I listlessly browse Facebook on a break from work. In the sea of garbage, a post captures my attention: someone asked the difference between bloggers and influencers. Great, I think, someone who still uses the brain. I stop to read the answers and decide to ask myself the meaning of this difference on my dashboard. I realize that there is a lot of confusion on the subject and, myself, before deepening the subject years ago, I had a mistaken idea of the blogger and the Influencer. The first answer that comes to mind is “the influencer” influences people’s business choices, while the blogger writes posts hoping of being noticed by companies for free products. That’s not the case. Let’s start from the figure of the Fashion Blogger and try to understand who he/she is. It will be easier to understand who the Influencer is by making it clear who this commercial character is first.
The Fashion Blogger: who is it?
The Fashion Blogger, as the name suggests, is a person who has a blog about fashion. The presence of a blog is essential to be able to talk about fashion bloggers. Forgetting Second Life and virtual worlds for a moment, the (real) Fashion Blogger is also the one who uses SEO monitoring systems like Google Search Console and Google Analytics to monitor his/her web presence and engagement. The blogger uses images and text and is paid by companies to write posts. This definition of a fashion blogger in real life is ordinary. In SL, the situation is different. The fashion blogger certainly has a blog, hits count, as well as Flickr followers, and words in addition to images are credits and links to stores and events. The fashion blogger hopes that the readers of his/her blog will buy the clothes he/she promotes through his/her images because the more he/she sells, the more he/she grows his/her authority as a fashion blogger.
The Influencer: who is it?
The Influencer can influence the other’s opinions, he/she has a high number of followers and uses the Socials (especially Instagram) easily and daily. He/She doesn’t necessarily have a blog and shares his/her thoughts and his/her days through the Socials. People follow them because they are famous because people is curious to be part of their daily lives, even if only through the web. The Influencer is not paid by companies to promote; otherwise, he/she would be an ambassador. Moreover, even more interesting, the Influencer is not obliged to promote anything: if he/she uses clothes or accessories that are given to him/her for free it is because he/she really likes them, because they are in tune with his/her (personal) style of dressing and living in general. If a brand sends a dress to an influencer, it knows that it can be good or bad: it depends on the taste and style of the Influencer. The Influencer, in short, influences the masses and is not influenced by companies. He/She is free and has no obligations of any kind. However, some influencers turn into fashion bloggers when they charge for a blog post (if they have a blog). They turn into advertisers when they charge for a Socials post (Instagram mostly). A fashion blogger becomes an influencer when he/she is so famous with the blog that he/she acquires the freedom to make his/her own choices, without being a “slave” to companies.
Influencers, although rare, are also present in SL and can influence the thinking of a large number of users, changing styles and buying habits. On the other hand, SL has a thriving market, so the rules that apply to real life, are the same as the virtual world of LL.
Leggi in Italiano → La (sottile) differenza tra Blogger e Influencer
Scorro svogliatamente Facebook in un momento di pausa dal lavoro. Nel mare di spazzatura, un post cattura la mia attenzione: qualcuno ha chiesto la differenza tra blogger e influencer. Fantastico, penso, qualcuno che usa ancora il cervello. Mi soffermo a leggere le risposte e decido di chiedere a mia volta il senso di questa differenza sulla mia dashboard. Mi rendo conto che c’è molta confusione sull’argomento e, io stessa, prima di approfondire l’argomento anni fa, avevo un’idea imprecisa del blogger e dell’influencer. La prima risposta che viene in mente è: “l’influencer” influenza le scelte commerciali delle persone, mentre il blogger scrive posts nella speranza di farsi notare dalle aziende per avere prodotti gratis. In realtà non è proprio così. Partiamo dalla figura del Fashion Blogger e cerchiamo di capire chi è realmente. Avendo chiaro chi è questo personaggio commerciale, sarà più semplice comprendere chi è l’influencer.
Il Fashion Blogger: chi è?
Il Fashion Blogger, come suggerisce il nome, è una persona che ha un blog che parla di moda. La presenza di un blog è indispensabile per poter parlare di fashion blogger. Dimenticando Second Life e i mondi virtuali per un attimo, il Fashion Blogger (reale) è anche colui che sfrutta sistemi di monitoraggio SEO come Google Search Console e Google Analytics per monitorare la sua presenza sul web e il suo engagement. Il blogger fa uso di immagini e testo e viene pagato dalle aziende per scrivere posts. Questa è la definizione di fashion blogger nella vita reale. In SL la situazione è diversa. Il fashion blogger ha sicuramente un blog, contano le hits, i followers su Flickr e le parole in aggiunta alle immagini sono i credits e i links ai negozi ed eventi. Il fashion blogger spera che i lettori del suo blog comprino gli abiti che promuove attraverso le sue immagini perché, quanto più fa vendere, quanto più cresce la sua authority come fashion blogger.
