got blog?

• Do you feel the Blogging community in Second Life has changed since you started Blogging, and if so, in what ways?
  I mean it’s a completely different world now. For starters, back then, there were no “events” in the sense we know them today. In fact, main store shopping was all that mattered and popular brands took great care in creating good shopping experiences and creative home sims (unlike today where so many main stores feel like you just walked into Target or HomeGoods).
  The Quad’s four massive brands (Last Call, ETD, Celestial Studios, and Canimal) and Paper Couture made most of the big fashion news back then. For fun, there’s a great old article in Fast Company (I think) about the first millionaires to come out of Second Life fashion (not just real estate – with the whole Anshe Chung empire). Several of those innovative (mostly female!) entrepreneurs set the standard in micro-transactions before anyone knew what those were! Some of those creators are still in Second Life today.
  There were exclusive fashion shows that the fashion press (back then bloggers were recognized as “press” in our virtual world) would attend by invitation. We would then cover the new releases (or not) on our blogs – often times in advance or under “embargo” until the inventory was available to everyone.
  Don’t even get me started on “sponsors” and open “calls for bloggers” – when I came back to Second Life in 2016, I was like…wuh? WTH is a sponsor???
  I unofficially blogged for some of the biggest creators who became my RL close friends including Last Call and ETD. But there was no business relationship like there is today. I stopped blogging and left SL when a close friend and well-known creator tragically passed away. It sucked all the beauty out of the medium for me for a long, long time.
• Do you think that Bloggers have a positive impact on Second Life culture and community, and if so, do you have any stories about that?
  I think old school blogging has gone the way of the dinosaur for the most part. Very few people probably care to read a ramble about a virtual skirt or $1L demo. I think the most popular “bloggers” today are those who post their images on their platform of choice and be done with it. I’m a writer IRL so I blog (style and write) for the sheer joy of creation. I’m not a talented photographer. I just love to style IRL and in SL. I can’t resist a crisp white button down, a burnt orange blazer or a bow in either place.
• Are you approachable as a Blogger by content creators that may have interest in you as a Blogger for their Brand/Store?
  As a person, yes! As a “blogger,” no. I didn’t even know what a sponsor was when I came back and restarted DeuxLooks. I decided I didn’t want any part of the “business” of blogging. DeuxLooks Version 2.0 was the first “independent” SL fashion blog. I have never wanted to be beholden to anyone to prioritize my time or influence my interests. I just cover what I love. I also travel a lot for work and pleasure – and can’t imagine having to explain to people I essentially “work for” online that I’ll be away for XX days. I mean…I am sure no one cares. I do REALLY appreciate early/media access to events in advance!
• Have you yourself ever benefited from another Blogger’s post, such as learning a new skill for Blogging, or Second Life functions that you may not have known about?
  Oh absolutely. In fact, because my RL is as busy as it is, I actually don’t really socialize much on the platform anymore unlike when I was super young and new, and was so embedded in the culture of SL back then. Today, I rely on other bloggers who know a lot more about SL than I do. I always check out New World Notes, Sasy Scarborough and another OG blogger, Gogo’s JuicyBomb. Gogo says I need to update to PBR, so that’s my next challenge.
• Do you Blog content that you yourself would wear/use always, or do you blog content that is expected of you to blog due to commitments to stores/events?
  Only what I like. It’s that independent thing again.
• Do you feel that imposed time limits, and a set amount of content featured changes the way you blog content, and does it feel less authentically you?
  For better or worse, I am who I am. As I have grown up, I like the real me more and more. You can see a lot of the real Gillian even on my SL fashion blog.
• Do you use Social Media, and/or other platforms outside of your Blog/Website to promote the content you have shared?
  I just assume no one is reading tbh. I style and write primarily for myself. I don’t do any intricate cross-promoting, aside from Flickr and of course, the one constant in SL fashion – IHeartSL. I also just started using Primfeed but I haven’t done a lot to grow my network anywhere tbh. BTW, back in the day my Flickr was exclusively for hosting blog photos. It wasn’t the social platform it is today. When I came back to SL, I remember trying to understand the blogging ecosystem and people kept talking about “views and followers on Flickr” which wasn’t a thing in the olden days. I’m not good at it. I’m OK with that.
• Do you pay for any aspect of your blogging other than the clothing or items in your images, such as Website Hosting, Photoshop etc?
  I pay for DeuxLooks.com hosting and subscribe to Photoshop Elements 2023 to help me crop and organize all my snapshots. I don’t really spend much time processing. But I often spend days and days finding just the right items in my inventory.
• Do you think that Stores/Content Creators should have a Website/Blog for their Brand?
  TBH, I just wish some of them would use their in-world groups properly. When did that stop being a thing? Personally I probably wouldn’t make use of a SL brand’s website. I get what I need from Flickr or Seraphim.
• What do you enjoy and are most passionate about when it comes to Blogging?
  Creativity can mean lots of things. I don’t make anything to sell, but I would consider what I create in and around Second Life with my words or simple, plain images to be entirely passion-driven. It’s a great outlet for me personally.

fin