Blogger Conference in Dallas

ratmouse

Sunny Dayz wrote: »

I think the difference is how they post the links.


I follow Pippa and Buy Now Blog Later and their posts are like they are almost chatting to you. You get the sense of passion and love for clothes, beauty and shopping from them. There doesn't appear to me to be blatant flogging of a particular brand.


However I have noticed other bloggers who come across as a bit too obvious with their links. A small bit of writing about some trend or another and there's some links, all from a small selection of particular stores/brands.


At the end of the day, I appreciate the effort some bloggers put into their posts, even if they have these sales links in them.

That's a good way to describe how they conduct themselves compared to others. Imagine not putting in the time or effort for your fans to write a bit more on a clothes post than here's the link, click on it and make me money!

traineeacc

Pippa has used this for a while I think however she will also say where it's from in comments rather than reposting the rstyle link minus any comment! To me it's less blatant selling.

ratmouse

traineeacc wrote: »

Pippa has used this for a while I think however she will also say where it's from in comments rather than reposting the rstyle link minus any comment! To me it's less blatant selling.

She got asked about this on Facebook and said that she does have the name of where items are from and the price and therefore no need to click on link. I think that's fair enough. Based on that instagram page mentioned above, I think more and more people are waking up to the deceit some bloggers are known for. It's like the Dallas conference has shown the true colours of many of them.

gossipgirl10

Ya I guess it's just the way things have gone now that blogs will be like this and fair enough it's a way for them to make their living. I definitely think it's fairer on the reader though to say Shoes - River Island 60 euro and then have the link next to it so that if someone wants to click through they can but you aren't forced to click the link just to see where something is from. It's just more transparent.

I noticed on a blog post today that where they were obviously affiliated with a certain brand they didn't name the brand they only had the link but on other parts of the outfit where the link wouldn't earn them something they said where it was from.

Also, I mentioned a few posts back about someone having something on facebook about the great new thing called Like to Know It - think that facebook post has since been deleted? I can't see it anymore anyway....

It's funny the hashtag on instagram for the conference was rsthecon obviously short for conference but in my head I just keep thinking yes it all is a big con!!

retro:electro

Looked up reward style on Instagram but their account is private. Their bio says "reward style is an invitation only monetisation tool for top tier digital style publishers around the world"
Lol

traineeacc

What an eloquent way of putting it!!!! Somebody linked a 900 euro pair of shoes on it last night ! Following a lot off comments about the cost of the shoes it appears to have been deleted! It's existence and the underhand way it's used by some bloggers to show "amazing" outfits they love which just happen to be in a shop supported on rstyle grates on me so much!

retro:electro

traineeacc wrote: »

What an eloquent way of putting it!!!! Somebody linked a 900 euro pair of shoes on it last night ! Following a lot off comments about the cost of the shoes it appears to have been deleted! It's existence and the underhand way it's used by some bloggers to show "amazing" outfits they love which just happen to be in a shop supported on rstyle grates on me so much!

€900?! That's demented! In other words "some ejit out there please buy these shoes for this daft price so I can get a nice cut of the proceeds"

traineeacc

The bit that amazes me is the loyal army of followers commenting they "have" to have them!!! Funny though she deleted it following the negative reaction re the cost. Wouldn't mind but she clearly states she bought them in a shop in Dublin but linked an online shop to get them via rstyle!

retro:electro

Also, off topic but am I the only one who is so over those "Celine" t shirts?! Lol they are so two years ago and most of them are fake.

Twee.

I mentioned before that I work in PR for some major brands. A lot of the bloggers being mentioned do blogging full time. A well maintained site, social media scheduling, regular posting, up to date products, fresh "outfit of the day" posts, lifestyle posts (event outfits/trips) cost money and time. Gotta earn it somehow! I do agree that RStyle needs to be reigned in though, it's creating a false sense of popularity. The stats are not really accurate (for me as someone who would reference them when working with a blogger) if people are just clicking to see where it's from, they could be clicking and exiting in half a second when they see the brand. People knowing the brand and still clicking would be a much more useful piece of information.