L’Influencer: chi è?
L’influencer é colui che è in grado di influenzare le opinioni altrui, che ha un numero di followers elevato e usa i Socials (soprattutto Instagram) con disinvoltura e quotidianamente. Non ha necessariamente un blog, e condivide i suoi pensieri e le sue giornate attraverso i Socials. La gente li segue perché sono famosi, perché è curiosa di essere parte della loro vita quotidiana anche se solo attraverso il web. L’influencer non è pagato dalle aziende per promuovere, altrimenti si ridurrebbe a essere un ambassador. Inoltre, aspetto ancora più interessante, l’influencer non è obbligato a promuovere alcunché: se usa abiti o accessori che gli vengono mandati gratuitamente è perché gli piacciono realmente, perché sono in sintonia col suo (personale) stile di vestire e di vivere in genere. Se un brand invia un abito a un influencer sa che può andare bene o male: dipende dal gusto e dallo stile dell’influencer. L’influencer, insomma, influenza le masse e non si fa influenzare dalle aziende. E’ libero, e non ha obblighi di alcun tipo. Tuttavia, alcuni influencer si trasformano in fashion blogger quando si fanno pagare per un post sul blog (se hanno un blog). Si trasformano in pubblicitari quando si fanno pagare per un post sui Socials (Instagram per lo più). Un fashion blogger si trasforma in influencer quando diventa talmente famoso col blog da diventare influencer e acquistare la libertà di fare le sue scelte, senza essere “schiavo” delle aziende.
Gli Influencers, per quanto siano rari, sono presenti anche in SL e sono in grado realmente di influire sul pensiero di un gran numero di utenti, modificandone stili e abitudini di acquisto.
D’altra parte, SL ha un mercato fiorente, quindi le regole che valgono per la vita reale, sono le stesse del mondo virtuale della LL.
It’s been 23 hours since Roxy Gellar published a preview on my Facebook group dedicated to art and culture (Art And Culture in Virtual Worlds Community). I’m talking about the birth of MEA (Moon Endowment For The Arts), a project that comes from the collaboration of individuals. The people interested in this project are all known in the artistic environment, and I confess to being very happy with their initiative and enthusiasm. I leave the presentation of this project directly to Roxy:
This Fall a new partnership has been created to support the arts in Second Life. No one private group can match LEA’s former resources, no longer available to our communities. We hope to provide inspiration for artists, musicians, and events organizers like ourselves who must seek alternatives to LEA.
In the coming weeks we will announce dates for some of our favorite artists for the fall and into winter. New Moon Events is the virtual home of Jan Pulsford’s Electronic Music Sunday Events from Great Britain. First to sign on with MEA was Terra Merhyem and Rage Darkstone. Kerupa Flow was next to accept our invitation for space at Moon Endowment for the Arts. Photographer Rofina Bronet will debut our Primary Colors Gallery with musical guest Ultraviolet Alter. Following Rofina’s showing is the Album Art of Jana Kyomoon and my birthday celebration with Jana Kyomoon’s Moonday.
We hope that our efforts will be inspirational for others to also provide alternatives for installations and events no longer sponsored by LEA. More to follow!
Roxy Gellar
I asked her for some more information and Roxy answers me:
The concept at its heart is an alternative to a permanent venue. gallery, or other (prim heavy) build. We offer those but the focus will be to provide our resources to a monthly installation or build event.
These MEA sponsored installations may be in place for a day or in place for a month on a case by case basis.
In addition, a gallery will also be available. As will a performance space for particle shows to accompany Electronic Music Sundays. We also offer the option to some DJs and musicians to rez their own venue per event up to 750 prims.
The Island That Is Not There is, in fact, the island of dreams. A place of well-being, peace, and harmony that probably exists only in fantasy and Second Life. As I told Franz, I appreciate the meticulousness of the furniture and the ability of Coraline to assemble the various objects creating a harmonious and credible structure.
Franz had not mentioned that he was the owner of OTIUM, while I asked him how the idea of The Island That Is Not There was born. A not insignificant detail because the sim that was the inspiration was precisely his original creation. I was able to find some images, as I said, of OTIUM and in fact, some corners and the structure and overall style are identical.
At the arrival point, you will find icons that invite you to follow the location events: Flickr, YoutubeMachinima by Inworlds Film, and the invitation to theinworld group. The group is essential for the rez and useful to photographers and bloggers. Membership costs only 50 L$, so I think it’s very convenient. The light settings of the region are rich in contrasts of light and shadow, but I also invite you to try CaIWL by changing the east angle. You can obtain impressive results. I recommend that you have the shadows active, whether you use Black Dragon or any other viewer. Finally, explore, explore, and more explore. There’s a lot to see and photograph.
