Monday Rant: An Untappd Problem

I came across a retweet in my Twitter feed just over a week ago (so long ago that I can't seem to locate the tweet to actually embed it). This particular retweet was a bit of a complaint. In essence, this tweet showed a bit of disdain for those of us in the beer community that send connect both our Twitter and Untappd accounts.

For those of you that don't understand this I'll try to explain. Some of us that check-in to our beers via Untappd can also simultaneously send that check-in to Twitter as well. Sometimes we even add our feelings toward said beer in that check-in. So, in some cases it's not just Untappd check-ins, it becomes a little more personable when we post our thoughts, too.

Drinking a Railbender Ale by @eriebrewingco — untp.it/WhAVuX
— Chris (@GoPens75) January 6, 2013

Personally, I find it interesting to bring up Twitter and see what others in the beer community are partaking in.  Seeing multiple Untappd posts in my feed has never struck me as annoying or bothersome. On the other hand, I've become weary of possible posting too many of my check-ins to my own feed. I'm not sure everyone that follows me cares when I drink every single bottle of my Smuttynose Pumpkin Ale. Thus, I try to limit how many of those check-ins make it outside of the Untappd application.

There are many social media pet peeves that people have. I never figured this particular topic would be one of them. At least not on a huge level and it's nowhere near that yet. This is pretty much the only complaint I've come across on Twitter pertaining to Untappd check-ins.

Holy coffee beans. Would go well with a bagel right now. — Drinking a Java Head Stout by @troegsbeer — untp.it/TFPyu7
— Bill K. (@BurghBeerSnob) January 2, 2013

Anyways, I sure hope this isn't the beginning of one of those massive social media movements. Odds are that the author of this tweet I saw doesn't even follow a decent amount of craft beer folk. Maybe this person has figured out how to put down the smart phone and realize that by expanding your Twitter client horizons, you can actually filter out certain texts in your feed.

Where Have the Images Gone?

So, you've cruised on over to the web version of Twitter and looked quickly at your Twitter profile. More than likely (if you're an Instagram user) you've noticed the absence of many of your photographs that were kept under the "Recent Images" section of your profile. That would be due to Instagram pulling all of its images from Twitter posted there by users. Your photographs are now kaput now kaput.

If anything, the beer community benefited by the amazing filters Instagram employed. How many mouth-watering pictures did you post or come across over the past two years? That's right a ton.

From my (possibly former) Instagram account.

Now, Twitter has developed a new photography interface for both its iPhone and Android apps that enables you to add some filters to your pictures. Sadly, it leaves most of us in the online beer community with a dilemma.

If we continue to post photographs through Instagram, it means that less of our followers will be seeing what gets posted to our Twitter feeds. You might think those of us that say this are being picky, but people are less likely to see what you post when they have to make that second click on a tweet. If not, we can either post our pictures solely to our Twitter feeds with its new interface, or forgo posting them to Twitter altogether. To be honest, I find the collection of previous photographs on Twitter profiles valuable. I'll most likely be making the switch from Instagram to Twitter's new interface.

I'm interested to see how this goes. Will Twitter's new photo filters be anything like that of Instagram? I say it most likely will. All you're doing is putting a filter on a picture. Not that stunning when you really think about it.

Monday Rant: To Friend or Not to Friend

The following has been a controversy on social media since American society began wasting hours of valuable time using it. The question is whether or not to add people as friends on a social media network even though you've never met or known them in real life.

Untappd has become it's own version of social media. You can network with other fans of beer and see what your friends are drinking (that's if you have friends that actually take the time to check-in the beers they're consuming. Untappd has also become a simpler way for beer bloggers such as myself to let your Twitter followers know what you're drinking as well as what your thoughts are on said brews.

The only complaint I have about using Untappd is the same thing I've had with any social media application I've associated myself with over the years. That's the people you've never met before trying to add you and others in an attempt to compile tons of friends.

I have a stack of people on Untappd that have requested to be my friend. I've let those requests sit in there for at least two weeks. I'm not totally sure why I refuse to respond. Maybe part of it is the feeling that the entire world doesn't need to know what I'm doing. This is the same reason that I don't post every single check-in to my Twitter feed. It's just a personal preference.

I've pretty much held the same policies when it comes to other social networks such as Facebook. If I don't know you, you're not likely going to get a friend request accepted when it comes to me.

In my early days of Twitter, I'll admit I was obsessed with gaining more and more followers. Now, I barely look at who is following my account.It really doesn't matter to me. Life is far less stressful. It's all about the exchanging of information.