{"id":1098,"date":"2014-11-07T16:05:46","date_gmt":"2014-11-07T16:05:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beer-syndicate.com\/blog\/?p=1098"},"modified":"2017-05-03T01:21:15","modified_gmt":"2017-05-03T01:21:15","slug":"dan-interviews-dan-about-beer-blogs-blogging-in-general","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/beersyndicate.com\/blog\/dan-interviews-dan-about-beer-blogs-blogging-in-general\/","title":{"rendered":"Dan Interviews Dan About Beer Blogs & Blogging in General"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: \u00a0Dan, you\u2019re a self-proclaimed “beer blogger”.\u00a0 In your opinion, what makes a good blog— beer or otherwise?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: Thank you for asking that personally frustrating\u00a0and almost certainly alienating question.\u00a0 It reminds me of that quasi self-deprecating scene from Showtime\u2019s Californication<\/em> (a.k.a. Sex and the City<\/em> for men), where David Duchovny\u2019s character, Hank Moody, the\u00a0drinking, womanizing, troubled novelist\u00a0suffering from writer’s block, is being interviewed by a radio show host played by the great Henry Rollins when the topic of blogging pops\u00a0up.<\/span><\/p>\n

Seeing as how you are me, you probably remember it too.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: \u00a0Yeah, that\u2019s where I got the idea to interview you\/us about blogging in the first place, but in the interest of not leaning on the fourth wall too much, refresh my memory.\u00a0 <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Radio Show Host<\/em><\/span>: What’s your latest obsession?<\/span>
\n Hank Moody<\/em><\/span>: Just the fact that people seem to be getting dumber and dumber. You know, I mean we have all this amazing technology and yet computers have turned into basically four figure wank machines. The internet was supposed to set us free, democratize us, but all it’s really given us is Howard Dean’s aborted candidacy and 24 hour a day access to kiddie porn. People… they don’t write anymore, they blog. Instead of talking, they text, no punctuation, no grammar: LOL this and LMFAO that. You know, it just seems to me it’s just a bunch of stupid people pseudo-communicating with a bunch of other stupid people in a proto-language that resembles more what cavemen used to speak than the King’s English.<\/span>
\n Radio Show Host<\/em><\/span>: Yet you’re part of the problem, I mean you’re out there blogging with the best of them.<\/span>
\n Hank Moody<\/em><\/span>: Hence my self-loathing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: \u00a0So, are you saying that\u2019s how you feel about blogging and the culture in general? <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: Maybe. \u00a0But to dodge that question in a subtly blatant way, I should tell you that when I first started, I really didn\u2019t know what \u201cblogging\u201d was.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: \u00a0What do you mean? <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: Well, I was doing this website thing called \u201cBeerSyndicate<\/a><\/span>\u201d where, among other things, I was writing tutorials about homebrewing topics like how to beat the stuck fermentation<\/a><\/span> monster or how to polish a keg<\/a><\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0 I started getting burned out basically producing how-to manuals, and wanted to create a forum where I could talk about more op-edish<\/em>, beer-related topics like why geeks are attracted to beer culture<\/a><\/span>, or why we as Americans should have the right to legally drink in public<\/a><\/span> in the U.S. \u00a0The next week I wanted to dig into beer history and gripe about how people get their facts mixed up about the once obscure beer style\u00a0gose<\/a><\/span>, or how beer styles are a completely made up hodgepodge<\/a><\/span>.\u00a0 The blog was sort of my catch-all category for anything that wasn\u2019t strictly a tutorial, although I\u2019d throw in a trendy how-to<\/em> here and there like how to make a pumpkin keg<\/a> <\/span>for Halloween or Thanksgiving just to stay topical and bloggy.<\/span><\/p>\n

