Okay, so I’m doing one last post on the Daily Mail and then we’ll just let it go off into cyber space. I’ve had SO many amazing comments that are so supportive and kind on the blog that there is no way to see this as anything other than a very positive experience. However, I’m aware from comments, texts, DMs and Twitter that it’s been upsetting and unsettling.
But, what you need to remember is that this kind of thing is part and parcel of on-line life. It shouldn’t be, but it is. For as long as I’ve been writing on line, people have done this. One of my first on-line jobs (about eye drops, believe it or not) led to threats along the lines of ‘I know where you live’, ‘I know who you are’… etc.. far more sinister than being called a hound from some random bloke in Sheffield. I asked the company to not allow further comments, and they said no. In fact their advice was to ‘take no notice – they’ve got nothing better to do but we need them for our stats.’ I pulled out of the job, which broke my contract, they threatened legal action and I said, ‘bring it on, I want to see this come out into the open!’ Needless to say, they didn’t.
Bloggers, YouTubers, on-line journalists – everyone is subject to this kind of abuse on-line. It’s not just me (I think where I would have a real problem would be if all the other comments on the DM website were delightful and only mine were vile – now that would be upsetting) – think of the Facebook Memorial sites that are set up and trolled by people who have no respect for the dead, young or old. Interestingly, a couple of DM freelancers have been in touch saying they refuse to do any work either at all, or where pictures are concerned, because they’re sitting targets for monumental levels of abuse. And are they protected one bit by the DM or any of the other sites? Not at all. Stats are king of the internet, not ethics.
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Bearing in mind I knew what would happen, I’m genuinely unmoved by it. It’s so meaningless to an ordinary woman with an ordinary face who just happens to have a beauty blog. So, lots of readers have been upset and angry on my behalf; that’s more touching than I can say, but please do be assured that it’s had absolutely no negative impact whatsoever. I’m actually quite proud to put age on the agenda within the beauty world so that people can truly see what we’re up against. Age and beauty aren’t related in my world; older women are more relevant within the beauty industry now than they ever have been and if the many comments under the initial post of that aren’t a learning for the industry, then I don’t know what is.
So, while it’s not okay that journalists, You Tubers and bloggers stay totally unprotected from people with too much time on their hands and spikes in their hearts, I am 100% okay, definitely not broken in any way and exactly the same as I was before DM! So to lighten the mood, I’m sharing a couple of things that my friends sent me ; one is a picture mocked up from when I did a Google Hangout and realised they had *extras* that you can play about with and the other is a suggested new tag-line for BBB!
from @CharlieLotl, and…
“British Beauty Blogger: Looking grumpy with poor lighting and expensive makeup since 2007.” @manfaceblog
Love! So, a massive thank you to everyone who’s taken time to comment – it’s so appreciated. x
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