People go to blogs because its a more authentic voice, its a citizen voice and not a so-called expert voice. But wouldn't you want to know that the person isn't just making things up? That's the risk we run when getting our information from blogs rather than print sources. It has come to a point where bloggers are revered as much as newspaper and magazine journalists. This is particularly evident in the fashion industry where—in the words of Heidi Klum on Project Runway—“one day you’re in and the next day you’re out”. The instantaneousness of fashion blogging feeds fashionistas the trends of today and tomorrow. The blogging medium has catapulted young bloggers to A-list journalist status in the fashion industry. From New York to Milan, the front row seats during Fashion Week usually reserved for editors and the glitterati, are filed with these young, fashionable, internet sensations.
Fashion and beauty go hand in hand, and when I'm not knee deep in beauty blogs I like to frequent some fashion sites too. Here are my faves:
The popularity of video is growing exponentially. Through sites like SlingBox and other services that stream online video conventional television is becoming less popular. Like radio, television is threatened by the need to eliminate commercials and pick and choose content on demand. Television shows can be streamed online, downloaded on iTunes or illegally via file sharing sites like BitTorrent. Even though TV reaches over 70 million homes, on YouTube alone, 40 million videos are viewed daily. The beauty industry has capitalized on this trend by having their own TV channels online to advertise their products. Rather than having a television show, companies like Smashbox take the more economical route by posting tutorial videos on YouTube. Among the thousands of beauty tutorials online, videos put out by large companies have the authority of CNN over citizen vloggers. At the same time, this free access to television outlet puts everyone on a level playing field, giving bloggers, like myself, the opportunity to freely share my knowledge and my passion.
In CBC’s series The End, host Jian Ghomeshi, explores how radio, TV and print are quickly on their way to being obsolete. With podcasting, satellite radio, digital radio, and downloading people are given the opportunity to be more selective about what they are listening to. Listeners can be their own deejay and choose to fast forward through commercials, rewind and re-listen to their favourite parts. As a student, podcasts make it very easy to use as part of a presentation in class or to cite in an essay. Rob Farina, Program Director of CHUM FM, notes that radio is one of the only technologies out there that "is free, reaches 95% of the population, ubiquitous and portable"; however, it does not have the personalization features that podcasts offer. Having an RSS feed, mp3 capable phone or an iPod make fiddling with the dial on the ye olde FM/AM radio and listening to commercials a thing of the past.
My take on the end of TV and Print to come... (photo: FriendsKorner.com)
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