Bloggers Unite!

Seriously delayed/elongated post alert!  I've always associated conferences with men in suits and dreary locations, so when I saw an e-mail about the Independent Fashion Bloggers Conference during Fashion Week, I was more than excited to put any previous associations to rest.  Even though it was scheduled for a Monday, a quick Google search confirmed it would be Presidents Day a.k.a my first NYC Bank Holiday, allowing me a much needed day off work.

 

  

The day was split into four parts; I missed the first due to a well-deserved lie-in but I made sure to arrive just in time for the first discussion on the Business of Blogging.  I guess it'd be silly for me to say that I hadn't wondered how people seem to blog as a career, so I hoped to gain an insight into the numerous ways of blog monetisation and whether it was right for me.

You will notice that after each panel, I gradually get closer and closer to the front

The panel included Gala Darling, who has turned her blog into a lucrative business by selling content  (but also working freelance) and some representatives (and also bloggers) for Bluefly and Attention. A main feature was how to deal with PRs, as I'm sure I'm not alone in receiving numerous e-mails of varying significance and suitability, yet not knowing the appropriate way to respond. if at all. Most blogs seem to start off in an ad-hoc manner (I know I did) so retaining some kind of professionalism when dealing with such companies is a must in order to present yourself in the best light.  I guess I hadn't really thought about the PR relationships I was building, but considering that I do eventually want a career in fashion, I feel that they could be very useful to have. The whole monetisation issue is a tricky one and it was suggested that bloggers should create 'media kits' to show to potential advertisers, detailing the statistics and demographics (and even psychographics) of their sites.  I don't feel as if I'm one of those super-organised bloggers who are that attractive to advertisers, but I'm happy to just wait and see whether anything relevant will ever come my way.

 

  

I managed to corner Wendy Brandes before she moderated the 'Blog Ethics' panel.  Her dollar bill dress was particularly suited to the nature of the discussion and the Swear Rings added a cheeky touch.  Even though I'm not a typically ring person, I could see them as a good place to start and would love to see a whole swear-y collection with necklaces and brooches. In between discussions, there were light refreshments and even nail artists (unfortunately I didn't manage to sort out my sorry looking talons) and many bloggers mooching around.  I guess I was a little bit starstruck.  Picture this; you start off reading blogs in England, featuring girls from random states within America on a daily basis. Then you move to New York and suddenly you're all in the same room.  All I could think was 'I've seen you on my Google Reader and now you're moving?'  A very surreal experience.

Calls to Action were also discussed telling people to comment, follow, subscribe or become a fan (coughs *hint*)

 

This woman was a legend.  Jessica from What I Wore was also on the panel.

I guess the idea of this panel flowed from the precious discussion, about keeping your integrity whilst writing a blog.  The main furore seems to be over disclosure; whether gifts that are received affect the coverage within a blog and how it might make the reader feel.  Take this example, where bloggers are forced to provide almost immediate reports after a shopping event in order to receive gift cards of varying amounts (another round up is here).  It reinstates that nothing ever really comes for free and you have to be careful that what the company expects from you, doesn't affect the content of what you actually end up writing.  Magazines are another thing entirely and appear to play by different rules when it comes to advertisers deciding content, but this panel highlighted that honesty and credibility are important when it comes to the personal style genre.  Difficulties can arise, as we not only write our blogs, but design the layout and feel, determine content and handle PRs and advertising, whereas a magazine would have separate departments to deal with this.  It's definitely important that we demonstrate a healthy kind of balance between staying true to the essence of our blogs and choosing the appropriate opportunities when they come along.

 

The lovely Jennine of IFB; some amazing footwear was seen that day.

  I loved how Susie and Phil immediately started to take photos of the audience

 

I also loved these boots owned by one of the Fashionista girls; I seem to love a lot of things...find more photos here

The final discussion of the day was 'The Future of Blogging' featuring heavyweights such as Susie Bubble, Tavi and Bryan Boy.  Even though the topic was barely discussed, what I saw was a first hand account of how these bloggers have dealt with their supposed 'fame' and the sudden backlash against them.  Susie touched on the point that highlighting a certain group goes against the democracy of blogging and to just to let them get on with it, without debating their existence in numerous articles. and fuelling the hype.   There's thousands of blogs and enough space for them all,  therefore impossible to generalise and lump everyone together and accuse them of various atrocities.  Different things are expected from blogs and magazines so there is really no need for either one to feel threatened,  and this 'new' form of media should just be accepted as a way of letting 'real' people show their stance on fashion.

There was the chance to have your photo superimposed over the background of your choice...I'd quite like to actually go to Versailles and I'm sure Alyssa would too.

A day filled with blogging speeches inevitably filled me with lots of blogging thoughts and I want to revisit the reason why I started this blog and what I want to create.  I don't necessarily want to gain thousands of readers, numerous ads and a freebie wardrobe (actually that sounds rather tempting after seeing the words typed up on screen) but I do want to make this blog the best it can be and a true representation of myself on t'internet.  How wonderful/scary would it be to look back after many years, to revisit the various discoveries I was making in my early twenties?  There's been a lot of criticism of bloggers recently and I've seen a few being trashed on Twitter for not being 'worthy' enough for fashion week, which I don't think is the most productive thing to do.  I think in life you need a certain amount of 'get-up-and-go' to get anywhere, so if that's what gets you into a fashion show, then so be it.  There's no point in sitting around and waiting to get invited.  Blogging is such a subjective thing and I'm sure  that even the 'worst' blog has a handful of loyal readers and rather than focusing on the negative, I think we'd be better off thinking about the positives it can bring; a wider view of fashion, interesting insight into personal style and a whole community of like-minded people.  Now we need to work on getting this event to come to London!

To  coincide with this sort of epiphany, I have a new e-mail address (kristabel(at)iwantyoutoknow.co.uk, I think/hope it works) to replace the old one.  My blogger profile name is still Kb, but if you want to send me an e-mail, and have no idea who to address it to, I hope it's now a little clearer.  Thanks for all your comments on the last post and for being so patient; now March is here I hope the weather will get a little better and my motivation to explore the various areas of NYC will continue.

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