Submitted by Steveh on Thu, 04/02/2009 - 11:17am
So I see in the My Account information that I can list Favorite Beers and Favorite Brewers, but I can't figure out how to populate the fields. Any help here?
S.
please read 'get started'
please read 'get started' step4 http://greatbrewers.com/get-started-greatbrewerscom
Adding Favorites to "My Account"
The fastest way to populate your favorite breweries and products in your "My Account" page is in the "Product Catalog" (you need to log in to use this feature). You can browse by brand (default) or you can browse for specific beers by category (brewery, style, seasonal availability, etc.). There is an "Add to Favorites" option below each brand logo or product image. Alternatively, you can go to any brand or product page and click the "Add to Favorites" option at the bottom of the page.
The fastest way to populate your favorite places to buy beer is with the "Beer Map" (again, you need to sign in to make this feature accessible). Browse a map of the 100 closest bars, restaurants, and stores that carry great beer. Click on the name of a place to go to that retailer's page. At the bottom of that page, there is an "Add to Favorites" option. Your favorite places will be stored on a map in your "My Account" page for quick access to their current beer lineup.
To see the GreatBrewers.com users who have added a specific beer, brewery, or retailer to their favorites, go to that respective page and click the "Fans" tab.
How do I add beers to "the catalog?"
How do we add beers, and bars and retailers carrying craft beer, to the catalog? There are several I have looked for that are not listed.
If the website can get
If the website can get Importers to add importer info, Brewers to add brewer and beer info, and Distributor to add distributor and retailers info (retailers can update the info), then all the information will be more accurate than if users generated. The questions shifts to how to get Importer, Brewers, Distributors, and Retailers involved, which is also the mission of the alliance.
So you are saying that this
So you are saying that this site is geared to, and run by those distributors and importers who have chosen to join, and that the mere consumer is not allowed to enter a beer they enjoy if it is not carried by a "member" distributor or importer?
That makes this site a trade site, not geared to the consumer and great beer lover (not to imply that distributors and importers are not great beer lovers). That goes against the theme of "Uniting the beer community."
I have done searches for several of my favorite beers, and beer locations, and came up empty.
This approach also leaves out most of the breweries in America, since there are more brewpubs (the vast majority of which do not distribute) than any other type of brewwery in America.
If true, I find those exclusions (brewpubs, non-member beers and retailers, consumers) to leave this community sorely lacking.
Perhaps a better logo would be "Uniting member distributors"?
What I was saying early is
What I was saying early is that Internet users need to identify them first. If they are Importers, then they can add/edit Importers info, if they are brewers, then they can add/edit brewer and beer information, and so on.
But I understand your concern. However, there was one thing you might have not prioritized. That is beer sales/distribution information. You can only get the accurate and up to date sale data from beer distributors. It will be very difficult to rely on thousands of millions of retailers to log on the site, tell the site what they carry and often come back again to update the information.
Then you might ask why this conflicts with any random user added beer? yes, it conflicts! Because if beers are added by any random user, the data doesn't have any mechanism to sync with distributors database and it's not realistic to expect each individual distributor to hire someone to work with the data generated from the Internet. Some level of consistency is required. and I personally value "where I can find beers" a lot. (I don't know if you are expert on data management related topic, think about if users input duplicated beers, entered wrong data, delete beers, and so on, then someone has to clean it in order to get the distribution data)
Not making the the site as a Beer Wiki doesn't mean that the site made exclusions. Obviously, I don't speak for the site authority, but I think the site has made priority to get most data in a very short time.