Wine blogging is dead

„So why is blogging dead? Clearly, this is hyperbole. I will continue to blog, as will many others. What I’m trying to say is that blogging had this golden age where people were happy to be defined as bloggers, and there was a sense that the blog was supplanting other forms of online communication. Blogging was cool, it was sexy, and it seemed to be the future. But the golden age of blogging has passed. We’re left with the sense that blogs have never really fulfilled their promise.

Within a short time, I don’t think we’ll be describing people as bloggers any more, the way we have been doing for the last few years. Blogs will still be with us, and some will be very important, but they’ll not be centre stage. Look at wine blogs. There was a time when people were organizing wine blogger conferences, and PRs were reaching out to bloggers, inviting them on press trips specifically tailored for the blogging community, and sending them samples. But with a few notable exceptions, wine blogs haven’t really achieved any sort of noticeable reach, certainly with regular consumers. Bloggers have let themselves down a bit, too, lavishing praise on frankly mediocre wines just because the producer has thrown a blogger tasting, or is keen on social media and attends blogger conferences.

Some bloggers have sold their souls pretty cheaply, too, when subjected to commercial advances, in part because it has been very hard for them to monetize their activities. Very few wine blogs have generated any significant traffic levels. And if you look video blogging, you can see from the YouTube viewer count that there aren’t many people who want to watch videos of people tasting wine, unless they are Gary Vaynerchuck, and he’s stopped doing it now. So should people stop blogging? Not at all. Blogs will continue to be an important communication tool. Blogging is still dead, though.”