Art in Second Life is experiencing a period of strong disconnection, in my opinion. Since the LEA project closed, the minimum connection between artists, gallery owners, and art lovers has generally disappeared. In itself, the closure of LEA is not a drama; I agree with those who have commented on the news without pathos.
LEA was an exciting project, full of initiatives that involved and passionate many people, intriguing even those who were not particularly lovers of virtual art. I do not underestimate the importance of the LEA project. Although with some hiccups already described, it has carried out a connection, a stable reference point for all art fans.
https://virtuality.blog/lea-closing/
However, LEA no longer exists. The LEA 2.0 project, originally started by Tansee Trillium, is also archived (all members of the inworld group have been ejected, some of whom had actively participated with suggestions and ideas for the development of the 2.0 project). It is nobody’s fault; the LEA project could not continue because it started between LL and a specific group of people. Since those people were missing, the project also fell out. It doesn’t mean that other people cannot start a new scheme in collaboration with the LL, but at the moment everything is silent.
So, what is the future of the art sector in SL?
Do we like the current situation, or do we want to improve something? In my opinion, the most worrying aspect is the strong individualism that characterizes the single art gallery or the unique art project. Individualism means isolation. It implies aridity and creative narrowness. Moreover, the isolation of individual projects leads to an inherent attitude of competition between artists that hurts creativity itself. Business does not get along with artistic creativity that develops in quietness, without haste, and competitive stress.
LL is paying attention to the content, enhancing the value of bloggers, vloggers, photographers and anyone who produces high-quality content (and with the launch of SLBN I have better realized that many people can publish interesting content). I think that a similar connection could be enjoyable also in the artistic field, through integration with groups and inworld discussion. Besides, gallery owners and artists would see their content enhanced and actively participate in discussion groups. Do you have ideas, suggestions? Do not hesitate to write me a comment or contact me inworld (secondlife:///app/agent/922461f1-2a8d-43ab-8f15-1ff27fa92075/about).
I was looking for new places to explore, and so I opened Second Life Destinations. I’m usually informed about new locations, but it’s been a long time since my daily engagements diverted me from virtual tours. As is often the case, the image chosen to represent the location in Second Life Destinations caught my attention, and so I decided to visit Mon Joli Cadeau. Upon arrival, I received a warm welcome from the owners of the sim, Yoh, and Avalon Boa. The region is tastefully decorated, which is something you will notice immediately upon arrival. Also, the owners take great care of the artistic and musical aspects, devoting care, attention, and time to organize live events that have a nice following of people. The art galleries hosted by Mon Joli are enchanting, and the art on display goes well with the architecture of the region itself. Besides, in Mon Joli there are several shops of well-known brands that represent an additional reason for interest. For all those who are interested, I report in detail the musicians, artists, and shops that are at the location. For any information, owners are often present on the sim and willing to help.
Yesterday, September 29, 2019, the official news came from the owners of Chouchou regarding joining to the Second Region Preservation Society. We are talking about the program that allows the rescue of regions that, without the support of LL, would close.
The owners of Chouchou have therefore made official the decision to preserve their sim and to resurrect the sim Chouchou XVI – The Babel that went off-line in 2013.
Besides, the owners of Chouchou confirm the creation of a staff that will take care of the region’s maintenance, appointing in particular Tofu (10223 Resident) as a reference point.
From the content of the message published on the official Facebook FanPage, you can see the reasons that led to the initial closure choice. The impossibility of taking care of the regions for RL reasons, combined with, as often happens in high traffic places, the fact that the regions themselves were attacked by some jammers, have meant that the Chouchou creators opted for their project closure. In fact, reading their announcement, it seems that the decision to maintain the regions is influenced by a calm routine. That is to say; we have to hope that these disturbers will not return to the assault of the Chouchou visitors. Unfortunately, I fear, but it is my opinion that the harassers will return and that nothing can be done about it other than to ban them as soon as a member of staff is available. Griefers are a common problem in every crowded region, a price to pay for a high traffic sim. However, it is important to be aware that it is unthinkable to close a project just because there are troublemakers: such a choice is equivalent to “throwing in the towel”, surrendering to the overbearingness and haughtiness of certain subjects. So, I hope that Chouchou is always well attended and that visitors can appreciate it in peace. However, if not, I hope that the owners have the strength to move forward and not so quickly satisfy the desire for the destruction of some griefers.
Another good news about Chouchou comes today: on October 18th Chouchou will release the new album “code01 oort” from their “Experimental Album.” The collection will be available in pre-order from October 4. The Chouchou owners specify that the new “code01 oort” is the result of an experimental live concert held last December at the “Architecture and Resonance” event sponsored by Kanto Branch of the Architectural Insitute of Japan. More information can be found on Chouchou’s Facebook FanPage.
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