Eclectic Wingtips

oh sure i get requests for this regularly. I dont mind it when the blogger blogs the item... sadly quite often they dont but its a risk i take i supose

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Quality rigged mesh clothing for Women in standard sizing

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Marsco/76/85/344

Sonya Marmurek

• What seperates an SL fashion blog from a personal blog? Is it merely a matter of photographing yourself in clothing that makes it a fashion blog? Is it being on fashion feeds?

I think the whole 'fashion blog' is a bit too serious a term. I most definitely don't consider mine to be one. I think a pure fashion blog would make regular posts about the -new- releases on the grid, focus on clothes, probably (sadly) sort of 'normal' clothes and embrace the more editorial stuff often. Always credits.

• Are the expectations for content on a fashion blog different than on a personal blog? Should fashion bloggers not write posts about their SL relationships or families, their business or activities?

I don't really care, as long as they write well. If they write in l33t text and consider 'lol' to be a part of punctuation, I'd rather just see the credit list and the pictures. I think there is some sort of expectation for srs fashion bloggers to talk about just the stuff they are showing. I always find things more interesting if there's personal opinions or anecdotes included, though.

• Should bloggers feel obligated to post about an item they received as a gift or review copy? Should they disclose the fact that they received it for free?

They shouldn't feel obligated, but a lot of them do. As for announcing the review copies, the attitude toward that has changed a lot during the few years I've been blogging. First it was all about 'all the review copies must be clearly stated', I guess to make sure possible positive reviews could be balanced with the knowledge they got it for free. These days it seems that mentioning review copies causes huge explosion of drama about bragging. I started with always clearly explaining and marking mine, but I'm shifting into the * marking with the disclaimer added to my sidebar.

• If a blogger is posting pictures of themselves or places they've visited, is the expectation that they should list credits for everything shown and the slurls? Are the expectations different if it isn't a fashion blog?

I -love- slurls to pretty sims and always add them to mine when I don't just rez stuff home and take pictures there. Oddly enough, I don't think that's so much a general expectation though. Sadly. I'm more interested in new pretty sims than slurls to shops that I can locate with search. As for just listing credits, yes, fashion blogs tend to have a high expectation for listing everything. A non-fashion blog that is mostly writing lowers this expectation. If I was reading, say, a roleplay-journal-blog with a couple of pictures in the middle, I wouldn't expect credits of what people are wearing.

• If a blogger choses to post a review (rather than just a Look of the Day shot which to me is very different) how candid should they be in their opinion? Do you want to read negatives and positives? Do you expect the feedback to be constructive? Would you prefer they only blog things they like?

I've noticed that personally I just prefer to blog things I have only good things to say about. I'd feel all twitchy if I blogged about an item that has an obvious problem, but didn't mention it. I also can't really write criticism, that's not why I'm blogging. Actual item reviews should be honest, though, and I appreciate the extra information.

• How do you feel about fashion bloggers post processing pictures to the point that they really no longer genuinely reflect the quality of the item as you would see it in SL? eg: using photoshop to get rid of seams. Do you think the artistic shots should be seperated from the fashion shots?

I don't mind post-processing in blogs at all. Vendor ads are a completely different thing and should not be touched at all. Except to remove the damn square bug grid lines, obviously. Also, I'm more positive about post processing that plays with filters and lighting and artistic effects than I am about fixing seams. Liquify ugly linden shape angles, sure. Change the lighting, add film grain, turn the whole thing into a painting, I love it all. Fixing the product though... yeahno. Disclaimers about the amount of photoshopping you do in the blogs are a good thing.

• Do you expect SL blogs, of any or all types, with a certain level of popularity or readership to maintain some level of journalistic neutrality leave their personal opinions and activities out of it?

No one pays the bloggers to blog. It is not a job, it's a hobby. Journalistic neutrality belongs to the RL paid and trained journalists. Obviously the people blogging should still have as thick a skin as their style of posting warrants, but there's no law demanding SL bloggers to be neutral, just the same thing as with people anywhere doing anything: be able to deal with the consequences of your actions.

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Carthalis

Yep I've heard it happen with designers receiving notecards from people asking for items to blog. I couldn't bring myself to do that or have the balls to do that. I once went into a store and the designer was there and im'd and said if I wanted anything to blog I was just to ask. I couldn't do it, bought what I wanted and quickly left.

