Another month of all change – at least outside the top five. This table is virtually unrecognisable from what it was a few months ago!
My return to the top is due to a combination of Young Dredge being preoccupied with starting a new job, and me finishing a freelance adman contract that freed up some time to blog. I think it will be the last time I’m top of the pile for a while… as the readership of beer blogs grows, it gets more competitive, and I’m not going to be able to blog as much for the rest of this year thanks to getting quite a bit of new column and feature work, the upcoming Stokey LitFest, the next Cask Report, and what will hopefully be imminent good news on new books which will need to be turned around very quickly – I’ll blog more fully about those when and if they are confirmed.
You can see the list for yourself. From now on when I preview these rankings (and if you want to preview them yourself, PLEASE drop me a line – it would be good to spread this around a bit more) I think I’ll just pick on one blog that’s showing some action and urge you to check it out if you haven’t already done so.
This month I want to have a look at number eight, Travels with Beer, mainly because it is more focused on pub photography than writing, and we don’t really think about about photography generally when we think about communicating beer. Good photographs of pubs are wonderfully evocative, and Robert Gale from South Wales is very good at taking them. I get a very sharp yearning to just be in most of the pubs depicted on the site.
Rob is one half of www.BeerLens.com, a transatlantic partnership of beer loving snappers with the delightful Kim Reid in Rochester, NY. Kim was one of the people who looked after me on a recent trip to the city, and is probably the only person living in America who wishes she lived in Newport, South Wales, instead. Most people who live in Newport don’t want to, so it’s an extraordinary enthusiasm to have.
Travels with Beer is also brilliantly laid out and put together, and makes me feel quite ashamed of my basic blogger template.
Generally it feels like beer blogging is starting to get a bit more serious, a bit more respected, a bit more polished. There will always be good and bad of course, but ‘noisome bloggers’ (copyright: Roger Protz) have in the space of a few years become a fundamental part of beer communication, and have made it much more diverse, richer and more influential.
Social media + world’s most sociable drink – not hard to see why, is it?
Why have we been taken off the list while other commercial brewers have not?
There's me thinking we were all just a noisesome pain in the arse
What did happen to Brewdog?
I wonder if Roger knows what "noisome" actually means – "Offensive to the sense of smell; foul-smelling". Frequently confused with "noisesome", "Noisy, esp. unpleasantly or annoyingly so."
James – Having been fairly 'vocal' on this issue myself (initially in reference to Brew Dog topping this chart) I do agree that all such sites should be treated equally.
Keeping the likes of Adnams on the list quickly makes the Brew Dog ban look vindictive.
Let blogs be blogs, and let money spinning PR machines do battle elsewhere. But don't just remove some of them and leave others.
Have to agree with James, can't really see why Brewdog aren't here if we are.
Have Wikio actually confirmed they have removed them from the list or is it an error?
I'm confused by blogss that have a respectable placing in the rankings despite not blogging for months on end. How does that work?
Guys,
My relationship with Wikio extends to them sending me an email at the start of each month with the rankings on.
I have no idea why Brew Dog have disappeared. I don't know what the algorithm they use is to create the rankings. I don't know what their policy is on 'commercial' blogs. I don't know why some sits stay on after they haven't posted for a while (though I could make a guess at that one, given how many hits I get on posts that are several months old).
I've given BrewDog James the name of my Wikio contact to follow that up. BUt I have neither the time nor the inclination to become Wikio's official representative on Planet Beer.
So. Did anyone want to talk about my thing on pub photography? No?
Pete,
Glad to see you calling out Beer Lens – I visit it most days and it's updated surprisingly reguarly considering how geographically diverse the pubs featured are.
For me, it's a great site to go to when a long blog post is a bit too much to read after a long day at work. The simple yet evocative & beautifully shot pictures always brighten up my day.
And to your point in general about beer blogging becoming more professional, you're spot on – most blogs are well written and feature interesting articles. Nice one for championing. I wonder if anyone has the time or commercial nous to build up a coalition and publish under one title, a la Huffington Post. (Idea copyrighted to me, 10% when you seel for millions please 🙂
sorry to add to the list of wikio based questions. But when does the wikio website show the new positions?
I'm not in the top 20 but wanted to check if my position had moved.
cheers
Despite the fascinating debate raging over Wikio rankings, I'd like to say thankyou for talking about the importance of photography Pete! Communication is as visual as it is thoughtful and its often the photos that will grab you attention and invite you to read.
I do alot of photography in the area of Cider and some in Beer (more I hope) so this is an issue I am very much aware of.
Well done BeerLens and well done you for raising the point.
on a more productive note. http://www.beerlens.com is stunning. Loved it.
Making me feel a bit guilty for defaulting to taking grainy phone pictures of beer though!
Note to self: must try harder
Cheers all for the kind comments about Beer Lens and thanks Pete for the publicising both Travels with Beer and Beer Lens.
I love photographing pubs and my aim has always been to try and get as many good quality photos of the pubs I visit to try and encourage people to visit them.
Books like the Good Beer Guide and beer review sites are great in some aspects but when choosing pubs to visit in a part of the UK I haven't been to before, I think it helps so much to see what the pub looks like. I've been to many pubs that look bland from the outside yet have impressive interiors.
Hope some of the new visitors to the sites will return and I'm always looking for contributors for Travels with Beer so feel free to contact me.
Can I just add, I've been inspired. I have decided to put my money where my loud mouth is and start a cider photography blog at http://iamcider.blogspot.com. I've got 7 years of images and experience to share and even though I have less time than ever before in my life, I'm going to do it.
Thanks again Pete and Robert – watch this space!
Apparently I'm at 135!!! They have offered the badge, not sure its worthy…!
Congrats on the top spot, always a pleasure to read your blog 🙂