BRYAN BOY, SUNGLASS HUT AND WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT BLOGGING

When I started blogging on fashion and trends three years ago there were very, very few of us online. A year later I read this article in the YOU magazine on a mega blogger in Cape Town who was paid, to live the holiday. So this little website that I feed my personal interests and opinions could be a viable business? Pfff. 

Then a boy from the Philippines comes along with his own blog; a fashion blog that he thinks is more of a travel blog but let's face it, he has grown to immense fame for writing about fashion. Add to that his eccentric style and voice and he became a blogging goldmine. Sunglass Hut brought him over in September with Marie Claire where Bryan attended the Marie Claire Prix d'Excellence De La Mode awards and, as an added treat, joined bloggers from Johannesburg and Cape Town for a special workshop. 

Seeing all the Cape Town bloggers in one room was a treat enough but for a couple hours we got to pick Bryan's brain. His insight and knowledge of fashion is one thing but what I learned was that Bryan uses his smarts to run this business of his. Alex (Cape Town Girl) asked if he considered himself a brand but he doesn't see himself as one. In fact he blogs what he wants to without the need to please his readers, only practicing restraint when it comes to his younger readers who may be influenced by what he publishes. 

Over the course of the weekend I was able to learn a few things from Bryan, which included a crash-course in not giving a crap. We take ourselves too seriously sometimes. We blog for whatever reason we blog. As a reader it's up to you choose to read or not. We can only cater to so many people without upsetting somebody. 

One of my questions was if he ever felt jaded by blogging. I personally experienced this once or twice. You feed content into a blog from passion and inspiration and then you reach a point when it is expected of you on a regular basis. How do you fake inspiration? His response was that he has to step away from it and let the blog be what it is. You can only do so much. 

What I know for sure is I love blogging. We live in a modern time where information is spread so quickly and effortlessly from one country to the next. The choice is huge! There is space for everyone. There is no need for animosity, we should just celebrate each other as one of many voices. Who knows, you may be the next Bryanboy. I will continue to blog and hope that you continue to read  as things start to change. And they will.

Special thanks to Sunglass Hut and Marie Claire.