And with my mod hat on, can we please refrain from this thread becoming a bitching fest again. It is absolutely not in the spirit of the forum.

meeeeh

I think some people are forgetting that bloggers are basically selling their lifestyle. You want to be indie, you follow this one, you like glam there's another one. But very few are doing it just because they have nothing better to do with their free time. No one is complaining when Vogue flogs a 5 grand outfit as a must have, why should there be outrage when a blogger links some more expensive pics. As soon as you start making any money out of the blog you are not independent or unbiased. The blogs should be understood as advertisment of lifestyle not as kind of independent style advice.

ratmouse

meeeeh wrote: »

I think some people are forgetting that bloggers are basically selling their lifestyle. You want to be indie, you follow this one, you like glam there's another one. But very few are doing it just because they have nothing better to do with their free time. No one is complaining when Vogue flogs a 5 grand outfit as a must have, why should there be outrage when a blogger links some more expensive pics. As soon as you start making any money out of the blog you are not independent or unbiased. The blogs should be understood as advertisment of lifestyle not as kind of independent style advice.

I agree, which is why bloggers should remove their "independent/unbiased" hat once they've moved into the paid advertisement zone. Just be honest about it. It's all about the honesty for me!

Tigger99

Mmmm. When I first read about rstyle I thought that it was very misleading of bloggers to use it. But thinking about Pippa's site in particular she has given me some great ideas that I just wouldn't have come up with myself. I'd say it's a right pain in the bum going through all the websites for a particular style and I'm glad she (or her staff) does it and not me.

So is there any real harm is using rstyle? As someone mentioned these people have to earn a living too.

ratmouse

Tigger99 wrote: »

Mmmm. When I first read about rstyle I thought that it was very misleading of bloggers to use it. But thinking about Pippa's site in particular she has given me some great ideas that I just wouldn't have come up with myself. I'd say it's a right pain in the bum going through all the websites for a particular style and I'm glad she (or her staff) does it and not me.

So is there any real harm is using rstyle? As someone mentioned these people have to earn a living too.

No harm so long as you're honest. Some bloggers would have you believe that they don't make a cent from any of these links.

Luno

anna080 wrote: »

Absolutely hate hate hate when bloggers post "no make up" selfies!! I see the fake lashes, mascara, eyeliner and mucky tan a mile away. So annoying!

I haven't seen this trend for ages now. I think Michelle Keegan and Beyonce sparked this trend. I guess it says more about the person than the blogger though. It is a dog eat dog world and being a blogger comes with huge social pressures to look great all the time.
What even constitutes a no make up selfie? Some instagram filters smooth out flaws on the skin, is that cheating?

meeeeh

Are some of you checking certain bloggers just so you can complain about them? I am sure there are gazillion of fashion webpages around that will not cause you such hardship.

dudara

Posters - let's not start into this again. Stick to the original topic.

dudara

Luno

Blogging is such a new area and its clearly still trying to find its place. As another blogger mentioned here before, she makes next to nothing from her blog yet we all agreed that hers was probably one of the best beauty blogs in Ireland. If you want to make a living you have to sacrifice some transparency (at the moment anyways). Aren't we all trying to get by in our own ways? Blogging is such a new phenomenon that of course there will be teething problems in the beginning. I am very happy that blogging exists, I have learnt so much from various blogs and there will always be new, innovative bloggers emerging. Why dwell on the negatives of a certain cohort of bloggers when there are literally thousands of ambitious, new bloggers dying for people to even look at their blogs?

ratmouse

In terms of us discussing bloggers being transparent and honest re. paid sponsorships,etc, I noticed something else myself. Do you think bloggers do clothing hauls or buy items just to appease their following but actually don't have any interest in the clothes as the brands seem to be beneath them? If so, isn't this an extremely fake way to behave? Wouldn't this suggest that a blogger isn't in anyway true to themselves or their blog? Reason I ask is, in preparation for the Dallas Bloggers' conference, a fashion blogger did a "much requested" Penneys haul and bought a load of clothes that they said were for the Dallas trip, bikinis for the pool, striped t shirts that would be perfect to go with jeans, etc. This blogger did a short video on packing for Dallas and not a trace of any of the penneys clothes in the case. Not a sign of the Penneys clothes whilst in Dallas (except for one ill fitting bikini photo that was taken in a bathroom so possibly not even worn outside and just a staged photo). Blogger did a "what I wore in Dallas" blog and video on return and again, no sign of a single item from Penneys. Now of course anyone can change their mind about what they bring on hols but to not include a single item from such a big haul doesn't make sense to me. Do people think that these could be faux hauls, so to speak, done because the blogger can afford to buy these items just for a stages haul video and to allow followers' to think they are "down to earth" purchasing cheap high street clothes but never have any intention of wearing them? Is blogging really stooping to an even lower level in this way? I hope not. The Dallas conference just keeps bringing a lot more blogger fails to light.

niamhv

I agree, there was not one item of clothing from penneys mentioned. Everything was river island, then when she got back she said she was going to be incorporating designers pieces into her wardrobe... Which I thought she already had been doing. I mentioned this to her, and she wrote a really nasty reply. I noticed she's doing a " haul" from misguided but doubt any of the items will be worn on the upcoming holiday. And seriously, she calls herself a travel blogger... Bloggers usually go out and see cultural things, so I will definitely be checking up on what cultural activities she partakes in, in the Caribbean

Twee.

