Something has been bugging me since the Wine Bloggers Conference... A disturbance in the force, a feeling that we are being invaded by a combination of part giant catfish (bottom feeders), snake-oil salesmen, and that many in the industry are wandering like zombies looking desperately for brains.
Without a ton of time to flesh out my thoughts, here are two highlights....
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I encountered a few things over the course of the conference that left me shaking my head. A few enthusiastic individuals with no prior connections to the Wine Blogosphere positioning themselves as "blog brokers" to wineries-- That will connect wineries to the right bloggers (for a fee). In one conversation, I was told that they would get wineries products into the hands of bloggers that would right something "good" about their wine. WHAT?!?!?!?!? What sort of crazy catfish stuff is that? I'm biting my tongue to refrain from vulgarities.
On the flip-side, I also heard some chatter from eager bloggers saying they need to market themselves to wineries? Good lord, why? For samples? Freebies? Preferential treatment? I don't think there is a short cut to industry recognition-- Continually produce great content, be part of the ongoing conversation, and grow your audience.
I need to clarify-- These are all things on the fringe. On a whole, there is a healthy core of people providing great services (PR, Social Media,consulting, online strategy) and tons of bloggers producing incredible content. We've reached a point where near desperation meets opportunism and people need to do some quick homework before writing checks or incurring costs.
