Untappd: "Foursquare for Drunks"

We are living in a world where there’s an application for everything. It was only a matter of time that beer lovers would start developing useful applications. Untappd is a mobile-based phone and web application that lets you "check-in" beers that you are drinking, like Foursquare. They borrow Foursquare's API mapping, so you can also check-in to the bar where you are drinking your beer. It was released to the public in late October 2010 and has already surpassed two-million check-ins. I use it often and here's my account.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Untappd's co-founder Greg Avola. He talks about his app and he even drops a potential pick-up line to use on the ladies.

After being a “Mobile Web-only” application for nearly a year, they expanded their product to include an iPhone and Android app. Avola said “user rate has increased about 200% on a daily basis." He also added, "The download and sign-up rate have been insane and we are really humbled.” Avola started the company with Tim Mather after he had the initial idea of extending the check-in activity. Currently Untappd is a three man operation with the acquisition of RedPint in February, they added John Vajda as Product Manager.

Now that we got some of the nerd talk out of the way, this application is pretty sweet. You earn badges for various things, just like Foursquare. The developers at Untappd are constantly upgrading and adding new badges, so there's always something going on when you check-in. The badges range from a “St. Patty’s Day” badge if you check in on St. Patty’s Day to “Beer Connoisseur” badge when you drink five different beers from five different countries. You earn a "Newbie" badge with your first check-in, so you’re off earning badges from the first day. Like many other applications, Untappd can be integrated with your Facebook and Twitter accounts, if you choose.

Anyone who uses Untappd will increase their knowledge of beer within the first few check-ins. The application recommends beers that you might like based on your previous check-ins. This is very handy for those wanting to try new beers within the same beer class. Here's an example: if you check-in with a Southern Tier 2XIPA, the recommendations will be other IPAs. If you want to try something different, you can just search for beers or look at some of the recent check-ins from your friends. The rating system and comments will help you decide if you want to try the beers. Avola wants to do more with individual breweries and add brewery specific badges like he has done with Dogfish head and Karl Strauss in the past.

Your friend feed on Untappd will certainly leave you with “beer envy,” especially if you have friends in other states. Craft beer breweries are popping up all of the time and their distribution is usually regional. Avola, who currently resides in New York City, even admits that he suffers from “beer envy.” He sees friends checking in beers from New Belgium Brewery and Russian River Brewery. Those breweries do not distribute to Avola's New York City area.

Knowledgeable beer drinkers are the key to Untappd's success. The more people who take the time and rate or comment on the beers, the more useful the application is to everyone. Untappd is not just for newbies looking to learn more about beer, it is useful for those who already know a lot about it. You can chat and communicate with other beer lovers around the world. One of the biggest compliments that Avola has received was actually his goal for the application. “People are starting to branch out and try new beers & venues. That’s the whole point of Untappd, to allow users to expand their palate and try different things.” He has even noticed people checking into beers at one of his favorite bars in NYC and it made his night.

Avola hinted that you can use Untappd as a pickup line at bars. He admits that one of his friends uses it successfully. “One of my single friends always tries to start a conversation with girls and uses, “Have You heard of Untappd?” It’s quite funny.” So, if you see a pretty lady at the bar using Untappd, you have a solid icebreaker. You’re welcome!

If you own a bar, I would spread the word of this application to your patrons. The customer will check-in to their beers at your location and their friends will see what is being sold there. It could lead to more business and help spread the word about your bar and what is currently in stock.

There are other beer applications on available for Android, iPhone, and Blackberry, but until there's a new approach to them, Untappd will be the standard that all of them will be compared to. It is a free application, so save your money and start checking in beers. Even if you’re a college kid and Natural Ice is your beer of choice, there’s a badge for cheap beers.
'Like' America's White Boy On Facebook

Will Social Media Ruin Wrestlemania 28?

Over the last six months, WWE Entertainment has saturated their television programming with Twitter & Facebook announcements. It has gotten to a point that, as they come to the ring, each wrestler's Twitter account name is listed under their names. They stop the flow of the match to announce when a WWE wrestler, event, or even catch-phrase start to trend. Will these announcement ruin the Wrestlemania experience and date the event in later years?

Before I go on an "anti-social media" rant, I like to admit that I regularly use my own Twitter and Facebook accounts. I think that they are extremely useful and can give anyone a platform. Saying all of that, there is a limit to one's announcements and a saturation level has been met at WWE. I have had my Twitter account for nearly four years, but you would think that it is a fresh and new invention.