Ratmouse I think you are reading WAY too much into this. Why read a blogger if you don't find them honest or like how they conduct their blog/business?

niamhv

I think it's becuase social media is flooded with them.. You can't help but notice them, even on tv you're xposed to them

meeeeh

I really must live under a rock because I manage completely avoid them. I'm fan of people that find their own style and mix old stuff with current high street and designer gear. I don't like the whole disposable culture and raiding Penny's and other cheaper brands and then dumping that. Brand stylists can do that. So a lit of blogs that are popular here really don't interest me. But I must think that nasty and bitchy tone in this thread and in Met thread for example does bother me. Is it that hard to critique the outfits without making judgements about personality?

ratmouse

Twee. wrote: »

Ratmouse I think you are reading WAY too much into this. Why read a blogger if you don't find them honest or like how they conduct their blog/business?

Maybe I am reading into too much Twee. I'm sorry if my questions cause offence or annoyance. I like to compare different blogs as blogging is a new enough concept overall. The dynamics of blogging and behind he scenes as it were is genuinely interesting. I don't want to be getting into deep water in a forum I really enjoy though, so apologies.

onthemitch

Longtime reader, First time Commenter!

I think the Dallas conf is mad! Can't believe Irish bloggers went - Anouska & Susanne must be making loadz of money from rewardstyle, and fairplay to them, they do their blogs for free, and if afilitate marketing is how they make their money then why is that a bad thing?

I would love to have seen some more behind the scenes of the actual conference; Susanne mentioned in her vlog that she went to a few seminars and had brand meetings, and I think the business side is really interesting so I'm disapointed that we didn't see more of that. I'd really like to know what the conference was about other than parties and freebies!

Ratmouse, I totally see where you're coming from with the Penney's things but this is a bit of a theme with you – kind of disgust / disbelief at "top blogger" (why you can't just admit you're giving out about So Sue Me I don't know; do you think people haven't noticed she's your no. 1 target all along?)... what diff does it make to you? Probably she gets sponsored by River Island, so that's the brand she promotes on her blog, we didn't see every single waking minute of her trip so whose to say she didn't wear Penney's to the pool?

From reading this forum, and the last, I think you should try to take a break from reading Top Blogger as it seems to make you very unhappy (even though you then follow things up with, "oh gosh I didn't think I was being mean, I just noticed...", as if no one notices that you're sneakly bitching about her!). Maybe try watching some good shows on Netflix or, better yet, start your own blog and show them all how you'd earn your money!

Sorry if that seemed a bit mean but as I said Ive bn reading these forums for AGES, and all you seem to do is give out about Susanne who's making a really good living out of blogging, and I really admire that about her (even if I don't like her clothes / tan / lashes etc).

ANYWAY did anyone see any posts about the actual business side of the Dallas trip? I would love to see what actually went on. And did you notice there was another re ward style trip to barbados or the bahamas, probably for the really big bloggers, looked so amazing! But they all did things like boxing, which seems totally mad, like, "we have some bloggers coming, let's do a boxing class" WHY! Ha!

Toto Wolfcastle

onthemitch, welcome to Boards. Please try not to get personal with other posters. Thanks.

Other posters, if you have a problem with a post, please report it. womandriver, I've deleted your post as all it will do is cause hassle, and there is nothing to suggest that what you posted is true.

As always, please do not respond to this post on-thread. Thanks.

gossipgirl10

River Island had a post on their blog about the conference

http://au.riverisland.com/styleinsider/blog/2015/04/river-island-does-texas-for-rsthecon

Not a huge amount of info but it says top 200 bloggers in the publishing world were invited which answers some previous questions people had about how people were selected to attend

Sunny Dayz

Just had a quick look at the River Island link above. Well done to Sue for getting a mention on it!