I may be a little slow on the uptake for Social Media, but with a blog came Facebook, then Twitter and now Instagram. All in the endeavor for finding a few more individuals that may like to read about wine. I am not the most tech savvy person, and I am quite sure that my writings will not be monumental in changing public opinion or alter current wine trends, but then I have never been a trendy guy. I was the guy drinking wine, when the rest of the world was drinking mixed drinks or Budweiser. It was suggested to me by several people that I should try Instagram, so I did.

I have to say that I have found some very enjoyable new people since I started writing. I have also found some very pompous and arrogant people that on first appearances seem to be quite ordinary, but they are only there for you, if you can be of assistance, just like in the real world. I am sure that some people laugh, because I can be writing about a revered wine and then I will write many more articles about plain every day table wines, that some will turn their noses at, but I don’t care. I don’t have the lifestyle that affords me the life of indulgence of drinking fifty-dollar bottles of wine daily, in fact there are days when I won’t even have a glass of wine. All I know is that every bottle of wine that I have wrote about has been paid for, out of my pocket, unless I was at a party and then it may have come from the host’s pocket, but I always take wine to every affair, either as a gift or to add to the mix of offerings.

So, what is Instagram, that is the question that I had to ask myself as a novice, and I decided to treat it as a one-minute sound bite for an occasion or a wine, kind of like what I do with my writing, but on Instagram it is much terser. I decided to go back to the beginning of my journey as The Wine Raconteur, and featured on wine or location per posting. In the beginning I found that once a day would suffice, but I found that eventually I had to do twice a day, to keep up with my “likes” of other that follow me and that I follow.  My “follow” list is not that large, because I have not gone out into the Instagram world looking for people, I only respond to those that find me, not out of pride, I just don’t have the time to spend all day on the site.  Though there are those that “follow” you for a day or two, and then drop you like a hot potato, but hope that you don’t realize it, as they want to point to their ever increasing “Followers” numbers. I believe in quid pro quo and I have now a sheet that I have made of those that believe in the same concept, and there are some that I have even actually gone and seen every posting that they have done, but I only do this extra work, for those that have liked what I have posted. It may be silly or vain, but why give extra kudos for those that don’t give you the time of day, but expect you to fawn over their output.

I have to admit that there are some wonderful photos posted, and I wish that I was a better photographer. I have also learned to admire some of the work by others, and it may not be wine oriented, most are food-related, but there is also travel as well. I find that I dislike the ones that only feature themselves, but in the age of selfies, I guess that is to be expected. I decided to show some of the highest-ranking photos that I have posted, and there is no reason or rhyme that I can decipher of what works in the world of Instagram, but it is fun to spend some time there.