WWE first started to mention social media when The Rock launched Facebook and Twitter accounts. His accounts exploded and got hundred of thousands of followers with days and now currently stands at a few million. WWE started to become obsessed with social media, especially when a low-card wrestler named Zack Ryder started to get people chanting his name during WWE Raw. He gained an underground following by releasing "Z! True Long Island Story," an hilarious YouTube series of videos. He went from not being on television to wrestling in a match at Wrestlemania 28. He proof that social media can change and make the writers add him into main storylines.

Wrestlemania 28 is this Sunday and will be up against programs like AMC's "Mad Men," but not much else. They will occupy most of the "trending topics" on Twitter and I'm hoping that they will not announce each one. If WWE hopes that this Wrestlemania, which features the highly-publicize match of The Rock vs. John Cena, they will limit the announcements. Twitter will not be the last social media platform to be popular on the internet. If WWE embraced Myspace during their programming back during Wrestlemania 22, it would be unwatchable. You would watch it and start laughing, because no one uses Myspace anymore. It would instantly make that Wrestlemania extremely dated. These matches have the chance to some of the best in recent memory. The Rock vs. John Cena, Triple H vs. The Undertaker, and CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho will all be under an unfortunate cloud of hopping on a current fad.

I hope someone from the WWE understands all of the points that I have made and throws themselves in front of the Twitter bus this weekend. We all know their Twitter handles by now and that WWE has a Twitter account. Let's just focus on what people paid their money for, not for a "self-promoting, sports entertainment machine," but the drama and pageantry of Wrestlemania.

#WWWYKI

It's Been Awhile - Part 5

Hey guys, have you noticed that I've started writing again? I started this blog 4 years ago this month and I have taken five extended breaks from writing. Every time I take a hiatus, I feel the need to tell people why I decided to take a break. Here it goes...

I've always been "too honest" on this site and I can tell you guys that my passion for writing...it faded. I had a day job, a girlfriend, a busy social life, yet I kept writing here and for a few other sites. Over the last year and a half, I've had a few losses in my life and it increased my "fuck it" impulse. It's not that I didn't want to write, I couldn't. The picture above is a photo of me that a friend shot in Vegas. It exemplifies how I felt about writing. I would sit at my laptop and my mind would be blank.


It's not like I completely quit writing, I tried. I have been working on a short story for a few years now. I would have days where I would write, but they were few and far between. I've had a few freelance gigs and helped start a local nightlife site, but I didn't get any joy from it. I know that this needed to change and I tried everything to try to re-boot my system, I even became a vegetarian for two months. I didn't want my passion to die, so I kept trying new things and it slowly came back.

I can say that, as of today, my passion bucket is once again full. My mind is full of ideas and I'm ready to start making the magic happen again. I have agreed to write for a few other sites, as well as rejuvenating my own. I started this blog because of the NCAA Tournament and the phenomenon that happens every year. One unathletic whiteboy becomes the nation's underdog...America's White Boy. I started it with the idea of being the underdog. This site went from an idea to getting over 50k uniques a month. I hope to start that process again today.

Now that I've said all of that, this is the portion of this post where I list all of the things that I've learned since I've been gone.

- I've realized that the Cubs will never win the World Series

- Soccer moms listen to Bon Iver while they do "hot yoga"

- I've spent a lot of time drinking craft beer...a lot of time.

- I really love "Jungleland" by Bruce Springsteen, here's a live version from 1975.

- My attempt at being a hardcore soccer fan, it never really happened. I don't wake up early enough on the weekends.

- I finally watched "The Silence Of The Lambs", so I now get a lot of old jokes & parodies of Buffalo Bill.

- I hate accounting. I really hate accounting.

- I've watched a lot of TV. I really like "Community", "Parks & Recreation", "Always Sunny In Philadelphia", "New Girl", & "The Big Bang Theory"

- You should "Like" me on Facebook.

- I hope to join together with some friends and start a podcast soon.

- Ryan Braun probably got away with taking steroids.

- 2011 was a pretty shitty year.

- I watch a lot of Josh Krajcik videos on YouTube.

- Grantland.com should be so much better than it is. I love long-form sports journalism & Chuck Klosterman. The site shouldn't be named after Grantland Rice, it should be named after Will Leitch.

- I'm still addicted to Twitter @ Sweetbob.

