A Bloggers Reflection.

* I need to note  before I get onto my ramblings that if I feel or have felt any stress it is no ones fault but my own. This is just a catharsis of sorts. Feel free to chime in by leaving a comment. Remember, disagreeing is fine but please be respectful.* 

 Basically these photos represent feeling tied down as a blogger & breaking free of the stress.
  It's kind of a crazy trip down the rabbit hole for so many.  You see a designer you LOVE has opened their applications and BAM, before you know it you've filled out that application, to hell with the requirements, we can handle anything right?
  • You want how many posts? Fine, done.
  • You want me to rename my first born after you?  (Girls can be a Roman right?)  Hell yeah.  
What I mean to say is I have done this. Just applied as I loved the brand.  For a while I'd roll along thinking life is grand. That is until my style would change and I'd find it more and more difficult to blog that same brand with the same amount of passion. 

My style is ever evolving, as I learn and grow. I change it up all the time so I really do have to step back and shake myself to stop myself from jumping on those applications. 

 I honestly have no time for myself and it's my own damn fault!

Until a month or so ago I would spend my whole day making photos and credits just to make designers ( That I never met, spoke to etc) happy. 

Now I still do spend a dumb amount of time on my photos & blog but I am a lil bit anal about how I like things looking. 

Now it's pretty much (almost, kinda sorta) my choice as to when I post and how.  Not 100% I have some brands I work for, blog for, that do in fact have rules but I love them so much that I am happy to include them in my photos.


 Any bloggers reading this?  
           I pose these questions to you.
  • What are some of the biggest things you have agreed to in an application in order to get into a bloggers group?  
( I was going to make a list but of course, me being me go off track so I would love to see these listed in the comments.)
  • Why do you blog?  
  1. To be SL Famous?
  2.  To get free stuff? That you will wear once or twice and forget you own.
  3.  To help others?
  4.  Something else?
↑↑The above are just some suggestions, primers if you will.
 
Think on that and then think of the pressures you are applying to yourself.  
  • Is it fun?
  • Is it worth it?

Discuss in comments please.↓↓

Played
Break Free

Burn


  • Hair - Exile | Rare Bird | By Kavar Cleanslate | @ Collabor88 Nov 8th - Dec 6th.
  • Circlet - Zibska | Roos Circlet | By Zib (zib.scaggs).
  • Mesh Head - *COCO* | FashionDoll Head | Amanda Pale | By cocoro Lemon.
  • Mesh Body - *COCO* | FashionDoll Body | Pale | By cocoro Lemon.
  • Dress - *COCO* | SheerFloral Dress | By cocoro Lemon.
  • Pose/prop - Black Cats Poses | Perfect marionette | By Dragonlila.







Comments

  1. My thoughts are these.... I blog because I love to, I take pictures because its my therapy of sorts. I need to take pictures and play with them. This is all a kind of love for me. As far as rules and hoop jumping for designers and what they want.... I set my own rules and hoops. If they love me thats great and if they don't thats their opinion and thats ok too. I lead a stress free life as much as possible for medical reasons. If my blogging turns into stress I walk away for a bit. Same goes for my art <3 Thank you for this great post Ember <3

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    1. Hey Magick, Thank you for commenting!
      I blog for similar reasons. Photos are like my adult colouring book & I just love helping people.
      The only reason I can't walk away for any great length of time is with SL if you stop, someone else comes up fast as there's like a billion new bloggers All. The. Time. I've worked too hard for the readers I do have to lose them .

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  2. I blog because I love to take pictures and this is an outlet for the times that I don't want to process them forever. It's a reason to keep taking pictures and a platform to put them on that isn't Flickr. Which, face it, is very limited if we want to use it as anything but an album.

    I will do this until it stops being fun. This past week I've been doing other things and I haven't blogged. That's fine by me, and if any designer drops me for taking time off my blog it is their loss.

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    1. Hey Wendy. Thanks for commenting!
      I don't know how limiting Flickr is really.
      Loads are using it as their own form of blogging platform now, jotting down the credits etc in the description field and such.
      Reading this gives me another question: "This past week I've been doing other things and I haven't blogged. That's fine by me, and if any designer drops me for taking time off my blog it is their loss. "
      Q. How long would you go between blogging a designer that has you in their blogging group? (OK 2 part Q) Do you let them know you won't be blogging for X amount of time?

