Ok. Here we go! The above highly 'eloquent' quote was taken from a recent anonymous comment on a blog post where I was showing off my new Fairisle headband.
Now that I have stopped giggling about it, (and I have to admit it did make me laugh because the person that wrote it is so clearly shouty and angry with me) I thought I would use it as an opportunity to discuss an age issue which exists around this funny ol' thing we call blogging.
This isn't the first time that Anon has shown his/her distaste at my persistence in updating ReallyRee. On several occasions she has urged me to 'leave blogging to the youngsters and get the hell off the internet' and I have ignored her bitter words and blogged on.
I believe that the more we age, the more information we need on skincare, makeup and clothing, not less. As I have aged, I've had to work harder and harder on my appearance and this is the information that I share. Many things are a lot easier when you're younger - you don't have to worry whether heavy eye makeup adds years to you, if more foundation emphasises the lines and wrinkles, if a particular anti-ageing cream does what it says on the tin and whether you can pull off a fashion trend modelled by lithe, young beauties on the catwalk. And we are all getting older, that's guaranteed!
The ageing process presents a whole host of beauty and fashion questions that I am dealing with for the first time, and I find lots of help from blogs that tackle these issues and, in turn, I offer out my take on them.
Don't get me wrong, there are lots of worries to be dealt with in your teens and twenties and luckily there are a plenty of blogs out there that address those issues. Incidentally, I love those blogs as well and find things in them as relevant to me now as I would have done years ago. I read them all the time.
Let's not forget, most of the topics we blog about have absolutely nothing to do with age at all! Nothing. For me, it's about gorgeous beauty or fashion that I love. I genuinely believe that blogging is something that absolutely anyone with interests can do. Anyone. Because:
- You don't have to look a certain way
- You don't have to be a computer whizz
- You don't need loads of expensive equipment
- You don't particularly need a good grasp of written language and grammar
- You don't even really need readers
You just need the desire to share your ideas and images on things you care about, and the ability to communicate them, however and whenever you like. Although blogging can be about what you look like, it is very much about your thoughts and feelings too - the inside counts as much as the outside. Surely we can never get too old to have an opinion?
And there is room for everyone, however young or old - the internet is a very big place. Obviously, in these times when we are starting to see people finally being financially rewarded for all their hard work, and in some cases actually making a proper living out of it (something I am lucky enough to be able to say right now), it is starting to get more competitive. Luckily there are a lot of brands out there, and we represent a whole range of different customer profiles that present endless possibilities for collaborative work - so we can put the daggers away.
If we want blogging to be our jobs, then we must expect a level of competition, just like any other industry and any other profession. There are no free rides here - if you want to maintain your position, it involves hard work and lots of it. It is not about age but desire, energy and ambition.
I think I'll stop blogging when I no longer have the energy or desire to put the level of commitment into blogging on ReallyRee - when a new lipstick, nail polish or lotion doesn't quite excite me like it used to or I can't be bothered to take photos with foundation on only one side of my face! That's when. It won't be because I am too old or because someone has told me I am too old. It will be because I want to stop. Simple.
So to you Anon, I say, no-one is too old, or too young to blog. It isn't possible because it belongs to us and we make the rules. Your problem is that you actually love me and just don't know how to tell me. It's OK. I understand.
And so, people of the internet, what do you think? Does age, or someone else's opinion about your age, discourage you from doing anything you want to do?
Ree
XXX
