The fashion blogger myth OR why ads and free clothes doesn’t equal clout, creditability, or trustworthiness.
I didn’t feel the need in the last few days to address the anthro-blog-apocalypse directly on my blog. Anyone who reads my blog regularly is bound to be able to predict my thoughts and I’ve also left my opinions scattered across various blogs in the comments. Although not talking about it much here, I am finding it hard not to think about. Unfortunately, I can’t say that I was surprised. Let’s be real, we all know the world is full of cheats and liars. What really disturbed me about the situation though, was that no one felt they could come forward and call her out on her behavior. I think there are multiple reasons for this and I won’t speculate on all of them. But there is one reason that I think I have the power to try and dispel, and that is the myth that a fashion blogger who has ads on their site and receives free clothing from retailers, has some sort of power.
I think some readers have the impression that many bloggers have a REAL relationship with the stores they write about and this assumed relationship gives the blogger an aura of authority, creditability, and power within blogging communities and in real life. Most blogger are not knowingly using this to their advantage but neither are most talking about.
In defense of bloggers, when they agree to an affiliate program or take on advertising in another fashion, they almost always have to agree to a confidentially clause. Which means, although every blogger is suppose to disclose who their advertisers are, they are not allowed to talk about what they are being paid.