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  3. Your post is really great, something what started to bother me some time ago. Stress at work, home and - SL. I got sick and then decided to put my priorities in order and order sounds like ''me''. No more or less, haha. My family, life, everthing and then people who create amazing things in SL and don't blackmail bloggers with the pressure of a getting items, because some of us are aware that we will survive without that virtual nose/hair/septum ring.

    So, yes. I applied a lot of time - or always when I applied MYSELF (not when designers sent me notecard asking if I wanna blog for them) - only for the stores I loved since forever or to which I have hope they will become something great. But the biggest thing I agreed (but not to enter the bloggers group, just for the peace of designer's mind) was when they have weird rules like - ''don't blog me with that and that'' and when unfortunately that is a other designer I blog for - then we got a problem, haha.

    Why do I blog? Ah. I will probably give the most non-romantic answer of them all... I started to play SL just to practice my english (haha, you see how bad it is still while reading my sentences? :P ), then to keep in touch with some people... then started to blog as a something following to that. Then I stopped, erased almost everything. Then I started again - just to practice Photoshop/Illustrator/name anything programs skills. I was into 3D design but only thing I realized I am too lazy.
    So blah... I am mostly blogging what I like, when I like, from who I like and on first sign on pressure - like designer becoming famous and raise the level of requirements no matter of the old bloggers - I can only assure that I will run.

    SL is place where all should be happy and cheerfully holding each other in huggs, sparkles and unicorn's galop - if we are not doing it for necessary money - nobody should steal the joy from us :D

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    1. Hi there Dearra! Thank you for taking time to comment.
      I think it's a great way to practice another Language! Especially with the spell check option we can go over and realize we've misspelled something or other. ( Like I have 4 red underlines on this post prior to publishing LOL) I love and am totally flattered if a designer comes to me or sends me something. Makes my day!
      I started blogging about freebies in 2009. 1, because I was poor and 2 friend got sick of my stopping to answer questions on my outfits all the time , it was easier to blog and pass the link.
      I kept blogging out of habit! and now I just love making photos and editing the crap out of them :P
      Ok, long rambling reply. thanks again!

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  4. First of all Ember... awesome post and I guess many bloggers who did blog for some time, will run accross that facts and questions as well.
    When I started blogging back in 2008/2009, it was the fun of learning to make pictures and as well learn about graphic programs to express myself in a way I never could before. Playing with lights and colors and as well angles and different styles developed out of different moods really were a kind of therapy (like it was mentioned above already) to relax from a busy RL day or even let the mind break free and do some fun and exciting stuff.
    The more you blog and dive into SL and it's fashion possibilities, the more I discovered designers I liked and certainly when I saw blogger openings.. there was times I would have given my right arm for it.. I know we all know that feeling.
    Without realizing, the blogging more and more limited myself because of several rules, orders or requironments until it reaches a point where I just felt doing a look book without any personal twist anymore.
    Fun became a duty... it became work and not always a easy job. Certainly you try to satisfy the designers you blog for, as blogging is a passion to you and you are aware of, that you could not do it without the designers, who are working for their amazing products too!
    But then... I started blogging to escape exactly that.. to excape RL duties, requironments and limits. It took me years to realize that... But when I finally did it felt like breaking free again. I really cut back a lot and tried to focus again on the original intention I had when I started... learning new techniques for pictures, experiemnting with all the shiny new windlights now.. even with projectors and shadows since we got them. It brought me back to the question you asked finally...
    Why do I blog?
    To be famous.. no.. to show something that I get dictated... no... To get free stuff? ... I never saw it as free stuff, more as the gift to be able to promote a brand I loved and since I did my part of the "contract" as well and wanted to show the best I could.. so .. no....
    I just wanna express myself, my feelings and emotions, to experiemnt with things I could not do RL (no I can't walk with wings or a bloody dress to school and teach... or have cyberizes body parts on stage with the band :p )
    Being German and not a native speaker, I hope I was able to write it at least to understand and not to confuse anyone ;)
    Again thank you Ember for such a great post and .. yes.. I do LOVE your art pieces and blog posts ;)

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    1. WIcca! Yay, welcome to my comments!
      First off, I totally understand you. Your responses resonate with me greatly. SO many times I jumped on that brand I loved. SO many. No I occasionally do but I step back first and make damn sure I can fit them in & work with them. I can only cross my fingers and hope they understand that it will not be all clear plain photos as I NEED to edit. I liken it to an adult coloring book. Play time for me!
      But really, until I'd say 2011 I had no clue designers would add you to any blogger lists or blogging was even a thing. Other than being invited to Callie Cline's Blogger appreciation week. I
      OK, I'll stop now, I ramble, A LOT!

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