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Orc

I do this sometimes. I don't just ask randomly to my favorite shops though. I look in the profile picks page of creators I like and if they have a "looking for bloggers" pick then I'll ask. Some shops have a standing offer to all bloggers to ask for one or two items. Usually in that case I don't ask, I'd just buy. Other shops are looking for a certain number of bloggers to add to a list or group or they want one particular event or item blogged. That's usuallly when I feel comfortable asking.

I know one creator though, who told me she doesn't advertise for bloggers and built her list on people who cold carded their requests. So I guess once in awhile being super bold pays off too.

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My flickr pictures are here http://www.flickr.com/photos/smileyorc/

Khamon

wtl;dr;dc;bbq;bbc

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A Journey Through the World of Lever Harping

Beebo Brink

From the other end of the equation, a friend (who shall remain nameless) egged me into sending some of my newest products to a blogger (who shall remain nameless) and I don't think I could do that again either. Even the casually worded request to "check out my stuff, blog it if you're interested" felt like an imposition.

I'm just not cut out for promoting what I do.

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Noob: "okay.... im in a house with cages and people in gags and the door just locked and i cant get out :c"

Eclectic Wingtips

its not easy to put yourself out there. but its a big part of a sucessful fashion business in SL these days. I think its even harder when you send them stuff and they DONT blog you. that makes me sad cos you are all like OMG i love their blog and they must have been all eh about my stuff

Beebo Brink

See, I'm the exact opposite. I'd rather my stuff not get blogged than feel that I've been pity blogged just because I asked and the blogger was too kind to toss aside my stuff. So I'm damned either way.

Orc

Battle of the...whatever the opposite of "egos" is. anti-egos

Dancien Graves

I edit the photos in my posts. Mostly I use liquefy to get rid of the sharp edges that SL likes to give my avatar. Sometimes I do color correction so that it looks the same on all monitors.

pancake

OK now I'm curious about this, and again remaining nameless and generic...

Creators, have you ever seen some of your stuff on a blog and thought "OMG you made my awesome <thing> look like crap!"

I will admit I've probably thought that on your behalf when I've seen photos that don't do a creation justice due to ill fitting or poor lightning and a strange pose.

It's also something I'm super paranoid about myself, not showing an item in the way the creator envisioned.

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pancake

I keep hearing about this liquify.
I must investigate what it is.

Eliza Wrigglesworth

I have skins I kind of sold but mostly gave away, and I was thrilled every time somebody took the time to blog about it. There was/is this one person who's shape has that kind of strange, overly wide smile. I never could or ever will say anything though because she really loved the skins and she's a nice person.

Phoenix Psaltery

I can't decide whether to congratulate you on your witty mocking of the typical American's understanding of the use of those words, or stand idly by as my head explodes.

P2

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Phoenix's Rarely Updated Blog: The Wheelchair Users' Guide To The Galaxy

Sansarya

Fashion blogging in SL can be an expensive hobby, too, especially when you are trying to build a readership. You have to have the latest stuff and you may not be well-known enough to have made it to creators' lists of "bloggers who get freebies". You are (hopefully) trying to be unique, so you might be spending a lot of time finding stuff that isn't blogged everywhere else. If your computer craps out or it's not good enough to get the photos you need you may have that extra investment to pay, so unless you're able to handle the costs of a new computer, buying lots of stuff, taking time in SL to do a good set of photos AND the post-processing (which isn't necessarily just photoshop, but maybe framing, fixing colors, etc.) then it's not going to pay off for you. Some people do it just because they love it (and that's a big commitment). Some people do it for the "fame". Whatever it is, realize it's a lot of work and investment of time and money for the blogger, and not that many bloggers can afford to have a good quality blog. Sure SL fashion is full of drama, but even that drama is a price to pay for bringing in readers. I have a lot of admiration for SL fashion bloggers because they do a lot for not a lot of respect or credit.

Aemeth

1. What seperates an SL fashion blog from a personal blog? Is it merely a matter of photographing yourself in clothing that makes it a fashion blog? Is it being on fashion feeds?

If it's a certain amount dedicated to clothing, then it's a fashion blog.