- I think I personally know at least 100 "social media experts", yet many lack any real-life social skills.

- I'm signed up for Google+, but I rarely use it. The only people who add me are from Sri Lanka or a country in the Orient.

- This past football season, I got over 100,000 uniques from Google from people searching for the terms "Tim Tebow Virgin" & "Tim Tebow Naked/Nude". I used to just get a lot of hits from the term "shirtless" followed by popular baseball players' names.

- I hate that a lot of sites are starting to use the "Bleacher Report" model of using "Top 10" lists or using slideshows to increase traffic.

- I'm no longer jaded by the music industry. I've realized that "the machine" is dying and independent artists are gaining more control of their lives.

- I really want to watch Wrestlemania this year.

- If you love drinking beer, you should be on Untappd.

- I think A&W Root Beer is the best root beer. I will fight anyone to the death if they tell me otherwise.

- I have been writing jokes for a stand-up routine. I have a lot of material...I just need to try it out on people.

- Twitter has ruined my grammar. I kind of have a hardcore "passive voice" problem. (English nerds will get that joke)

- Christina Aguilera is slowly turning into Snooki.

- I read something by Mark Twain, every day.

- If you play Christmas songs on a jukebox in February, everyone at that bar will hate you.

- I'm a huge fan of mash-ups, but I have a hatred for dub-step.

- My next phone will be an iPhone, I've grown tired of my Android...also, I would like to have Instagram.

- I like The Format more than the band, Fun.

- I've watched 95% of the Indiana Pacers games this year, watch out for them in the playoffs.

- Anthony Davis's unibrow will get drafted #2, after Anthony Davis himself.

- Last week, I successfully groomed Nugget, my shih tzu.

- I have the best friends that a guy could have. I haven't been around them that much in the last year, but I hope that will change soon. I think about you guys everyday.

Finally, I've always ended these posts with a picture of a hot girl. I did it just to make my girlfriend mad, since I'm single, I don't feel the need to do it. Instead, here are some photos that crack me up and/or I want to put on the back of my business card.

Thanks for hanging in there with me!






Feel free to "Like" my blog on Facebook or click the Facebook box located within the sidebar.

New Site: Drink Up Columbus

I wanted to let my readers know about a new site that my friends and I launched this week. Drink Up Columbus is a new site that deals with bars, beers, and the social scene in Columbus, Ohio. We have a lot of talented writers and people who really love this city. Find out more about the new site and links to some of the stories so far, after the jump.


A few friends of mine, James Marks and Cheryl Harrison, wanted to start a site about local craft beer, liquor, and bars in Columbus, Ohio. We recruited a group of great local writers that will help set the scene of the city we love. Other topics that we are going cover are: homebrewing, food pairing, college bar scene, and a lot of other things going on in the Columbus area.


Here are a few links to articles that we have already posted on the site.

Campus Craft Beer Crawl: Mad Mex

Hal & Al's - Oasis In The South Side Desert

New Beer's Eve: The End Of Prohibition

The Usual Suspects, Part 1

Untappd: Foursquare With A Buzz

I hope that you check out the site and let me know what you think and follow 'Drink Up Columbus' on Twitter @DrinkUpCbus.

Bye Bye Ballhype!

This is a sad week for us here at the site. The website BallHype.com is now defunct. Daily Radar, which ran BallHype as well as some other variations of the service took the site offline with little to no explanation. It was a good service for blogs to get recognized and get their stories out. It was a smaller, sports version of Digg, which could be the reason why it couldn't hang.


We met some pretty cool bloggers on the site and it helped sites like ours network with other people with the same interests. I joined BallHype a little over two years ago. I joined Twitter about the same time and I think the combo of the emergence of Twitter and the popularity of the sports section on Digg was too much for BallHype to compete with.

For the record, I'm still going to keep my little Ballhype button on the side as a memorial to the site.

Do The Saints Want Derrick Brooks?

I play on Twitter all the time and I message Warren Sapp
(@QBKilla) often. He is quite active and he likes to message people during the day. He was a teammate of Derrick Brooks for many years in Tampa Bay and I know that they are still close. He is still a free-agent and I don't understand, he has been a great player. I asked Sapp what team would Brooks fit best with and he answered. Sapp said. "Saints! He Wants To Go There. They Playing Around. Quite Me On That!" Well, I guess I am quoting him on that.

