To think this hotel owner was in the right

[Rebeccaslicker]

Why do some people think that it's ok to ask for freebies in return for a few blog posts these days? How about the novel concept of getting off the internet, getting a job and actually paying for stuff?!

Am I showing my age and being hopelessly old fashioned, or is this just someone being really cheeky. It's not as if she's Kim sodding Kardashian and would really raise the profile (although to be fair KK would put me off!!).

www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/dublin-hotel-bills-vlogger-46-million-for-publicity-after-she-accuses-owner-of-bullying-over-free-a3746401.html%3famp

The owner sounds like a lunatic, and it’s a very average hotel.

I’d imagine he’s in cahoots with the woman to get them both publicity.

so why would she "influence" people?

Most influential social bloggers don't start from a position of having 'done something' - they start small and keep working at it until they grow and audience.

Over time it builds up and advertisers get interested. Its regular graft though and most don't succeed (or give up). The odd one becomes successful and gets the ad contracts (or a book contract) or becomes a celeb simply for being a blogger/vlogger. There are lots of them on YouTube and online journal type sites.

Is it really slogging? In the way that a doctor has to study for many years and then work the hours that junior doctors do; in the way that teachers work all hours prepping, teaching, marking; in the way that lawyers and bankers work long days, sometimes 7 days a week; in the way that architects or actuaries have to study hard and take numerous exams for years upon years; in the way that builders are up at the crack of dawn and do physical labour all day... I just don't see how plastering yourself in makeup and talking at the internet is work. What makes her opinions relevant?

I just don't get it!! 🤷‍♀️

I think her asking for the freebie was fine, that's how these things work. It used to be magazines etc, now it's individuals.

I think his snotty reply was fine too - it's how he 'works' his publicity. If she had done even the tiniest bit of research on him she must have known that. And if she's the professional influencer that she claims to be, she will have known what sort of reply she'd get. It's the sobbing and 'wah, he was so mean to me' vlog that she apparently did that made me think she was pathetic. Or manipulative.

Some bloggers/vloggers make money - some even make enough to live off. The idea is that they create good quality content which is discovered and followed and shared by enough people that they can start to make a profit on website adverts/selling related merchandise/monetised content. A fair few of them, once they have a dedicated enough following, will charge a small amount to view extra content for paid up subscribers only.

It's totally possible, but it's hard to get enough subscribers to make it bring in money and you've got to be prepared to work for free for a very long time, creating lots of content and interacting through various social media channels to get in people's sights. Even the 'successful' bloggers, like the novelists, almost always have a day job.

I have noticed a few bloggers I used to follow fell into a trap a bit like this. They were quite well known within niche areas and they got sent a few freebies to review (by companies serving the same niche market) and contacted by the press a few times. Instead of being humble about this degree of success and cultivating it, they started throwing their weight around a bit, thinking they were far bigger and more influential than they were. They alienated people and companies by attempting to 'rally' their followers for personal slights, and were rude in their responses to press queries (you certainly don't have to give the press your time, but if you're serious about making money on your blogging, there are ways to turn down certain requests while making it clear you're still open to others). They started asking for money to pay all living expenses so that they could blog full time.

It was painful to watch but I guess they were setting a scene.

That's v interesting, thanks Yorick.

I guess it worries me a bit in the way that things reality tv worry me - youngsters see it and think it's an easy and fun way to be rich and famous rather than doing a real job. But then I wonder if I'm just behind the times!

Rebeccaslicker

Surely not a world away from watching Top of the Pops as a kid/teen and convinced you're going to be a singer and be rich and famous? Or, in more recent times, BGT or the X Factor? I suppose the difference is instead of having to have an okay-ish voice, all you need now is a camera and internet connection.

Except that even as a delusional teen, i knew my singing voice wasn't great and that I danced like a fat frog in a blender!

