If I'm honest, I'm an advertiser's dream. I'm so easily swayed. I don't even try not to be. I used to work in advertising sales, and I was passionate about a decent ad campaign. People don't consider how much advertising affects their lives because it's there all the time. In the ad world we'd call it 'ambient media'. I love that term. It's a polite way of saying 'in your face and you haven't got a fucking clue'.

There are all sorts of tricks advertisers use to make you buy their stuff. From fibbing about Cheryl Cole's hair, to finding out which buses their target audience catch and placing their adverts on the other side of the road. So you see the ads whilst you're waiting. There's all sorts of other tricks I can't possibly tell you, but let's just say that some of them aren't very ethical (and yes, I've been guilty of using them). But society is the biggest influence in advertising. Everything is a bit of a game. Except when it comes to the brand.

And this is the part about advertising that's key for me. And why I respect companies that do it well, even if I'm not particularly drawn to the company. If a company gets an advert right (and in the case above, match.com really have), then it's because they know their brand better than anyone. It's because they know the exact message that they want to convey. To them, their business is clear. And that's what works. How many times have you seen an ad that just doens't make sense? That isn't the ad company's fault. There are so many flimsy gimmicks that a company can use to get their message across - We Buy Any Car! is a great example of this - and they work in the short-term (or at least until you've ripped of your own ears) but you get nothing else. Nothing about the brand. Nothing about the company that want your money.

And that's key. Even more so now we're in a recession. Yes, people are advertising less, but to me that just means advertising is more important. I measure the success of something by the adverts it carries. I don't have an issue with the adverts that Spotify runs. I do have an issue with the fact that every other one is an ad for advertising space. The only reason a company ever runs a house ad, is because they don't have any paying ones. If they don't have any paying ads, I question why not. If you've got shitty ads, badly designed and showing crappy companies, that brings the whole reputation of your company down. That's how important adverts are. PR and blogging and newpapers can say what they like about your company, but your adverts are what YOU say about your company. People forget how important that is. It's what I judge the media on.

I read a couple of tweets today saying that whilst people were loving the Match.com advert, they were annoyed that it was their ad. I think that's a battle with adverts. If you don't care about a company, it'll take a lot for an advert to sway you the other way, but a blog post, or a Twitter trend might do just that. It's hard to listen to the opinion of a company that you don't care about. I'm not a huge match.com fan. I used them and didn't find love (or even anyone I wanted to kiss), boohoo etc. But the advert summed up everything it needed to. Romance, hope, love, possibility, incredibly pretty hair. There's not much else I need from an ad. Oh, and then they throw in a catchy (but not annoying) tune as well.

My point is that as important as PR is, it doesn't replace advertising. I don't think that it ever will. Match.com are doing a very good job of viral advertising. Not viral marketing. There's a difference and it's impressive. It can turn a brand around (heck, it even worked for Stella). I'd love to see more advertising and PR companies working together. The two can be exclusive, and you can build a brand without advertising (Domestic Sluttery is doing just that). But advertising is still a driving force in media and having potential clients know exactly how highly you regard your own brand is priceless.

(Match.com very kindly set me presents earlier this week, but in no way did that influence this blog post that's been bubbling away in my head for the last month. The chocolates were very nice though.)

On March 13th, my first ever print feature comes out. It's in Company Magazine, as part of their bloggers issue. Look! There I am! Waiting to be read be 250,000 lady women! All of those words are mine (except the title, which I hear is common when writing for magazines). BUT I DID THAT.

Personal pride aside, I'm chuffed to be in an issue with such fantastic women (including a few of the Domestic Sluts). My piece is about women in blogging, and it touches on being accepted by the mainstream media. Company Magazine acknowledging just how successful women online are is so important. I'm thrilled to be a part of it.

This weekend, I only did things that I wanted to do. I know that seems like a pretty standard thing to say, but when you work for yourself, and run your own business, it's really not. Your own time is precious. And, if you're a workaholic like me, you can kid yourself into thinking your making time for yourself.

When the work you do is fun, it doesn't feel like work. Part of my job is running about Greenwich taking photos (tomorrow I'm going to try and get to Greenwich Park and take photos of the deer and squirrels). Taking photos of squirrels doesn't feel like work! They're too cute for work! Working on my exciting new project doesn't feel like work. Blogging about fabulous designers is the most fun thing I could do with my day.

I know how lucky I am. But I also need to live my own life.