About six months into \u201cblogging\u201d, someone told me that a blog was like a person\u2019s online diary and you\u2019re supposed to fill space with pictures of stuff.\u00a0 I felt a little stupid because that\u2019s not really what I was doing.\u00a0 Then I was told that I write too much; which is not to say that my writing was filled with superfluous fluff or dime-a-dozen opinions, just that blogs are usually short—\u00a0 like a paragraph or less. I kept getting reminded that the average person has an 8-second attention span, so nobody\u2019s going to read more than a sentence if they\u2019re actually reading<\/em> anything at all.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sorry LeVar Burton, but if a 15-second Instagram video is pushing the upper boundaries of our attention, what hope is there of finding gold at the end of the Reading Rainbow?<\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: \u00a0If what you’re saying about short attention spans is\u00a0true, it means most people stopped reading about halfway through your first sentence and won\u2019t be around to see how you\u2019re about to make like a billion enemies, correct? \u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: That\u2019s the plan.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: \u00a0So I take it you changed your blogging format to conform to the norm?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: I tried.\u00a0 I tried to compromise at least.\u00a0 I thought maybe I could limit my posts to about a page, add some pictures, videos, interviews, interactive crap, maybe write up some top-ten style pieces.\u00a0 I just couldn\u2019t bring myself to schlock together some witty, two-sentence brain fart about something shiny that caught my eye in the beer universe, or self-righteously bestow some brilliant beer truth on par with what you\u2019d find inside a fortune cookie just to pander to the lowest common denominator (LCD) or fit some pre-determined format of what a blog is “supposed” to be.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: \u00a0You realize most people in entertainment make a career out of pandering to the LCDs, don\u2019t you?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: Yes.\u00a0 But that\u2019s not me.\u00a0 And from my experience, most people in the craft beer and homebrew scene don\u2019t fall into the LCD camp either.\u00a0 Anne Frankly, I don\u2019t really see that happening in the beer blogging world much either.\u00a0 These are the people who you\u2019d probably find lined up to hear Noam Chomsky speak long before you’d ever see them\u00a0rocking out to the Dora the Explorer<\/em> of rap, Pitbull. \u00a0“Don’t stop the party!\u00a0No pare la fiesta!<\/em>“<\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: \u00a0By the way, do you like how I set you up to pay a self-serving, contrived compliment to your supposed audience?\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: By the way, do you like having me answer your questions so that I provide content for your so-called blog instead of you doing the hard work of coming up with original thoughts of your own?<\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: \u00a0Point taken.\u00a0 I noticed you kind of did a little space-filling\/thought outsourcing\u00a0yourself with that long quote you copied and pasted from Californication earlier.\u00a0 <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: I was being ironical.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: \u00a0Very clever. \u00a0Getting back to what makes a good beer blog.\u00a0 Enlighten me.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: Well, you have to have at least one of two things, but preferably both: new, interesting information about anything beer, and\/or an interesting perspective.\u00a0 That\u2019s the secret formula to infotainment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Also, two clich\u00e9s come to mind: \u201ccontent is king\u201d, and \u201cquality over quantity\u201d. \u00a0As a blogger, you have to ask yourself what type of content you want to create: original content or meta-content (commentary about original content). \u00a0This is often the difference between someone who’s a writer and someone who’s a critic, although sometimes you’re both. \u00a0That said, if you\u2019re not personally adding something meaningful and moving the beer conversation forward at least a little bit, you should stick to tweets, facebook, or Untappd posts. \u00a0Even Jack Dorsey, co-creator of Twitter, explained tweets\u00a0as “a short burst of inconsequential information.” As a writer, you\u2019re supposed to be doing something more than conveying inconsequential information. \u00a0You’re supposed to challenge the status quo, present original content, and inspire people to be critical.<\/span><\/p>\n

Or not. \u00a0Maybe you stop fighting the\u00a0losing battle and go the other route, sell out, and live by the law of\u00a0“tl;dnr” (too long; did\u00a0not read) and D.I.D. (Dumb It Down). \u00a0Contributing to the delinquency of minors is small-time.\u00a0 Contributing to the delinquency of everyone<\/span>?\u00a0<\/em>… Now we’re talking! \u00a0Forget microblogs. \u00a0Even nanoblogging is pushing the attention span envelope. \u00a0Consider limiting your posts to either one word, an abbreviation, or simply an emoticon. \u00a0But remember, video is the new preferred medium, so start making video clips (the shorter the better), dump blogging, and become a vlogger. \u00a0Learn some basic editing in Windows Movie Maker if you’re a PC, or start with iMovie on\u00a0Mac, then work your way up to FCPX (Final Cut Pro X). \u00a0Don’t be scurred, all of this editing software is relatively idiot-proof. \u00a0While you’re at it, don’t forget\u00a0to vote “YES<\/strong>” on Prop 22 so that we can finally\u00a0replace all English\u00a0teachers with digital arts instructors!<\/span><\/p>\n

