To Blog or not to Blog, that is the question!

I like Twitter (I know, big shock, next I’ll be breaking the news that the sky is blue and grass, is in fact, green) and I like, nay, love whisky. I love reading about whisky, I love learning about whisky, I love, love, love tasting whisky, I love visiting distilleries and attending festivals and industry events, but more than anything else I love hearing other people’s opinions on whisky.  This is where the “blog love” comes in.  There are so many inspirational bloggers out there, funny, entertaining, or just plain knowledgeable, if I had more time (sadly I don’t) I would be lost in blogs for the majority of the day.  There are so many people out there whom I really admire.  @whiskydiscovery, @whiskydiscovkat, @themisswhisky, @whiskylassie, @ansgarspeller, @thomas_speller, @yoavgel, @Ifotou and @steveprentice to name but a few.

The world is saturated with blogs, good and bad, and like the famous saying goes “opinions are like…..” well you know the rest.  So why would we add to that?  What would make our blog worth viewing? How do you turn your passion into something worth sharing with the world?  For me it was a phone call with an industry expert, who, so very kindly took time out of her day, and her incredibly hectic diary to tell me to just get out there and do it.  What was there to lose?  A little hand holding and massaging of ego and that was it, we decided to commit.

I have to admit I thought blogging would be pretty easy, set up a website….easy (it’s really not, as @stewartcraigon will tell you), write some articles…a breeze (again, not so much) get yourself known….easy?  No, but it’s a lot easier with the wonderful #whiskyfabric supporting you.

What on earth is the #whiskyfabric I hear you cry (I’m pausing until you do…come on now it’s your own time you’re wasting), well as you asked the term #whiskyfabric was coined by whisky expert extraordinaire (and yes, I know you are going to kill me for that) Johanne McInnis (@whiskylassie), and this is how Johanne describes it ““whisky fabric” – a layer in the whisky world where writers, reviewers, distillers and everyone else associated with the industry meet and interact.” I couldn’t think of a better way to put it and it was with this in mind, knowing that there would be so much support and camaraderie to rely on, we have, for what it’s worth, thrown our hat into the ring.

There really aren’t that many places left in the world where people are supportive of other people, let alone other people in the same industry, but in the whisky world there is.  You only need take a look at last week’s big whisky issue – @Dewars and their blatant misogynistic, derisory and chauvinistic marketing campaign, to see what the #whiskyfabric are capable of, women and men alike were horrified and quick to condemn!  The issue spread and spread and soon @Dewars were forced to take the offending video down.  Bloggers, industry experts and twitter users are very supportive, you have no idea how far a quick favourite or a retweet will get you.

It’s still unbelievable and incredibly daunting, I am not a writer, I have no prior experience, I am by no means a whisky expert (I can but dream), I just like whisky, oh and talking, I like that a lot (you may have noticed), and if I can talk then surely I can write?   At the end of the day though, who cares, people love it, great (more than great, in fact) people hate it? Well what can you do, you can’t please everybody (please, please don’t hate it……please!!!!) or people just read it, maybe learn something from it or just simply enjoy it, then fantastic.

So whatever your passion is, if you “think” you could blog, then trust me, you could and indeed should.  Don’t be afraid to let the world hear what you have to say, if so many of our so called “inspirational” politicians, musicians, actors etc. can do it, why not everybody else? So, go out there, start a blog, write an article, as they say “try it, you might just like it”.

Kirsty Clarke (@kirstypryde1)