Enthusiast writing h
e is still accused of editing comments and the like.
The question then becomes is content posted online not as credible as something posted online? Joe Roberts just won wine blog of the year 1 Wine Dude and he has very engaging and informative content daily.Robert Larsen of Rodney Strong vineyards has taken the approach of sending wine to wine bloggers instead of magazine writers, and the writers wonder why we are getting all the wine. A big danger here is that we will begin to have brand loyalty to Rodney Strong or any other winery that continuously sends us wine just so that they will keep doing it. This is where we need to make sure that we are diligent. We need to be great writers, and not simply throw a quick review up with no ideas or content behind it. As the panel judges say, we need to stay out of the "ghetto of simple minded wine writing."
Today, during a panel session winner of the Murphy Goode "A really goode job" contest, Hardy Wallace expressed that he did not feel he was a wine writer, but a blogger. He was met with opposition from Ryan Opaz of CataVino who said that a blog is merely a delivery tool and compared wine magazine writers as printing presses stating "saying a blogger isn't a writer is cutting off the writer, it's like saying that you can only print the Bible on the printing press." This comment, too was met with opposition.
Another issue is vlogging (video blogging) the "old school" writers wonder if bloggers aren't simply putting up videos without content, or posting videos that actually share information and help the reader learn. Take for example Supple Wine, each of his videos teaches the viewer how to do something wine related, for instance why Kristal is so expensive, or how to taste a wine. There are occasionally the videos that show how to open a bottle of champagne with a machete, but they are few and far between. Is this below the "real" wine writer? Time will tell.
I think bloggers are writers, and some of the best writers are bloggers. I think the credibility comes from the source of the blog and the writer. Are they knowledgeable of their subject? If so then I have reason to doubt them and their posts.
ReplyDeleteI think for a lot of wine bloggers credibility is built over time. Proving yourself to the people who read your blog is especially important for people who do not have as much experience (younger people especially) in the field. As long as an individual is knowledgeable about their topic, I don't think the medium matters as much as just finding some way to get the word out.
ReplyDeleteMy first and continuing impression of blogging is that the most obvious characteristic is the focus on text as postings and responses. The writing is primary and essential. How can a blogger who is writing not be a writer? However, it must be understood that not all writers are good at writing so there are varying degrees of credibility, believability, and quality associated with each writer and, specifically with each piece written. This applies to the blogosphere as well as other text based products.
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