Cast the widest net possible and pander, pander, pander to the LCDs.\u00a0 Still not happy with your Google Analytics stats?<\/em>\u00a0 You\u2019re clearly not lowbrow enough. \u00a0But you don’t have to take my word for it. Remember what Jay Z said in his \u201cMoment of Clarity<\/a><\/span>\u201d, and I quote, \u201cI dumb down for my audience, and double my dollars\u201d. \u00a0Case in point: not only is Mr. Z saying this in a song directly<\/span> to his fans (implying that they’re\u00a0dumb), but the album where he said it, The Black Album<\/em>, was his top selling recording of the 2000s!\u00a0 Even the statistics point to Hova\u2019s success at dumbing it down and pandering to those wading in the shallow end of the intelligence pool, at least according to the Musicthatmakesyoudumb infographic<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\""Music<\/a>

The “Musicthatmakesyoudumb” infographic plots people’s favorite musicians with respect to their SAT scores.<\/p><\/div>\n

But hey, the guy has sit-downs with Warren Buffett<\/a> <\/span>and a net worth of $550 million<\/a><\/span>, so there’s obviously something to it.\u00a0Jay Z may be dumbing it down with the best of them, but he\u2019s clearly no dummy when it comes to business. \u00a0And you have to admit, it takes some balls to risk alienating your audience by telling them the truth about what you\u2019re doing and why.<\/span><\/p>\n

Contrast this with the\u00a0“business\/marketing blog”. \u00a0While some are straight forward about using the idea of a\u00a0blog as a vehicle for promoting their own products for commercial gain, others\u00a0try to pretend something more benign\u00a0is going on, but are often little more than an advertisement in blog’s clothing (fake blogs). \u00a0Simply put, it’s exceptionally difficult to be impartial in your message if your\u00a0ultimate\u00a0objective\u00a0is to maximize profit, but it can be done if you’re willing to take some risks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: \u00a0Speaking of the way you answered that last question, some people have called you, and excuse my language, an \u201casshole\u201d.\u00a0 What do you make of that?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: I\u2019m flattered. \u00a0Some of the best writers have been described as a-holes, not that I count myself in either category, but these are the writers making interesting points, waking people up from their dogmatic slumbers, and sometimes throwing in some humor as a further sign of intelligence.\u00a0 There\u2019s a fine line between striking a cord and a nerve.\u00a0 Great writers do both.<\/span><\/p>\n

When it comes to humor, including satire, it\u2019s supposed to be provocative, shake you up, and make you think. \u00a0Humor often acts as a mirror, one that many of us would prefer not to gaze into too deeply.\u00a0 For example, most of us laugh when a comedian is making fun of someone who we think is being dumb.\u00a0 We\u2019re all in on the joke. \u00a0I picture Nelson from The Simpsons <\/em>pointing and laughing his patented \u201cHaw Haw\u201d. However, when a comedian makes a joke about something that hits too close to home and challenges someone\u2019s personal beliefs, some people take offense instead of taking a step back and self-evaluating.\u00a0 That being the case, I probably wouldn\u2019t have survived very long in Nazi Germany for at least a couple reasons.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not to mix suggestive allusions, but who would want to bear the cross of being a writer with standards nowadays?<\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: \u00a0If you think Twitter and Facebook is for lower quality content, why do you post your material on it?\u00a0 <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: Don\u2019t hate the playa; hate the game. Look, I\u2019m not saying you can\u2019t find quality content on Facebook and the like, but that\u2019s not really what those sites are designed for. \u00a0Facebook is for making other people feel bad by pretending your life is better than what it really is, posting selfies,\u00a0stalking, giving your personal information away for free, and inflating your\u00a0ego with myriads of pseudo-friends who glad-hand every one of your\u00a0self-indulgent\u00a0look-at-me\/look-at-my-kids<\/em>\u00a0posts in the hopes of reciprocation, all while Facebook turns a quick buck from advertising off of your user-generated content, which they, ehem<\/em>, technically own.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: \u00a0I take it you don\u2019t have many friends on Facebook?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: Correct.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: \u00a0What do you think about reddit?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: I like it as a social media site to share and interact with a community of sorts. \u00a0There’s more of an element of anonymity, which can be good and bad. \u00a0I compare it to leaving the Shire of Facebook and venturing off into the rest of Middle Earth where you’re bound to run into a variety of characters, including the occasional troll.<\/span><\/p>\n

