The Top Wine Blogs and Change
Alawine.com says this blog, this little old blog, is the number 1 wine blog on the net based on their super secret algorithm that looks at page rankings and links and such.
While this makes about as much sense to me as a Cabernet Blush, I'm going to choose to believe it today, or at least until Alder Yarrow at Vinography, Eric Asimov at The Pour and Tyler Colman at Dr. Vino lodge their appropriate and sensible protest of the newly jiggered rankings.
What's interesting is how these rankings have changed over time. If you go back three year to October 2006, only two of the current top ten wine blogs made it into the top ten ranking back then. Go back two years and only four of the current top ten were then among the top 10 ranked blogs. Go back a year and a half to February 2008 and only three of the current top 10 were then in the top ten ranked blogs.
Here's some more interesting information. Five of the top ten ranked wine blogs at A LA Wine from October 2006 are either no longer in the current top 100 or no longer exist , including the blog that was ranked as the #1 wine blog. Here's what's happened to the Top 10 ranked wine blogs from October 2006:
#1: LJ Wine: No Longer Exists
#2: Celebrate Wine: #59
#3 Bainbridge On Wine: No Longer Exists
#4: Spittoon: #16
#5: Vinography: #2
#6: Basic Juice: #82 (hasn't posted in 21 months)
#7: Sommelier: No Longer Exists
#8: Grape Radio: No longer Ranked as a blog
#9: Fermentation: #1
#10: Eonoline: Not in Top 100
What's it all mean? Probably what we already knew: The stability of the wine blog space is nearly non existent. What's hot today is unlikely to be hot tomorrow. Very few wine blogs have stood the test of time and remained relevant over even a short period of time.
The more important question, particularly for climbers in the wine blog world, is what common thread is there among the current top 10 wine blogs. The one commonality that strikes me is consistent posting of new content. Most of those in the current Top 10 post on very regular and frequent basis. I've always contended that the more often you post the more readers you will have.
The other interesting thing about the current Top 10 blogs is that they all but two of them write about a broad number of subjects, rather than concentrating on a niche, such as the Iberian Peninsula or the foods and wines of Italy. Recently we've heard that the thing to do is concentrate on a niche if you want to be a successful blogger. I'm not sure that's bad advice. But I don't think its the necessary ingredient to become one of the top bloggers.
So, here I am, after nearly six years of wine blogging, at the top of the A La Wine heap. I suspect a year from now I'll remain in the Top Ten based on A La Wine's formula for ranking wine blogs. But chances are I won't be number 1. The real interesting question is which blogs you've never heard of will have moved in to the top ten a year from now?
Tom, I know you’re more interested in the overall landscape than the specific rankings, as am I — but nonetheless, congratulations on the distinction. I’m sure it’s already changed your life 🙂
The blogging world has changed a lot since 2006.
Great, but wine consumers need to know what your score was. But don’t post it if it was under 95.
Some good advice here for new bloggers like me – post consistently, cover broad content. Sounds so simple, yet it is so often overrlooked. I appreciate your blog for the fact that it does both in a thoughtful way. Many thanks for doing what you do everyday, and congrats!
Congrats on the top spot!
Back in 2007, I think I got as high as the mid 30s on this list. Earlier this year, I was down in the 90s and figured I was going to drift off the bottom soon. Now I’m at #51. I’d like to think that the blog has steadily improved over the years. None of the rankings really impacted me one way or the other, but it did bug me when defunct sites were listed above blogs that I enjoy and respect.
I would like to toss Wine Wiped in the running for #1 spot next year. That Millie Ennial is something else, (as I’m sure you know) and has a rating system that finally makes sense.
A round of applause from the other side of the hill! Keep those #1-ranked, fermented musings on all things vino-related coming.
Indeed, frequent posting (and, oh, yeah…having something interesting to say) makes all the difference. (How many years did Herb Caen crank them out day after day?) It’s a big accomplishment!
