There 's a wide variety of opportunities awaiting the successful blogger. According to trade journal Women's Wear Daily, "The new celebrities are the fashion bloggers, who are courted, coddled and charmed like never before." A few years ago, bloggers were ignored by the fashion industry, but Fall 2010 runway shows invited bloggers to any shows they wanted to attend. New York Fashion week even held two conferences discussing the evolving influence of bloggers on the fashion world. This is solid evidence that the world of blogging is truly evolving. Once you've found your voice, keep writing! Slogging is a never-ending process. Be on the lookout for new ideas
Dena Spruill
everyday! And don't forget to participate in the community. After all, blogging is a form of social media, so leave a comment on your favorite blog spots or write an email to The
for
someone's blog that inspires you. Great content and social networking are the surest ways to blog success.
personal diaries to the
Blogs are everywhere,
which is causing the blogosphere to become jumbled,
If you're simply using your blog as a home for your inspirations, then have at it! However, if you're using your
crowded, and packed full of the inner ramblings of millions.
spot as a career portfolio for either your writing skills or
But what are the rules? And where does one begin?
artwork, keep a few things in mind:
The first step, if you haven't already taken it, is to just start one! It doesn't matter if you're not totally sure of a direction
PHOTOS YOU CAN USE
yet, andit may take a while to find your voice. I incessantly
Photos taken yourself are, of course, fine to use. However,
chewed over the idea of starting a blog for quite some time,
when using photos from other places, you have a few
endlessly researching other people's blogs until finally, one
options. You can ask for press photos, use public domain
night out of sheer boredom I created my own little spot in
photos (which can be found in places such as Flickr's The
the grand blogosphere of the World Wide Web. There are a number of easy-to-use blogging platforms
Commons), or you can use stock images from sites such as The Stock Exchange (http://www.sxc.hu/). If all else fails.
out there, such as blogger.com, sugar.com, and tumblr.com.
you can credit where you got the picture from. However,
Once you've found the right one for you, you've got to
keep in mind that copyright laws do apply to bloggers.
ask yourself, why are you blogging? Are you looking for a
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place to showcase your portfolio, salaciously gossip about
REPORT THE FACTS
the stars like the nouveau Perez Hilton, or is your goal
You're not at libel for reporting the truth. However
perhaps to simply house a place for your inspirations?
spreading rumors can get you in to trouble. Trust me, you
Figuring out what you want will help you get the most
don't want to go there. Remember, you're writing for a
out of the experience.
global audience, whether your blog is personal or not.
ink
