The Internet is a maze of information. Despite all of that information, it is useless if you’re not utilizing the best resources in the most efficient way. One of my favorite ways to stay on top of the craft beer scene is through Twitter. I’m far from alone in this respect.
When it comes to staying updated on craft beer, or any other subject for that matter, the Internet is King. Most people know Al Gore invented the Internet, but what you may not know is that the reason he did it was to cater to craft beer enthusiasts. In fact, you might say the Internet was invented specifically for craft beer.
The Internet is a maze of information. Despite all of that information, it is useless if you’re not utilizing the best resources in the most efficient way. One of my favorite ways to stay on top of the craft beer scene is through Twitter. I’m far from alone in this respect.
For those of you who are new to Twitter, think of the experience as being privy to a stream of consciousness from people you care to listen to. Sometimes tweets are as simple as The Big Hunt tweeting about a new bottle offering, And other times, as crucial as The Brewers Association tweeting the new link through which to purchase SAVOR tickets. I routinely ask questions to my Twitter followers about where to find particular beers on tap, or about craft beer news and events. It’s a great tool, and it offers an ever-growing community for beer fans in DC. Twitter also provides great accessibility to what would otherwise be isolated resources. As DCist’s beer guru John Fleury (@buffalo_theory) notes, “How else could you have access to Ray Daniels and have him give information back directly to you? Emails would take so much longer…if he even responded.”
It’s not just the high-falootin’ contact with craft beer’s celebrities that are a draw, though. Twitter also serves a more practical purpose, notes Fleury: “You can directly network with bar owners to see specials, new drafts, and events in a way that email and other networking lags behind in comparison.”
The social networking aspects of Twitter also tend to be a bit more open and community oriented than Facebook. There are few closed door conversations, so jumping into a conversation is easy says #dcbrews follower Sean Dalton ( @seanldalton ). “Without Twitter, the odds are good that I never would have met the folks involved with the #dcbrews community. I might have met one or two over time at local bars and events, but Twitter turns that into a real-time, open (or closed, if you choose) conversation. Because of Twitter, I’ve learned more about craft beer, homebrewing, and the local beer community in a year than I ever learned on my own in fourteen years of living here.”
The key thing about Twitter is keeping the signal to noise ratio high in your Twitter feed. One of the main criticisms I hear from opponents of Twitter is, “Why do I care if you are reading a book on the back porch or going to the grocery store?” The truth is you don’t but someone might. DCBeer writer Bill DeBaun (@billdebeer) says that if you don’t like the tweets you’re getting in your feed, it’s really your own fault and that one man’s trash is another man’s golden tweet. “The beauty of Twitter is it is custom-tailored based on who you do and don’t click the Follow button for. Maybe that person’s tweets about reading a book or going to the grocery store aren’t interesting to a given person, but odds are they’re interesting to someone else who might want to strike up a conversation about which book they’re reading, etc. Is it likely a person with tweets that boring will have a ton of followers? Not likely, no, but Twitter is an open market like that. The more tweets considered valuable by a wide number of people in any given Twitter account creates the demand for more followers of that account’s tweets.”
Watch this Twitter intro, sign up, follow us at @dcbeer and get tweeting.
You are missing out on a lot. My involvement with DCBEER for the past three years originated via Twitter. I’m quite partial to it.
Our favorite twitter users:
@DCchilin @seanldalton @ThBlackSquirrel @Lagerheads @jacobsberg @KnuckleHeadDC @Buffalo_Theory @BeerInBaltimore @Lagerheads @Cizauskas @PortCityBrew @dcbrau @tastedc @beerpluse @growlerguy
Thanks to Jeff Greenhouse ( @JeffGreenhouse) for the awesome banner image. Check out his post containing a list of over fifty breweries currently using twitter. ( Link )
