Since I started blogging and tweeting and all that jazz a few months ago I’ve “met” loads of great people. Of course I have to say “met” (with the rabbit ears either side) because obviously most of us haven’t really met.
We spend a fair bit of our weeks, driving our loved ones crazy, tapping away at our keyboards and smart phones. We do really annoying things. Nothing in our days is safe from being tweeted about. No wine is ever uncorked without the threat of a blog post hanging in the air. We are wine bloggers, like it or lump it.
It’s a funny thing to be a part of really. Doing that thing where you sit there in silence reading through your emails and letting out the occasional chuckle cos you’ve read something funny from one of the blogs you follow. You’re sat there in a room, on your tod most times, interacting with your e-friends.
When I first heard about the Wine Bloggers Conference I thought, “what a bloody good idea!” And having read posts from many of you out there about your experiences from the 2014 event, where e-friends became…well…friends, it sounded like something we need to get going over here in the UK.
I’ve been lucky in recent weeks to have actually converted a few e-friends to friends, having met and chatted away with both Ant “confessions of a wine geek” Davies and Tim “the Riesling fanatic” Milford over quite a few glasses of wine of late.
Funnily enough, the last time we met before Ant jetted off on holiday was a random one down at a Cava bar near St Paul’s in London called Copa de Cava (check it out!). I was there with some friends and so was Ant. As if the meeting wasn’t random enough we had no idea how to introduce each other! “Er, this is Mike, my…er…e-mate!” Ant let out to his wife and her mates. I think she and my wife corrected it to “e-pissheads”, harsh but fair!
My point being is that this new world of wine blogging has left me e-meeting lots of good people and making lots of new e-friends. I think my wine drinking over the next few months has to involve converting a few more of you guys into full on friends, over plenty of glasses of lovely wine!
Cheers
Photo References
– Borrowed this one from the wonderful Talk-A-Vino, hope you don’t mind boss!
It is a funny world isn’t it. I find myself struggling at times with the vocabulary to describe some of my e-friend relationships. One of the best parts of being a wine blogger is the community. Cheers e-friend!
Cheers back at you! Yeah I’m going with “e-mate” until one meeting, then it’s officially just “mate”
Glad you found my picture useful! I found it to be fascinatingly easy to meet the e-friends you talk to through the blogs, in the real life – from the get go, you feel that you knew them forever. I have a number of “blogging friendships” becoming real friendships in the real life. Definitely one of the great advantages of blogging.
Hey sir, thanks so much for letting me borrow the photo, very jealous of you all getting to go to such a great event
There is one in Europe, you know… Digital Wine Communication Conference – DWCC: http://2014.dwcc.co/ And you can still make it – it is at the end of October in Switzerland… Then I will be jealous 🙂
right, will check that one out, but they would stick it in bloody Switzerland! Lovely place, but costs 5 quid for a bottle of water!
Well, come on over next year to the US! Finger Lakes region, close to New York, will show you around : )
Will see how the BA sale goes, but sounds like a great trip!
It’s great be an e-friend with you and agree, I wish I could officially meet those I tweet with. Sláinte!
It’ll happen one day i reckon! We just got to keep sipping the good stuff and seeing where we end up 🙂 Tá súil againn le chéile go luath!
I’m proud to be an e-friend and a p-friend… Long may it continue!!
As long as our livers can take it my good man! 🙂
Yes, it is a bit weird yet nice (despite our recent unpleasantness) that you get to e-meet lots of like minded people. I too am wishing I’d attended the conference but next year, if I’m still typing, I’m heading to the Finger Lakes.
It’s even weirder knowing that, as you pop a cork on Cava, there are other passionate, maybe crazy wine folks doing the same thing and saying, “Aah.” Cheers, friend.
That’s the best thing about it, and someone bangs on about something you’ve never heard of you think “right, let’s try that then!” Have a top trip to Finger Lakes next year! Start the training now! 🙂
Count me as an e-friend! If you visit across the pond, give me a holler. We will can meet and toast up a couple glasses as meet friends!!
You’re on! I reckon we need to come up with some kind of map as to where people are actually based…
Great idea! We could even have an e-friend gathering? Each person can bring their own wine with their review. And, if they choose a food pairing? What do you think? You are great for doing this for us, maybe some e-friends can return the favor?
Do it, any volunteers?
It may be a bigger undertaking than either of us have time for. Especially since my wine experience comes from whatever I am buying at the time. Definitely not a research or educated opinion!
Great post, Mike. The best thing about writing these blog posts for me has been the people I’ve interacted / met with as I’ve written. Here’s to many more enjoyable evenings like the one that we had in Copa de Cava!
Cheers pal, yeah top night, top cavas, loved it all, we’ll sort something out for end of Sept
Reblogged this on mwwcblog.
[…] Please Bring Me My Wine: #MWWC-Friend: Will You Be My e-Friend? […]
[…] Please Bring Me My Wine: #MWWC-Friend: Will You Be My e-Friend? […]
Great post and brilliant idea about a UK based conference. Do you know which of our fellow pissheads are in the UK?
I know of about 10 or so bloggers at least, that’s enough for a quorum right? Pick a weekend each year, go for a different wine producing county…something like that?
Sounds like a great idea!
I don’t have many, but sometimes….
[…] Please Bring Me My Wine: #MWWC-Friend: Will You Be My e-Friend? […]
This you couldn´t make it up, not only a conference about wine, but a BLOGGER conference about wine. Never seizes to amaze me the power of social media. How it brings people together and how it makes opportunities jump up at you a little more often.
Couldn’t agree more fella, I reckon we gotta get this one on the go…
It´s starting a new trend
Mike, every once in a great while I get to London for work. Next time I do, we’ll become friends and not just #NWTW e-friends!
Look forward to it sir!