Blogging 101 – About Time We Respected Fashion Bloggers

This is a post I wrote for About Time Magazine

Yesterday, I was minding my own business online when I stumbled upon a tweet from a fellow blogger alerting her followers to a terrible case of blogger bashing taking place on I-D. Nothing new here, as it seems everyone likes to have a go at the “whack-a-blog” game these days… I don’t have enough fingers to count the articles that have been picking apart the blogging community over the years. But you know what? This time it made me angry enough to take it out on my keyboard… So in between pretty instagram shots of my endless collection of designer handbags and a couple of macarons, I decided to whip out five reasons why you should respect fashion bloggers right now.
… because it is about time we celebrated other women’s success
I think this is by far the main reason why you should respect anyone you meet, or read about. It is hard enough to build a career, maintain a happy life, do anything when you are a woman without getting shot in the back by other women. This is a more general point, but since fashion blogging is an industry that’s mostly female dominated at the moment, it is important to remember to celebrate each other’s success. And if for some reason you can’t, use the time you would have spent criticising others to actually focus on your own success and career.
… because we work bloody hard
Blogging used to be a hobby. Now for many of us it is a full time job. And when I say full time, I don’t mean 9 to 5. I mean FULL TIME, 24/7. There is no switching off, leaving the office and forgetting about it. Your life IS your job. Don’t get me wrong, fashion blogging is exciting and fun, but it still is hard. What you see on social media is only the tip of a very pretty iceberg. What you don’t see are the hours spent dealing with boring admin stuff, the endless flights and trips that take you away from your family, the sleepless nights trying to meet deadlines on the seven projects you have on at once. Instead, we show you the cool things we do because that’s what we are here for: frivolous entertainment.
… because we have changed the face of the fashion industry
Since I started blogging in 2007, I’ve seen so many changes in the fashion industry. It opened up slowly but surely, allowing outsiders to look in and report to other outsiders. So perhaps sometimes the reviews are a little raw but they are all passionate, mostly well-researched and original. Of course, the evolution of the fashion industry isn’t all due to the blogging community but I like to think we helped a little.
… because we aren’t about to disappear
Let’s face it, you can hit us as hard as you like, blogging is just the latest form of media and communication and it isn’t going anywhere. If anything it is getting more professional and there is a code of conduct of sorts being drafted.
… because there is space for everyone

We all cater to different audiences. Each blogger attracts a certain type of reader. And there is plenty of space in well… cyberspace. Magazines, blogs, youtube channels, social media networks… We all provide entertainment, news, a bit of mindless fun. We should all be able to co-exist peacefully. This isn’t a competition, this isn’t a race. 
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