Online Communities

I had an accusation levelled at me over the weekend, saying that everything I’ve posted on Facebook, Twitter etc recently has involved the word BEER and that I was obsessed, this understandably left a bit of a bitter taste..

What nonsense I thought, ridiculous in fact and although normally I’m a mild mannered man, thought I’d better hop to it and prepare to stoutly defend myself from such accusations at the dubbel.. To prove my point I’m going to have a Bass at explaining why I’m not obsessed, without mentioning the “b” word at all, it’s gonna be Hardknott to, but ale try my best.

It is true that I like a lovely brewed beverage or two, it’s tasty, relaxing and much safer than taking pils. The more I drink though, the more I learn and I only seek to pass on that knowledge, wort and all, by sharing it with the mashes. This inevitably leads to tuns of posts, status updates and tweets..

Not to labour the pint, each time I write a blog post it is published on Facebook, Twitter and email automatically, so instead of seeing one, you can see up to Tripel the amounts of mentions of the unmentionable. Therefore if I’ve quaffed an ale and am itchen to share it with you, it seems Scilly not to tell you all it Wentwell whilst I’m Full er information straight after the Session.

So there you have it, a full and comprehensive explanation of the facts without a single mention of ” “. Conclusive evidence, displaying no obsessive behaviours whatsoever, in fact as you can see I’m completely Fyne.

I answered a plea for help on Twitter the other night. It was from a relatively new beer blogger who wanted some advice on a planned post before committing it to his blog and the eyes of the world.

I wasn’t the only one to respond, I know at least @LeighGoodStuff responded too, there may have been more I don’t know. Being fair I didn’t help much, I just proof read, suggested the odd slight wording change, punctuation etc, basically because these were the guys own words and I didn’t want to dilute them to my own. We chatted briefly afterwards and the post was launched. It’s not important who it was, but I can say it was really rewarding experience wise, knowing that I had been at least some help. It did though stir an idea in my head that I thought I’d run past you.

When I started Beersay I have to confess this blogging business although fun, seemed a bit of a minefield, how create the blog, what to use, what to include, what to avoid, what is ok to publish, what’s not, I could go on and on….

At the time I researched what I could, I had help from local friends, then took to seeking help from other bloggers found from Twitter and Google and basically badgering them with daily questions.

I really had lots of help, with a lot of it coming from folk that were previously unknown to me back then and I thank every one that gave their time. @BeerReviewsAndy, @rhodeshannah @LeighGoodStuff, @fletchthemonkey,@Rich_Barnett to name but a few, but in particular Mark Dredge who I think was “badgered” most of all… In the nicest possible way of course.

Anyway to the point, I was wondering if I could create a sort of “Bloggers Reference” space with your help, where new bloggers or even experienced bloggers could go to for inspiration, help, advice etc. It could be on a page on my site, a completely new blog that I’d moderate and add prospective posters too or even a blog page with shared access.

Is any of that workable, would it be useful, or does it already exist and I am trying to reinvent the wheel??

As a starter for ten I was going to suggest asking each blogger who is willing to participate/contribute, to provide a short post which could include information such as:

Top tips list on how to create and manage a successful beer blog
Advice of where to share, what groups to join, Networked Blogs, Beer Bloggers Unite etc.
Personal beer blog experiences
Own Site link
Contact details, via blog, Twitter, Facebook dependant on choice

Preferably this would include the seasoned beer blog veterans and established beer writers to raise it’s profile a little but would basically open to anyone with a desire to contribute. I think it would be valuable help and would also have a bonus of encouraging new blog visitors too?

Let me know what you think and please RT, Facebook share etc, especially if you think the idea has any merit and you want to get involved, or know someone who will?

Cheers fellow beer lovers