Whether shows like "x factor" have had a negative impact on music is a different question (as I think every generation thinks the music after theirs is shite!!), but at least it's clear that you need to be able to sing to win. Whereas things like "big brother" or "gogglebox" have just made people famous for absolutely nothing. I have friends with teens and some of them really do just assume they'll be famous for something like that. Like it's a career!

Youtube and vlogging was great way to make money at teh start.There wasnt that many ,now everyone has a youtube channel and tries to make money out of it.Its over saturated at this point.

Shes 22,not a child.You cant ask for a freebie and be offended when he says no.Its that entitled attitude is marking all this generation with the same brush.

I heard about a music artists manager asking for a free huge amazing cake in return for a mention on instagram. CF

The baker outed them on social media

Many also set up a Patreon account where fans can 'donate' monthly to the Youtube channel and support the Vloggers lifestyle- essentially digital begging. You can get £500 a month easily which can cover basic liviing expenses for millennials :)

Many of the sponsored ads they do are not always declared or are mentioned in small print, so their ads fly under the radar and they can pocket the cash nice work if you can get it.

On Twitter you can contact companies or say you are looking to advertise a certain products and there is also another website that puts influencers in direct touch with advertisers so they can set up an ad. Usually it is scripted by the company. Many vloggers do not seem to really use the product -suprise surprise- and just smile convincingly at their young guillable fans are tell them they 'love' the product and really recommend it - I have seen some even peddle totally different brands to what they normal are well-known for using without batting an eyelid that people can easily know or check. eg. Say they normally only use Colgate, they would suddenly out of the blue advertise Aquafresh and say they have used it for ages and swear by it....this is the money talking haha
The hotel guy had a very enlightening video on his Youtube channel about the state of Influencer marketing and what rubbush it is

and another one to show his sarky styyle of generating publicity

He is well known for this and always get media attention, so he is doing something right. The PR stunt with the blogger was most probably a 'collab' ie. collaboration, all worked out in advance by both parties. Also DRAMA is what generates publicity and views on Youtube these days, even the smallest falling out or drama over nothing can suddenly blow up.

He may well have been a far better user of social media than she is... and to be fair he made no claims that Universal Studios owe any of their success to him.. as she did!

All in all she got bit... she didn't do her homework, had she spent even 5 minutes looking at his social media use she wouldn't have approached him - but of course in her head he is too old to use social media, so she didn't bother to do her research! She was quite patronising, lazy and got her arse handed to her. Tough!

If anyone wants to moan at him for continuing to gain publicity from it then they must also look askance at her...

Basically, he is a rude, unpleasant, successful user of social media; she is a lazy one, who may or may not have enough nous to learn from this!

Curious I think he's rude to cheeky or entitled fuckers. Like calling out people who complained about their food when he had cctv of them clearly enjoying their meal. In those instances he's doing what most people would like to do but don't (except on MN). I don't think he's unpleasant in real life - he just took all the staff away for a long weekend in Paris and Disneyland all expenses paid, has done some lovely stuff for charities and people who are seriously ill. It's a persona that works for the purposes of social media.

It's like One Foot In the Grave. People adored and loved Victor Meldrew for being very often a miserable git, and who called out cheeky fuckers, but who underneath was actually incredibly caring bloke.

She was being a smug good recourse from hotelier .... she needs to know it's not ok to go online n post video if refused

I'm old, 70 next month, but how do these sort of people make money, other that trying to extort it from people, from airing their personal opinions? Hopefully now her name is out there her credibilty is shot to pieces, anything she mentions favourably has probably been paid.

Shatner He probably is... but it doesn't really matter what he is like as a real person. Many posts, more on the other thread than here, seemed to want to demonise him for being mean to a young girl.

That level of disingenuousness annoyed me

It's been fascinating on Twitter and FB following this, Curious, because the vast majority of people are backing the hotel rather than the blogger. And the majority of those supporting her have been.... other bloggers, mostly similar aged and similar looking young women bloggers.

