Kasper On Tap: From the beer blogs: Twittering beer bloggers - Baltimore Sun columnist Rob Kasper blogs about beer

When I first typed the phrase "Twittering beer bloggers," it reminded me of Spiro Agnew's invective about the media, "Nattering nabobs of negativism." I didn't intend it to be an indictment against Twitter and certainly not against beer bloggers. But I must admit that I've had a hard time figuring out the ultimate value of this microblogging social medium.

Twitter first landed on my radar about two years ago and I began playing with it about this time last year. I mostly found it littered by mundane and inane posts about dinner plans and links to viral videos. The first time I saw any real value was last year during Hurricane Gustav when Gulf Coast residents and journalists filed tweets that had real news and public safety value. And in recent days during the post-election turmoil in Iran, the power and potential of Twitter and other social media have become evident in what may be a watershed moment in the history of journalism.

Many of you savvy beer bloggers have been way ahead of me when it comes to finding utility in your Twitter accounts. Recently I posted about Flying Dog, which is using Twitter to reach pockets of followers to let them know about relevant events and news. I've included links below to the Twitter accounts of several of our favorite beer bloggers so that you can start stalking - uh, following - them if you're not doing so already.

For those of you who haven't started tweeting yet, here are some useful things you can do:

- Instant reviews of beers, pubs - Having a good beer in a good bar? You can tell your friends about it and maybe they'll join you for a pint before you head home.

- Sharing interesting things with others - See something good on another blog or Website? Point your readers to it so they can enjoy it, too.

- Alerting readers of your blog posts - Use your tweets to alert followers that you've got something new on your main blog or site.

- Alerting readers of events - Let your followers know about events of interest, or you can even do "Tweet Ups," events where you invite your followers to gather in a particular place so you can all meet face to face.

- Following issues - You can use the search tool on Twitter or go to hashtags.org where you can search for kindred spirits Twittering on issues of interest to you.

Here are links to some of our "Twittering beer blogger" friends. If you're not on the list, please send us a link to your account in the comments.

Rob Kasper

Steve Sullivan

Beer in Baltimore

Yours for Good Fermentables

Flying Dog

Musings Over a Pint

So Yeah, Dood

Comments

www.twitter.com/BrickGrill
BrickGrill talks about beer and grilling--and the good life involving grills, beer and food.

Posted by: Kelby Brick | June 23, 2009 11:35 AM

Check out ChicagoBrewMag, we review microbrews and local bars. We have a schedule displaying when we'll be hitting bars in the area and love meeting new people.

(And I see you're on Twitter and other socmed sites, too - Steve)

Posted by: Ryan Helton | June 23, 2009 11:55 AM

Hey there!

I'm opening a brewery in Denver and blogging about it:

blog: http://startingabrewery.wordpress.com

twitter:
hookedonwinter

Posted by: PJ | June 23, 2009 11:58 AM

Simply Beer:
Reviews, Home Brewing, and weekly Beer Brawl Podcasts.

http://www.twitter.com/simplybeer

Posted by: Simply Beer | June 23, 2009 12:02 PM

Hi! I blog about brewing, cooking, and beer-food pairing over at brew.cook.pair.joy.

My Twitter account is StephWeber.

Posted by: Steph Weber | June 23, 2009 12:12 PM

My fiance and I blog about homebrewing and our beer escapades at Bathtub Brewery, http://www.bathtubbrewery.com

My twitter account is Melomel

Posted by: Mel Ward | June 23, 2009 12:27 PM

Have you ever heard of a "signal-to-noise ratio"?

That's the primary reason I stay away from Twitter.

(Alexander, I agree to a point about this. There's a lot of "noise", but the beauty of it is you don't have to listen to anyone you don't want to hear. Pretty easy to un-follow someone if all you're getting is junk from them. On the other hand, it's a good way to hear from like-minded folks who share your same interests. - Steve)

Posted by: Alexander D. Mitchell IV | June 23, 2009 12:28 PM

b(eer)log --

http://nolanlx.blogspot.com/

This is my home brew blog. It's where I discuss my homebrewing recipes, equipment, and techniques.

http://twitter.com/sean_nolan

Posted by: Sean Nolan | June 23, 2009 12:33 PM

My fiancee and I have a homebrewing blog at www.bathtubbrewery.com. My Twitter account is ElBueno and hers is melomel. :)

Posted by: Ray Merkler | June 23, 2009 12:37 PM

Hi there - I've been blogging about the Bay Area beer scene, homebrewing, and the like at Pfiff! for the past several years, and tweet at rob_denunzio.

Posted by: Rob | June 23, 2009 12:40 PM

Thank you for really expressing how Twitter works! I get questions about it daily. I agree with Alexander that it is a way to keep up with what you want to keep up with! Headlines that you don't have to manual search for are right there for you.

Bocktowntapshot tweets our ever rotating 16 taps and other beer news that takes place at our restaurant and pub. If you ever make it to da 'burgh, seek us out.

June 23, 2009

From the beer blogs: Twittering beer bloggers

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