Why We Blog
This started out as a comment to this post. It grew into so many words that I decided to post here and link back. And it is something we all need to think about.
I understand your frustration with the post mentioned. I do agree that none of us can speak for ALL of us. In retrospect I find that I did that the other evening on a post about why we blog. The reasons listed were of course MY reasons and I know they are not the impetus for all bloggers. Still I suspect very few people were upset at my lofty prose.
Anyway, while I absolutely agree with your pro tip at the end, I would like to point out that after more than 1800 fashion and design posts of improving quality and thousands of hours of effort taking those pretty pictures, that "I" seldom buy anything. I consider myself "serious" in your words; I think most folks would. So equating money spent by the blogger with the quality of the blog is perhaps not fair.Some faulty logic seems in play.
We each blog in our own way. Some folks spend countess hours hunting in order to have things to show -- sometimes not such great things from my point of view but it is again, JUST MY POINT OF VIEW. They may love what they have found.
Agreed. Bloggers that continuously ask designers for free samples (and then often never blog them -- this from some designers I know) definitely give the group as a whole a bad name. In the beginning I had to work very hard to find items to feature. I was in the "not spending money" camp. Some folks really can't afford to spend RL dollars on virtual clothes and props. They can spend their TIME because to them it is free.
Nowadays I get a lot of review items. Life is easier in some ways. A year ago it would bother me that I didn't feature all I was given. Now I do my very best to show things that I admire, new or small shops that no one has heard of and that show promise, the designers who I have formed some sort of friendship with over time. I don't feature everything from everyone. I try to offer a fairly broad spectrum of styles within my own personal comfort zone.
I actually show about 10 - 20 percent of the items that come to me. I also do my homework, read the feeds giving others credit for finds when I use them. I hunt and I gather, and occasionally I actually do buy something for myself. It is rarely in the clothing line.
My inventory is a tidy 20K which is pretty light for a three year old fashion blogger AND content creator *wink*. I am definitely not into blogging for The Stuff.
So it is important for all of us to remember that we are coming from our OWN point of view and that there are as many other ways to look at our self proclaimed jobs as there are bloggers.
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Anyway, while I absolutely agree with your pro tip at the end, I would like to point out that after more than 1800 fashion and design posts of improving quality and thousands of hours of effort taking those pretty pictures, that "I" seldom buy anything. I consider myself "serious" in your words; I think most folks would. So equating money spent by the blogger with the quality of the blog is perhaps not fair.Some faulty logic seems in play.
We each blog in our own way. Some folks spend countess hours hunting in order to have things to show -- sometimes not such great things from my point of view but it is again, JUST MY POINT OF VIEW. They may love what they have found.
Agreed. Bloggers that continuously ask designers for free samples (and then often never blog them -- this from some designers I know) definitely give the group as a whole a bad name. In the beginning I had to work very hard to find items to feature. I was in the "not spending money" camp. Some folks really can't afford to spend RL dollars on virtual clothes and props. They can spend their TIME because to them it is free.
Nowadays I get a lot of review items. Life is easier in some ways. A year ago it would bother me that I didn't feature all I was given. Now I do my very best to show things that I admire, new or small shops that no one has heard of and that show promise, the designers who I have formed some sort of friendship with over time. I don't feature everything from everyone. I try to offer a fairly broad spectrum of styles within my own personal comfort zone.
I actually show about 10 - 20 percent of the items that come to me. I also do my homework, read the feeds giving others credit for finds when I use them. I hunt and I gather, and occasionally I actually do buy something for myself. It is rarely in the clothing line.
My inventory is a tidy 20K which is pretty light for a three year old fashion blogger AND content creator *wink*. I am definitely not into blogging for The Stuff.
So it is important for all of us to remember that we are coming from our OWN point of view and that there are as many other ways to look at our self proclaimed jobs as there are bloggers.
Comments
I admire anyone that gives blogging a go, it is hard, and many bloggers don't get much of a chance to wear what they do get, the time spent wearing it is the time in it on the stands lol - that is the case for myself and my friends who I literally blog alongside in our studios.
Anyway, here is to another 1800 posts.
xoxSasyxox
That's OK with me. I love doing what I do. I am not sure I will make it to 3600, but most likely 2000. That isn't too far away.