I don't approve of the really unpleasant personal comments she has received from idiots but similarly I don't approve of the 1* reviews left all over the shop by her young followers who have never been to the cafe or hotel.

Had she just taken the slight bruising, it would have died out. What really caused the backlash was her video of her in tears over it. Which began with her saying something to the effect of "you know, angels, I'm not into drama" and than a 17-minute diatribe about how appalling it all is, during which she basically made ridiculous ageist comments about anyone over 30 not understanding social media (despite inventing it), and said that she had only asked for a discount in the first place". Which of course is total rubbish as her published email didn't ask for a discount but asked for free. She also complained about how awful it was to bully a young girl. No, you're 22, you're a woman. That's why people got their arse out, she played a victim unjustifiably.

Added to which, that video contained adverts, which meant she made money out of it. She knew full well what she was doing there!

Argh shatner's description has given me the rage!!

@TillyTrolley Their videos have ads that play on them, usually about 2 which generate ad revenue for them; this is one way they make money.
ANother is through a sponsored video - ie. they will do a video reviewing a product and can be paid anything between £1k-£30k even more

Zoella gets £25k per product review

Then they also get paid for sponsored tweets and photos on Instagram, also on Snapchat-so there are many income streams.

There are videos where the vlogger will sit there and show the product and rattle of the script the company give them. Others may be sent away to a zoo or hotel for the night and will film and review the stay, for a nice fee.

I totally understand why celebrities get free stuff for advertising purposes, but have no idea why this nobody (and others like her) expect freebies?

Forget to say about substandard merchandise they often peddle too...crappy tshirts and dangerous candles -looking at you Zoella, she also had a £50 advent calendar last year that had about 7 products that looked like they were from poundland selling at Boots. There was a massive backlash by parents at how overpriced it was and Boots issued a statement, they then halved it I think.
Zoella et al have been peddling crap products to their fans for years, I feel bad for the parents who spend their hard earned money on these products to make their kids happy and all the money goes straight into the pockets of the ruthless managers who run the companies and shamelessly bombard the fans with this merchandise. e,ieve me it was purposefully marketed at children and targeting them as consumers which of course is totally unethical-no one has really questioned this and these companies have been allowed to make massive profits. One manager has managed to buy a nice big shiny house from pocketing all these kids' pocket money.......

The vloggers also do paid meet ups, conferences like Vidcon which flights, hotel meals etc all comped.
They have books coming out every other month, they literally do anything to make money

Rebecca she claimed in her email that Universal Orlando were really pleased with what she did for them!

They gets tens of millions of visitors year in. Her audience is mostly teenage girls and most of her videos are about shopping in Primark and her beauty regime. If she did anything about Universal, it would not have generated lots of business for them and if she believes it did, she's delusional. Oh yes, she also put her Christmas tree up in early November, posted a photo of it and gave it a name. Yes, she NAMED her Christmas tree.

I did feel sorry for the personal attacks and everyone going on about her filled lips and her pink eye (due to eye surgery). But she and her boyfriend were on a Channel 5 "reality dating" show last year called Make Or Break. She is absolutely one of those people who want to be famous for doing nothing and thinks they are all that.

Her dad is also a criminal.

Oh God, another thread on this? It's at least the third one.
He's an utter knobhead, and anyone who finds it funny to send out a letter like that and promote it for his own attention seeking needs is an utter knobhead too.

Considering that this particular hotel/restaurant owner has a huge history of riling up various groups against them and has a vast social media following, I wonder if A/this is just a setup where both, the vlogger and the hotel owner benefit from their another 15 minutes of fame B/the vlogger is just so plain stupid she didn't realise who she was asking for a freebie.
If B is the truth, it just proves that you need to make your research for everything.

It's been fascinating on Twitter and FB following this, Curious, because the vast majority of people are backing the hotel rather than the blogger.

Yeah,really? As I've seen lots of people thinking the hotel owner was out of order too.