Bloggers and brands 2.

[Merriboo]

continuing the discussion from the previous thread about transparency and disclosure (or lack of) by bloggers

I was skimming through the trainwreck thread on plus size bloggers today, interesting to see those bloggers acting like professionals and rising above it all (from what I saw, haven't RTFT yet). On the other hand, did see some concerning posts about posters saying they were bullied in FB groups attached to those bloggers for daring to lose weight, or even expressing the desire to, being made out to be traitors, etc. It's the internet after all so how much faith one should put in anonymous comments is one thing but it has got me thinking about the devotion of those followings, how group mentalities can become really skewed. From the outside looking in it doesn't sound like a healthy dynamic at all (this is not about the plus size bloggers, but pretty much all blogger/influencers).

Has anyone been following the news items on Logan Paul, "a hero to pre-teens whose followers number around 15 million, posted a video to YouTube that showed a dead body in a forest in Japan known as a locale for suicide." There was an interesting article on it in The Fashion Law today as this is very much affecting advertisers. YouTube was already struggling with the backlash from advertisers already that they were indirectly funding hate speech and similar on their platform. I do wonder how many more scandals we'll have to see, and how disturbing, before the industry as a whole starts pulling back.

I have read about the Logan Paul thing, as it concerned me a lot as a mum of a tween, who I know was aware of LP and who watches quite a lot of crap content on YouTube, like most of his mates. I was quite anxious to know whether he had seen the video and was relieved that he hadn't, but one of his friends apparently has viewed the video . I read a Twitter thread today about the forest that LP went into, and there is no question he went there with the intent to find what he found, and to use it to to produce material for his vlog (or whatever it's called), so his apology about 'raising awareness' sickens me, tbh.

I've been really interested lately in reading about issues around bots and paid trolls interfering in democratic processes, and seeing how social media platforms like Twitter and FB's responses to the questions people are starting to ask have been evolving. Its all symptomatic of these new social media platforms being unregulated and failing to regulate themselves properly. Ultimately they are driven by the desire to generate income so they'll only pull back if forced to, and they will probably only take issue seriously if advertisers start to withdraw support. Problem is the advertisers are often equally driven by the dollar and only withdraw support when consumers start to raise concerns - things like the Don't Fund Hate campaigns, for example. I don't trust any of them - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram - to do the right thing, whether that is protection of personal data, applying consumer regulations or dealing with malicious bots.

I also see that Fleur deForce is keeping her new baby's name a secret for the time being, and explained it as she's very vulnerable at the moment and doesn't feel like dealing with the inevitable bitchy comments from people who don't like the name. So she's sitting on it till she feels stronger and more able to deal with it.

Makes you realise how destructive it is to live your life essentially being judged by millions. No amount of money is worth a deluge of hate towards your newborns name.

elspeth I don’t know Fleur de Force but there is a full-time mum blogger (Tigerlily Quinn) I follow, mainly because I like her style, who spoke on You Tube about her family/children being part of her brand, which kind of horrified me. They are six and two, so have no say in any of it. I wonder how they will look back on the “brand” when they are teenagers? Or if their friends find posts about them when they’re older?

Yes, the use of kids as part of brand building is concerning. I follow one who still seems to pick her teenage daughters clothes so they are "on brand".

All bloggers want is money. Not one of them seems to make any secret of the fact that they value "stuff" above all else and what is the point in having all this"stuff" if no one knows. Hence Instagram the exhibitionists best friend. Don't get me started on using children how greedy do they have to get before people wake up and switch off.

AMR sells anything you pay her to from cat food, baby gear, £350 candles et al. Why do people continue to feed the ego? She had a great make up beauty blog then sold her soul and is basically just a shop.
I never thought bloggers were very bright and thought they used blogging to avoid the job market as a lazy option by as they can't stop bragging about latest house purchase maybe not so stupid after all? ( Kidding I loathe them and their evil deeds)

I think you are being a little (lot) harsh, Validation. I think most people are out to make money (I assume you go to work?), and how lucky for some that they can do that by doing something that they love.

I have never ever begrudged bloggers monetising their blog and becoming a “brand”. (Although, if I am completely honest, once that happens, I quickly lose interest in reading their blogs or following them. It is the antithesis of why I read blogs. But I digress). As per this entire thread, I would just like them to be transparent about what is and isn’t a gift, and what they are being paid to advertise.

I admit I am uncomfortable with anyone putting their children so openly on the internet, and especially using those children to promote goods or services, but hey, they aren’t my family so who am I to judge.

As an aside, I actually think the majority of these women are incredibly clever. Fancy going from a small wee fashion blog to being invited to premieres and being paid thousands of pounds to promote clothes, bags, shoes and holidays. Sounds pretty savvy to me.

By the way, who is AMR?

FdeF is a HUGE YTer/blogger. 1.5 million followers on YT and over 800k followers on Instagram.

Has also decided not to show her daughter's face that much, if ever, in the future. She showed one when she was just born and that's it basically. Everything since has been from the back or neck down.

The amount she is having to patiently explain this to her hugely entitled and possessive followers is insane. It's ridiculous! People just keep badgering her - she only gave birth a week ago and looks knackered and she's having to explain it yet again for the slavering masses.

I feel really uncomfortable when bloggers show their children's face and names. I also wonder how they will feel about this when older, some bloggers definitely share too much info which quite frankly should be private.