The Saints brought Brooks in for a workout, but did not offer him a contract. He has been petitioning himself for an NFL job and thinks the Saints would be a great fit, but do the Saints want him? My feeling is that the Saints are not interested in him right now. A torn ACL or any other injury to their linebacking corps could change their mind.

Let's look at the Saints linebackers. Scott Fujita is Sean Payton's pet project from when he was with Dallas. He isn't going to lose his spot to a veteran looking stay in the NFL. Jonathan Vilma isn't going anywhere either, he's a talented player and they need him on the field. Scott Shanle is the weak-side linebacker and really held his own last season at the position. Brooks would probably be best fit for the weak-side position, but it really looks like an injury of a starter or a key reserve would only lead to the signing of Derrick Brooks.

I think Brooks can still play, he may have lost a step last year, but you can't overlook his experience. If I were the Cincinnati Bengals, I would sign him. He could help on the field and mentor Keith Rivers and Rey Maualuga. It's a long shot and I doubt Brooks would want to play for a non-contender, but the Bengals should look into it. I hope he can catch on to a team, but if not, he should be in Canton, OH in sometime in the near future.

Idolizing - Chuck Klosterman (Again!)

About a year ago, I wrote a post in my "Idolizing" series about Chuck Klosterman. I was in awe of his first effort of writing a novel called "Downtown Owl." I thought the book was great and I even bought an advanced copy on eBay for nearly 30 dollars a few months before it was released. The book didn't sell a lot of copies, but he still feels like he accomplished something that he wanted to do. He has been on record that he had promised his publisher a few more essay books like "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs" as a trade off that they would release one of his fiction works.

The reason that I am writing about Chuck Klosterman again in my "Idolizing" section is that he is still an idol of mine. I own all of his books, I try to read every column he writes, and when he's on Bill Simmonss podcast, "The B.S. Report," I pay attention to his every word. I know everyone has idols, but my idols usually have a shelf-life of about two years. I pretty much give them every opportunity to disappoint me. Klosterman has yet to do so and I've been a fan of his for almost 5 years. I don't agree with everything he says, but I can usually understand his point of view. For example, when he was on The B.S. Report, he went on a monologue against Twitter. I am a big fan of Twitter (you can follow me here) and Klosterman believes that his fans would get over-saturated with his work if he is constantly whoring himself out or commenting on things that he would write in a column or book. I can understand his point of view, but I think Twitter has more uses than just social networking.

Chuck Klosterman has a new book coming out in a few months called "Eating The Dinosaur." The book is in the line of "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs" and is sure to be a must-read. If I didn't think that an advance copy would appear on eBay soon, I would have already pre-ordered it on Amazon.

To sum everything up, I think Klosterman is a great writer and I hope one day to write as well as him. He is one of the reasons that I write and I hope that his new book will be a great success.

22 Sports People You Must Follow On Twitter

I was apprehensive to join Twitter because I knew that I would become addicted to it. I was out with some friends, about a year ago, and my friend talked me into signing up with her phone. I just posted a few “tweets” and then that turned into multiple “tweets” and now I’m on there all the time. I have around 1700 followers and it fluctuates daily. My Twitter name is @sweetbob and you can follow me by clicking here.

Here are the 22 sports people that you must follow on Twitter.

Bill Simmons - @SportsGuy33 - He’s extremely popular writer on ESPN and I love his writing and podcasts. He is very active on Twitter and sends out a lot of hilarious links. He was also apprehensive about Twitter, but now he seems to be addicted.

Mike Freeman - @realfreemanCBS - He throws in comedy with sports insight. He often RTs his @ replies with a funny remark. He's a must follow for every level of sports fan.

Chris Bosh - @chrisbosh - Chris Bosh is a basketball player for the Toronto Raptors. He has a great sense of humor and often asks for help on his Twitter for things to do in different cities that he travels to.

Eric Stangel - @EricStangel - He's the lead writer on The Late Show with David Letterman, but mostly tweets about sports. He often tweets out pictures of famous New York Yankee mustaches and asks his followers to guess who's mustache it is.

Hasheem Thabeet - @HasheemTheDream - Thabeet was just drafted in the NBA by the Memphis Grizzlies. He is very active and tweets about getting ready for the season.

Sports Bloggers - @sportsbloggers - This is a twitter page that posts anything from sports blogs that tag their tweets with “#sblog.” It’s a nice twitter account to follow for the latest posts on some of the best sports blogs.