The truth is, I kid.\u00a0 Facebook & company are also about sharing<\/em> quality content and getting the word out. I said I wouldn’t join the social media scene until I had something worthy to shamelessly promote.\u00a0 I do.\u00a0 Beer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: \u00a0And promoting yourself while you\u2019re at it, right?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: I am but a mere vessel, my friend.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: \u00a0A vessel that\u2019s usually filled with beer?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: Also correct.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: \u00a0So far, you\u2019ve potentially insulted 1.23 billion facebookers, 232 million tweeters, 248 million bloggers, 500,000+ Untappd users, sufferers of ADHD, Jay-Z and Pitbull fans, and Nazis. \u00a0Anyone else you care to take a cheap potshot at in hopes of further alienating yourself?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: Don\u2019t get me started on baby seals and so-called \u201cpoor orphans\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: \u00a0I\u2019m confused.\u00a0 Are you saying you\u2019re a blogger or not?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: While I call myself a beer and drinking blogger, that\u2019s almost certainly a misnomer, and I\u2019ve probably shot myself in the literary foot by misappropriating the term.\u00a0 Rightfully so, blogging often has this \u201chighly disposable\u201d, basically \u201ccheap\u201d connotation associated with it.\u00a0 I\u2019m sorry, but if you\u2019re blogging multiple times a day or week with little to no time to revise and edit, can you really be saying anything that profound<\/em>?\u00a0 Probably not. \u00a0A lot of serial bloggers get disillusioned when they realize this.<\/span><\/p>\n

For an increasingly voyeuristic society, I can understand the allure of reading someone\u2019s online diary, if that\u2019s what blogging is supposed to be. \u00a0Let’s face it though, most people’s average day-to-day simply isn’t that interesting. \u00a0But that\u2019s not really what I do.\u00a0 I write blarticles.\u00a0 This \u201cinterview\u201d is as close to introspective self-analysis for public spectacle as I get.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: \u00a0This might be a sort of douchey question, but are you interviewing yourself to make yourself seem important? Couldn\u2019t find anyone better to interview you? <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: Those were technically two<\/em> douchey questions.\u00a0 Not to mention, this was your idea in the first place. \u00a0But if you think about it, the idea of writing an \u201conline diary\u201d is a bit disingenuous, or at best a contradiction in terms.\u00a0 Besides, writing a diary is for twelve-year-old girls to sulk\u00a0about how their parents were mean to them, or what boy they have a crush on, which can all then later be parlayed into a pants-dropping, 15 minutes of shame at a Mortified<\/a> <\/em><\/span>event.\u00a0 Now journaling<\/em>, that\u2019s for adults.<\/span><\/p>\n

But I think your questions are missing the point: this whole manufactured, phoney baloney interview is just a meta-tastic satire of blogging in the form of a blog in an attempt to break on through the fifth wall.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: \u00a0Touch\u00e9.\u00a0 So what do you do when you run out of interesting beer stuff to write about?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Dan<\/span><\/strong>: Interviews.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

L’chaim!<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Like my career-ending blarticle? Well, thanks- you\u2019re far too kind. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Care to Tweet it around to ensure my downfall? \u00a0<\/em>Tweet<\/a><\/p>\n

Want to read more beer inspired thoughts?\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0Come back any time,\u00a0friend us<\/a><\/em><\/span>\u00a0on Facebook,\u00a0or follow us on Twitter:<\/p>\n

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