2. Are the expectations for content on a fashion blog different than on a personal blog?

Yeah. People expect to find fashion on it.

3. Should fashion bloggers not write posts about their SL relationships or families, their business or activities?

They can write what they like on it. I've seen some fashion blogs where the writer talks about personal stuff while still showing off outfits. It can work.

4. Should bloggers feel obligated to post about an item they received as a gift or review copy? Should they disclose the fact that they received it for free?

HELL no, they should not feel obligated. And they don't have to disclose it's a gift, either.

5. If a blogger is posting pictures of themselves or places they've visited, is the expectation that they should list credits for everything shown and the slurls? Are the expectations different if it isn't a fashion blog?

Nope, they don't have to share everything. It's enough work linking stores as-is.

6. If a blogger choses to post a review (rather than just a Look of the Day shot which to me is very different) how candid should they be in their opinion? Do you want to read negatives and positives? Do you expect the feedback to be constructive? Would you prefer they only blog things they like?

They can do whatever they want.

7. How do you feel about fashion bloggers post processing pictures to the point that they really no longer genuinely reflect the quality of the item as you would see it in SL? eg: using photoshop to get rid of seams. Do you think the artistic shots should be seperated from the fashion shots?

There are tons of people who do this and make their pictures look awesome. Obviously, the reader should be aware it's edited, but I think that would be obvious anyway.

8. Do you expect SL blogs, of any or all types, with a certain level of popularity or readership to maintain some level of journalistic neutrality leave their personal opinions and activities out of it?

Popularity =! obligation to do jack.

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Eclectic Wingtips

yes but only once. The person hadnt bothered to fit the dress AT ALL and the prims looked horrific cos the skirt was too big. It made me very frowny face. But no normally bloggers do an awesome job!!

SpaceCase

I've seen SL bloggers get negative comments just because they talked about RL (art bloggers, freebie bloggers, character bloggers, and others).

I can't understand people that would be so mean and leave such comments. I once read on a freebie blog that they shouldn't talk about their SL wedding since it wasn't a freebie. wtf?

For the most part, AFAIK no one is getting paid to blog about SL. I do it for fun and to share.

If I ever have a complainer on my blog, I'll ask them to take a number at the complaint department:

Tiffy Vella

Very occasionally, I try looking for new bloggers, and have scouted, and usually love how others style my creations..they often take better photos and put things together differently..but juuust occasionally, I've wanted to suggest that some might like to try higher resolution shots...or try anti-alias...or perhaps zoom..or perhaps include a slurl...I have no idea how to do that. It doesn't happen often, and 99.9% of the time I love what bloggers do.

Faithless Babii

your blog is one of my daily reads ...love your photos (clear and actually shows the products really well) I generally go pick up something youve highlighted each time I read- my inventory doesnt like you lol

I dont think it hurts a blog, fashion or otherwise..to include titbits about life , real or otherwise...to me I prefer those..it gives it more depth...although I do read the ones that show a snap and then just list url's also...the ones I return to over and over are the type that "say more". I enjoy those heaps.

Nuuna Nitely

I prefer bloggers who but more effort into their posts and don't just post the new stuff. They usually post maybe 1-2 times a week and whole full looks. And I do wish bloggers would blog more the little stores. Kinda get old seeing the same big names all the time.

Same here! That's why I do like when they ask. So I know they want to blog it.

Again same! That's why added to my profile that I don't want review stuff. I blog because I want to and stuff I really like. Also reason why I have no problems buying things and supporting the creators.

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“It's not denial. I'm just selective about the reality I accept.”

Sian Pearl

I have had that too. I was polite and depending on the store, I was like, "Do I EVER" or "hm, that's very kind of you... I'll take a look."

I have never, ever, ever hit up a designer and asked for free things.

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Darkley

I've been blogging for a while, and try and find new stores all the time, but its hard to find. I also try and not do what everyone else is doing, I hope im succeeding

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Prickle Poses
Available inworld
and on the marketplace

Nuuna Nitely

I try to do the same and agree it is hard to find. I look at marketplace a lot or when I'm at some shopping mall thing i check out other stores there too.

Darkley

I hate marketplace so much, its either 50 recolours of the same template or stuff tagged with unrelated stuff

I love fairs and events because I can find new to me stores