A point to a post?

Further advice that I've seen from people who are successful bloggers and what not.

1. Have an aim for each post, say what you're gonna say and don't waffle. Unless it's a chatty post I guess...
2. Be regular with your content, and stick to it so people know what to expect and when to come back.
3. I don't have a third piece of knowledge, but things that come in threes are always more satisfying.

4.  I just thought of another one and broke the three pieces of knowledge rules I guess. Oops! But, finally, don't have massive chunks of text in one post.

So basically I've broken most of those rules... oops...
I just have phases where I really feel like blogging, mainly when I'm back from uni but it's still term time for everyone else. So I go into overdrive and blog A LOT then. Who says boredom is not productive?

Just one bean in the can

I've been watching videos and reading blogs by 'social media people' who have 'made it', for want of a better word, about how they first started their blogs and youtube channels and got to the place they are today. I have come to a few conclusions about why they have reached the heights of popularity that they have done.

For the most part, social media stars are good at what they do because they have had the privacy of not having a spot light on them for many years, so now are very well practised at the art of vlogging, video making and writing. Because of this there content is entertaining/informative to watch.

When the big stars of today started out, there was barely anyone else out there to compete with. Thinking about some of the youtubers that I watch, Tanya Burr, Louise Pentland and Zoe Sugg all cover similar topics with there videos. They are 3 powerhouse women who are now well respected and admired for their knowledge and tutorials, therefore it is hard for new people to edge in because they have to bring something new to the table in order to justify viewers spending time consuming their content.

When these three (and of course there are many more big you tubers, however I'm British and these you tubers are the 'biggest' three that spring to my mind) have the 'basics' of fashion, beauty, lifestyle and hair covered and their own, now beloved, personalities to bring to the table, it's a tough thing to break through. Especially when hoards of women all over the world have the same interests and want to create similar content.

 Of course not everyone on social media wants to be the next star, but since we can readily view the kind of lifestyle that people who are successful have, what isn't there to like? Except perhaps the fame and everyone knowing who you are, that must always be super strange...

As many of the big youtube names say, you should not start out with the intent of getting big and famous, cause that takes some doing and many a year of content creating before you are likely to get anywhere! I've experimented with making videos, but I think I'm far more comfortable behind a key board so I think I'll just chill here for a while and type stuff to myself :D

Speaking out

We live in a consumer culture. We want instant gratification, and if we want something, we think we are entitled to have it. Next day delivery, and instant digital downloads mean we don’t even have to wait for the post man; the words and music of others are literally available at the click of a button. 

What does that do to us as humans? Our ability to have some level of self control, to appreciate delayed pleasure and accept that sometimes the answer is no, and be denied what we want? 

Our cultural expectations of immediate relief from pain, hunger, and ‘really needing that extra pair of shoes or top’ does a greater level of harm to the way we think that shouldn’t be laughed off. 

I’m trying to avoid what might be seen as ‘feminist' cliches but here it is.    bodies are used for advertising, to encourage us as a member of the public to say yes and satisfy our wishes and desires. From perfume, clothes, and shoes to alcohol, holidays and cars, and really anything that anybody wants to sell. Beauty and attraction, or to use a darker word lust, are used all over the world and online to tempt people to gratify their demands. 

Women’s bodies are used to create a passage to ‘giving in’ and taking what we want; of course a picture of a women, or part of a woman, on a poster never says no. Poster women are always inviting the consumer to indulge, a women’s body becomes associated with something that we are entitled to take, and that can be taken because ‘we like the look of it and wanted it”.

That scares me. I am a women, I don’t want people to look at my body and think, yeah that’s what I want so I’m going to take it. No one has the right to touch me without my consent, and no one has a right to look at my body and have possessive thoughts. My body belongs to me. It is not a pick’n’mix sweet to be ogled and then consumed.

But what can I do? I can’t stop other peoples thoughts, I can’t stop women’s bodies being used to sell products the world over. I may be recycling other peoples words, but this time the words are coming from my lips, I have recognised for myself what society and advertising is doing and I believe recognition is the first step to inviting change. Talking about these topics keeps our minds receptive and engaged with critically challenging, rather than blindly accepting the world around us.