This weekend I spent the whole of Saturday writing my novel. I'm editing again, and I haven't touched it for months. It felt so good to be writing again. I don't see all writing as work. My novel is mine. It's different.

And then I went out. Which doesn't seem like an important thing, but sometimes, networking can become your social life. There are so many fun events in London, and really interesting things to do and see. Most of which, I write about. I'm there because people want me to write something. I might be having fun, I might be with friends. But I'm still working. I don't switch off. On Saturday I went out, drank too many cocktails, helped a man put a straight jacket on during an awful cabaret show, and laughed and danced about. I had the best worst hangover the next day. I didn't actually get dressed.

I could have spent the weekend catching up on blogging, taking photos, making jewellery and writing that super important document I need to do. But I didn't. I went out and had fun. And didn't give a single person my business card.

It was really really fun. Time for myself is important. I should remember that more often.

Flickr image from Matt Lancashire's photostream.

Since seeing this video at Pop Life at the Tate Modern, I've been waiting patiently for it to pop up online. So good. Adding Kirsten Dunst to my girl crush list.

Audrey Tautou. Is there a woman on the planet more stunning? Easy elegance, French mystique, and skin I'd kill for. There's a certain radiance about her. Something that makes you want to stare for hours.

Love this photo. It reminds me of this Vettriano painting, Thinking of You, which inspired one of the chapters in my novel.


Beautiful.

I know everyone waxes lyrical about Hepburn in Givenchy, and Marilyn in her white dress, but to me, this dress that Deborah Kerr wears in An Affair To Remember is perfect. She's utterly stunning.

Earlier today, I spotted a link to a 'toddler fashion blogger'. Which is, of course, a huge publicity stunt. Racked National get a kid in, everyone thinks "awwww, isn't she cute?" and there's a bit of a buzz. Hardly inspired. But what irked me was this comment on the post:

Stop the madness! Enough with these children blogging about fashion: first teensy-pretentious Julia, then quirky-maven Tavi, and now a freaking toddler with make up? COME ON!

Can we please have bloggers and editorials by grown ups, real editors, with actual jobs, and, gasp, life experience. Maybe women and men? Over 20 years old? PLEASE?

Er, excuse me? It's the 'over 20 years old' line that gets me. This notion that the only thing that matters when it comes to experience is age. I'm not saying that that's not part of what's important. Of course it is. You learn from your experiences, and you improve when you've been doing something for years. You work your way up.

But it's not all about age.

Of course, a toddler blogging is ridiculous, but why the sudden backlash on young bloggers? Why is it so bad that young women (yes, young women, not kids) are suddenly writing? Tavi, to use one example, is a very talented writer. Way beyond her years when it comes to blogging, and her approach to both fashion and the industry itself. She's 13 years old and she's kicking ass. And not because she's so young. It's because she's good.

When Tavi is 20, she's going to have seven years experience behind her. Sure, it's a different experience to yours or mine, but it's experience. Why do people try to qualify everything by their own experiences? Surely it's much more open minded to just take people as they are and be impressed at what they've done. Not compare and judge it by what you've done. Either they're talented, and that talent is raw, or they've honed it in over the last few years, or even decades. Experience doesn't necessarily mean talent, just as raw talent sometimes doesn't mount up to hard experience. Both are admirable in my book.

My reason for this post is that bloggers are getting territorial. If someone has any kind of quick success, it's not good enough. They haven't earned it. They haven't paid their dues. I'm calling bullshit on that. Because unless you know someone personally, you have no idea of their experience. One of the most talented writers I know has only just started making a living from it. Does that make her any less talented than people who have been doing it for years? No. Sure, she has less experience in the industry but the two things are very different.

I went to University and worked hard writing about literature and reading Shakespeare. I only started seriously blogging three years ago. I was 24 then. And basically, fresh out of uni, I knew nothing. But I had balls, and that got me a long way. It sweet talked my way into a great job at British Airways. And those selling skills come in more handy in freelancing than people realise. Every day. My experience is different. But it's important to me.

You can't measure anyone else's experience. And you can really only have an opinion on their talent. Why pick an age out of the air and say that that's the age someone is qualified to write about your chosen field? I see it happening more frequently these days. Young bloggers don't get a look in. And they should. Because they're the people that we want to get involved in the industry, aren't they? Why do they have to prove themselves? If they're talented, and they're working hard, maybe that's something that should be put before experience.

We need to stop measuring people by our own experience. Because in doing so, we're missing out on so much talent.

Flickr image from lepiaf.geo's photostream.