“Cabernet Blush!” **snort** (Must ensure coffee doesn’t squirt out of my nose! Please, no more scary spider pictures. That kind of visual also causes coffee to go down the wrong passageway, too….)
And, what could be more perfect, I’m #69.
You’ll always be #1 in my book, Tom.
Of course, my blog is #69. Sometimes life just works.
And you’ll always be #1 with me, Tom.
The rest are mostly full of #2.
Comedy, you gotta love it.
Congratulations, Tom. I posted this news on an article on my blog titled OTHER WINE BLOGS BETTER THAN MINE…
SOUTH JERSEY WINE BLOG
http://www.ballymote.wordpress.com
Best Wishes
Frank
I gave up blogging a few years ago–damn it’s a lot of work posting every day!–but I’ve stumbled back into it, in part thanks to Fermentation. I hope to crack the top 1,000 sometime in the next 12 months.
PS: May I add my voice to the chorus–no more spider pix, thanks all the same.
http://www.thewinemule.com
hi,
you’re one of the ones that inspired me to start my own winetasting video blog, pardonthatvine.com. I hope to make that top 100 list someday. Hope you can stop by and critique.
– Chris
Congrats!
While I’ve got serious questions about how this list gets generated (for example – Technorati has had my blog numbers screwed up for, well, forever! :-), there’s njo doubt you belong at the top of the list in some way/shape/form. Cheers!
Wrong URL. This kind of attention to detail will certainly keep me in the lower regions of the Top 1,000.
http://thewinemule.blogspot.com/
Tom, think back. Think of your personal struggles months ago. Think of your multiple snide takes on the wine blogging world. Think of the stats you generated from those two topics alone. Like S. Heimoff, you’ve long known the secrets of generating internet traffic. Bitterness and anger. All of us joined in. We wanted you well. We wanted you to understand our blogging inspiration.
So it happened that we made you number one.
One more thing. You don’t comment on my blog. So, it is only fair that this be my last contribution here. I hope you find happiness.
When it comes to rankings few things are stable, even with our own names. When my parents chose my name, it wasn’t even in the top 100 for popular boy names. Now, it’s the 31st most popular. Of course, I take full credit for its sudden rise to popularity.
Numbers aside, the top blogs are popular because they discuss things that we like to discuss. Some rake the muck. Some pat themselves on the back over their latest hidden findings. Some are simply easy to read both for the writing and for the formatting.
But, no blog in the top handful is anything but damn good journalism. Whether you are a winery that wants to get noticed or a blogger who is looking for a way to become a full-time winewriter or a new online blogazine, you can only succeed in this business when your content is good, readable, actionable, “learnable from”.
If you fail those tests, it does not mean that you should stop blogging or writing or tasting or anything else. It simply means that you are not going to crack the big time. Fortunately, some very good blogs are very tightly focused, almost intellectual and we can only hope that they stay around because their writers simply love what they are doing.
As for my friend, Ken Payton, Tom will never say it, but he rarely posts elsewhere. Not his style. Neither do Yarrow or Asimov or Heimoff although they can appear at rare occasions in other places.
I have always thought that the idea of posting on blogs was to express yourself. In that regard, Ken, you have a unique voice. It does not need to be stroked, petted, or fed to be worth expressing. Go, if you must, but I think you sell yourself short if you do.
I hope ken will stay too, charlie. Despite my lack of comments. I do read him regularly.
Speaking of journalism and blogs, it strikes me that there is no traditional blog that regularly gives us original reporting, issue and fact based reporting. I’m not thinking of wine reviews here, but genuine news and reporting. Why? Takes way too much time to do well and most folks have the good sense to know if they are going to be reporting, they better do a good job.
Way to go Tom!
I have to say pardonthatvine.com is the freshest most unique wine blog I have seen. The guy is extremely knowledgeable but at the same time he keeps it straightforward. Check it out..I heard he is in S. Africa for 2 weeks doing shows. Should be interesting.