Check, Please

The following is a subject I haven't paid any mention to, nor even thought about, in quite some time. The subject I speak of it Untappd check-ins and believe it or not, is quite the scandal when said check-ins are automatically posted to social media feeds.

I find (by just observing he feeds of others) that the auto-posting of these things are an annoyance. Not to me personally, but it seems as if they are to the majority of people on social media. It's mostly for this reason that I've decided to refrain from posting mine to my Twitter feed.

That's not news since I haven't posted on to the other side in months, but what might be considered as such is the decision I've made recently to stop it entirely. After all, aren't those that even care about our beer more informed/interested/intrigued by a posting of a photograph? Now, by photograph I don't mean through the Untappd posting. I mean just a straight picture with a witty remark or something.

This brewer has got A LOT better with this

Now, on to the next issue at hand and something that does bug me personally. Even if those of us have found ways to weed out those whose feeds are all Untappd check-ins some of our favorite breweries have caused our plans to blow up in our faces by retweeting those that check-in to their beers and post them to social media. Nobody wins.

A few breweries have improved through being reminded that doing it annoys some of us. Thus, some feeds have been improve to actual interesting feeds with content and not just retweets of who is drinking their beer.

I think we've made it past the stage of dealing with the posted check-ins. Now, it's time for this order of business.

Just Checking In

Late last week the Untappd social drinking application pushed through an update for both its IOS and Android apps. The new update enables users to see more details of each friend's beer check-ins immediately in "The Pub" tab. The five-star rating system has now been integrated to allow half-point ratings if need be.

This can make for a more enjoyable experience in terms of engaging with your friends within the app and discussing the beers you've tried as well as more accurate ratings. I most likely won't be changing my rating system to anything more than I have now. So, please don't confuse what I rate beers on Untappd with the final ratings I give them in a blog post review

The initial ratings I give on Untappd to those beers I check-in to are just a first impression. I traditionally perform each check in just a few sips into a beer that I'm trying. In some cases the check-ins can just be a small sample. Here's to some exciting check-ins in the future!