Will Leitch - @williamfleitch - Will Leitch was the founder of the sports blog, Deadspin.com. He now works for New York Magazine and is the Emeritus at Deadspin. I needed to add him to this list because I just bought his book, “God Save The Fan,” at Half-Price Books, it’s a good read.

Jon Heyman - @SI_JonHeyman - He is a sports writer at Sports Illustrated. He is very active on Twitter and gives out links and tidbits that are worthy of a follow. I love his writing and sometimes he gives out a little information of what he is working on.

Skip Bayless - @RealSkipBayless - I have made myself clear that I don’t like Skip Bayless. I have even written posts dedicated to his idiotic banter. I follow Skip Bayless for possible material to bash and to see what great player he will decide to bash and belittle.

Chris Mortensen - @mortreport - I know that Jay Glazer can scoop the pants off of Mort, but I still follow him. He gives out some information that is worth reading, even if it pertains to the College Baseball World Series.

Molly Qerim – @MollyQerim_ESPN - I first saw Molly Qerim on a fantasy football program on ESPN. She was playing the “Sage Steele” role with Matthew Berry. She is beautiful and well-spoken. She is now involved in Mixed-Martial Arts programming at ESPN.

Jason McIntyre - @thebiglead - He writes at TheBigLead.com. I read The Big Lead almost daily and it’s a great sports blog. He gives out interesting links and is very active. He also keeps be updated on soccer scores while I’m at work, thanks Jason.

Jamie Mottram - @jamiemottram - Motrram is a sports blogger that is based in the Washington D.C. area. He runs MrIrrelevant.com and SBNation.com and works with Yahoo! I read his blog very often and his tweets are informative and entertaining.

Will Brinson - @willbrinson - He is a sports blogger over at AOL Fanhouse. I have been reading his stuff for awhile now and I think he’s great. He is active on Twitter and gives links out to some of his work and others that he wants people to read.

Amy K. Nelson - @AmyKNelson - I have been a fan of Amy K. Nelson since I saw her on First Take. She knows her stuff! I have read some of her articles and she is making a name for herself at ESPN. She is also a sports crush of mine…Shhhhhh!

Deadspin - @Deadspin - Deadspin.com is in my favorites on my computer at home. I read the site daily and it made a name for itself by having an edge with no access and a little bias. They tweet links to material on their site and most of them are worth a click.

Hugging Harold Reynolds - @HHReynolds - He was the mastermind behind the “Blogs With Balls” conference in NYC last month. I was unable to attend, but I read nearly every post that explained what happened. I am a big fan of his site, HuggingHaroldReynolds.com and go there daily. His tweets are great and he re-tweets a lot of good material.

Jenn Sterger - @jennifersterger - We all love Jenn Sterger, right? She tweets about sports and what she has been doing. She also posts a lot of twitpics of things that she has done like the Indy 500 and photo shoots. Just for that reason alone, she’s worth a follow.

Jimmy Traina - @JimmyTraina - Jimmy works at Sports Illustrated and helps deliver the “Hot Clicks” section over at “Extra Mustard” at SI.com. He has linked to a couple posts of mine, for that I’m thankful. He has a great sense of humor and tweets about the funny videos and the Yankees.

Matthew Berry - @MatthewBerryTMR - Matthew Berry is a fantasy analyst over at ESPN. He helps do the Fantasy Focus podcasts and videocasts on ESPN.com. He gives out a lot of fantasy advice on his Twitter, often responding to questions asked to him via the program.

Gunaxin - @Gunaxin - Gunaxin.com is a great site for sports, beer, babes, and humor. I read it daily and I’m now a contributor to the site. They often tweet links to new material and is very active. They have a staff of contributors that get content up on Gunaxin.com on a regular basis.

Shaquille O’Neal - @Shaq - Shaquille O’Neal is the King of Twitter. His tweets helped put Twitter on the map, even if they are often misspelled. Shaq can be a polarizing figure, but he won a lot of people over with his down-to-earth humor and accessibility. He’s definitely worth a follow.


Feel free to "Like" my blog on Facebook or click the Facebook box located within the sidebar.

Must Have: Threadless T-Shirts

I got an email today from some people who is promoting Threadless tees. I am all about promoting items that I have either purchase and use or find interesting. Plus a post about them could help land a free one (either L or XL please). They have tons of great shirts on the site. They create t-shirts from user-created art and sell them on the site. I wanted to share with you guys a shirt that may enjoy.....especially those that follow me on Twitter @Sweetbob. Follow me!