I don't mind them monetising it either. The transparency issue is what I care about. Giving the impression that it is normal to spend thousands of pounds a month on new clothes when actually most of them are gifted, is dishonest. I just think it fuels a grabby grabby consumerist society that I don't think is healthy. When you know the clothes are gifted or the shopping trip was paid for, you see it in a different light - it becomes more like a magazine article, a bit more inspirational rather than a look to be slavishly copied. I'd never rush out and buy everything from a fashion shoot in a magazine yet IG makes it far too easy to do exactly that with the whole 'swipe up' thing.

I see loads of comments along the lines of ''oh my god you have made my credit card take a battering this month' and I just think that's actually not a great thing or something I would feel totally comfortable with, if I was a blogger.

Some of the older more established bloggers seem to be very dismissive of the younger ones. I think younger kids are seeing blogging as a career choice from the outset as compared to the older ones where it started as a hobby and mushroomed from there. Good luck to them if they can start a blog and make a successful career out of it. (I won't be advising my children to consider this as a future career )

WIT looks amazing in that photo, wish I looked that good on the beach. Dunno about photoshop, probably took a while to get the angles right and would expect the various Insta filters have been applied. Does that count as photoshopping any more??

Er, no. Fleur went on and on about her unusual baby name and said she wouldn't reveal before the birth. Then the baby was born and she basically posted "Ner, not telling you the name yet :p". She knew people were checking her social media for the name daily then eventually said she is too scared to tell everyone the name because some people will say mean things so it'll be a few weeks yet. Nobody is pestering her for baby content. They are accusing her of holding off for a monetised name reveal video while being happy to post sponsored insta stories of Next baby outfits.

Ergo, I think her followers are probably not deserving of "slavering masses".

I don't know anything about this Fleur women. Not my bag, so probably not my place to comment. However... this blogging business...

It is such a fine line between building your brand (and hence your loyal and devoted followers) and your own personal life. Where do you draw the line between private and public? If you have allowed the public to follow you in your pregnancy, I can see why they have an expectation of knowing the child's name. Your followers have invested 9 (probably 6, I know) months of their lives into following you, and wishing you well along the way. (After being inundated with baby goods, I'm sure). Of course they think they are involved. Of course they would think they have a right to the name.

Is that right? Probably not. But these bloggers who are telling "us" very detailed information about their lives shouldn't be surprised when "we" are interested in the specifics. Isn't that what the brands are paying them for? Our interest?

I’ve been loving following these last two threads and have delurked to say that I think WIT’s photo has been photoshopped, something about the left side of her waist in particular looks off.

I think it’s sad if that truly is the case, Laura has got a fantastic figure and there really should be no reason at all to photoshop her. I don’t agree with the use of photoshop at all for reducing waists, leg lengthening etc (remember that photo of Kate Winslet on the cover of a magazine...) but it does seem to be common place in print media but for Instagram I find the use of it even worse, filters are one thing but this is over the top, the whole platform couldn’t now be further away from it’s original ethos.

Exactly Mrsdoubleskulls. I'm on the fence about it but I do understand some followers being irritated that they are good enough to marketed to via hashtagged headless shots but not be told what she's named it. Unfortunately I think other vloggers and bloggers have done the same for money reasons so people are a bit sensitive to it!

I saw the blogger post yesterday about the Miele washing machine and dryer.
As she put #Ad on the post.I assume that means she got those for free?
I remember seeing her asking opinions on which ones to get.

I saw that as well. The Pukkas are also peddling fairy washing tabs.

At least they are disclosing it. Interesting debate on the Pukka washing tabs posts about quantity of ads as well. I didn't know (or maybe I just didn't remember) she was with Gleam, but seems she is. Pukka seems to be handling the debate really well though (she seems to be willing to take feedback on board!). She does tend to come across as very professional, I like her a lot.

I think WIT generally needs to get on the case with better transparency. It never used to get on my nerves as much as other bloggers because I always got a sense that she was more like a magazine so I suppose I just assumed that she had lots of samples and things sent to her for free. The whole swanning around Notting Hill in high heels and silk dresses was all a bit fantastical as well, so I never related to her in the same was as other mum bloggers did.

Her Wardrobe Icons thing is basically set up to generate money from affiliate links, which I think I cottoned onto almost from the outset (although I don't think it was explicitly mentioned). There is a very legalistic affiliate disclosure policy which suggests that she has take some advice on it, but its a bit weird now I read it "The content featuring Affiliate Product(s) may not always be identified on the Site as paid or sponsored content and the compensation that we receive from Affiliates may influence what content, topics or posts we make on the Site and where they are posted." I think the ASA guidance regarding affiliate links its pretty clear that content featuring affiliate products should always be identified. At least its honest in that it says that they are more likely to feature on the site stuff that they are being paid most commission on!

Now that more bloggers are disclosing paid partnerships and ads, its becoming more obvious that she's not, and its now starting to irritate me. I think a PP had said she had said she didn't 'like' disclosing? Sorry, but that's not a good enough excuse.

Pukka is one of the few I still follow.

WIT gave he opinion on disclosure on her ‘goodbye’ post on her blog a while back.

Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me...its because its a "privacy invasion"

"WIT is not about buying what I’m wearing, it’s about inspiring you to create similar looks from your own wardrobe." So here are some affiliate links so you can buy exactly what I'm wearing!

I think WIT probably started out being a site for inspiration, but things have moved on now with the advent of affiliate links, swiping up and 'link in bio'.

Her site is so slick and its a great concept, and she seems really lovely too - gah! I just wish she would get on board with why transparency is not an invasion of privacy but about consumers being able to trust what they see on Instagram and on blogs.