Comments on: unmediated media

By: Danielle

Danielle — Thu, 24 May 2007 11:14:47 +0000

I like the FT interview too. They let the Sartorialist speak for himself and it’s fun to watch him at work. Thanks for posting the link Henna, I edited it into hypertext for us =)

By: Henna

Henna — Thu, 24 May 2007 03:27:01 +0000

Sartorialist is awesome and I really like the FT interview with him – but I think that one of the (if not THE ONLY) reasons that FT’s eye was drawn to him is that he also snaps for Style.com now and that’s pretty mainstream, old media (i.e. Conde Naste publications). Anyway, you can watch the bit for yourself here:

The Sartorialist on Fashion Television

By: Danielle

Danielle — Wed, 23 May 2007 11:06:02 +0000

Thank you Aurora for pointing that out, I should have seen that on the website when I checked, it was right there. I edited your correction into the post. Maybe we can find a a video of that bit too.

By: aurora

aurora — Wed, 23 May 2007 04:10:30 +0000

Its too bad you guys only managed to catch that brief snippet of the show that was posted on the internet.

FT actually did an amazing & extensive segment on The Sartorialist to accompany that clip.

By: irene

irene — Wed, 23 May 2007 02:40:58 +0000

Kudos to that Henna! That guy from Fairchild Publications, Patrick McCarthy is super negative in this piece! He obviously has not read Kathleen Fasnella or Final Fashion or La Coquette or Diane Pernet – but it looks like Horyn and McDowell have a little more vision for the future than McCarthy does…

By: Danielle

Danielle — Tue, 22 May 2007 23:30:44 +0000

Henna – I’m glad you caught that irony. Television is notorious for editing things out of context, inflating the drama of any story, and relying on generalities more than any other media, but I generalize.

This piece was television calling blogs a media that lacks constructive criticism. *ahem*

Isabel, that would make my day if you visited me when you come to town! I’ll see you in facebook kid =)

By: Henna

Henna — Tue, 22 May 2007 16:19:00 +0000

Interesting how the FT piece seems to imply that blogs thoughtless when the FT piece itself obviously did very little research on fashion blogs or even blogs themselves. I think see the difference between new media and old media – old media seems to be resting on its so-called laurels whereas new media (including us bloggers) prove ourselves to be passionate about the subjects on which we write so that we can get taken seriously.

All I can say to FT is: why bother doing a piece when you clearly don’t know (or really care!) what you’re talking about? I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a blogger writing about a subject that he or she has little interest in or knowledge about.

And for the record: I love Jeanne Beker and FT, but that makes me even more disappointed in them. I didn’t get any new information from that piece – just that blogging puts more pressure on print media sometimes so that they’re starting their own blogs. This certainly isn’t anything new and is hardly newsworthy.

By: Isabel

Isabel — Tue, 22 May 2007 12:49:46 +0000

I think it’s painfully obvious that Perez Hilton is not a fashion blogger. Anti-kudos to Beker.

P.S.: I’m in T.O. on the 26th, one day before brunch! :( Though that saddens me, perhaps we could get together?

By: Danielle

Danielle — Tue, 22 May 2007 11:52:28 +0000

Digital Leaf – that’s a great point about fear. I think bloggers find the fear surprising because we know that we’re just ordinary people amusing ourselves. It’s so weird to have the insecurities of professionals in the fashion media projected onto us. Stories about the “blog scourge” with all us iconoclasts destroying beliefs and traditions make me laugh, I don’t think most of us have media domination in mind. We’re just doing our thing =D

One of the false lines in the FT piece was “now anyone can be a fashion expert” and I don’t think the mantle of expertise is any more available now than it ever was. Most bloggers would scoff at being called experts. It takes a lot of study and practice and demonstration of knowledge to become an expert even in the blogosphere. We have our credible voices and our hacks just like any other media. Maybe more hacks because of the low barrier to entry. I think our best will be on par with the Horyns and the McDowells given a decade or two.

Irene – I’m not being mysterious, I just don’t think it is interesting. Glam and Coutorture both offered packages, and the odd indie contacts me about buying some pixels on my page, and I say no.

By: Digital Leaf

Digital Leaf — Tue, 22 May 2007 03:11:58 +0000

It all comes down to fear. Blog critics donâ€™t understand them because they donâ€™t read them. They may skim thru one or two, but all they see is some force challenging their authority. The fact is I read your blog because I want to hear Your opinion and see Your work. And when I want to hear Anna Wintourâ€™s opinion, Iâ€™ll buy Vogue. But Anna Wintour isnâ€™t hand dyeing a wedding dress (which looks great so far! Cheers!)