I thought I should think about this one. As most of my links are now available over at www.digiscrapzine.com, I have put much thought to the categories of links over there. Over the last couple of years, there has been a new breed of blog starting up, which has often perplexed, and often annoyed me. The anonymous bitch and moan fest that is the Smack blogs.

They’ve been out there for ages, and although I have often struggled to understand why people would use such a communication device as to criticise and opinionate anonymously on these blogs, it appears that many people do. Most blog entries get around the 60 - 100 comment mark. Unless you’re a celebrity scrapper, you’d be sweating it to make 10 on something of importance to yourself on your own personal blogs. Most of those entries on the Smack blogs are anonymous, and sometimes they can be quite hurtful. But other times they are not. And you take the good from the bad, just like on community boards out there.

I don’t believe that hiding behind a no-name is freedom of speech. If you think you have that need, then there is something wrong in the life of scrapping. But I’m talking from the side of having often spoken what I’ve thought, and been seriously bombarded from it on a couple of occasions. These are minor things in the scheme of things, and my life - never you mind. Minor hiccups in an otherwise joyous and everchanging life.

But I have paid and taken those consequences of speaking my mind, and certainly at times, felt it. I’ve had one designer come on here, seeking to see things which hadn’t occurred to me, and several tell me off. I’ve even been accused of trying to ruin the reputation of the industry at some point. On the same events, I’ve been thanked behind the scenes for speaking of things which others had been afraid to, and this has surprised me considerably - because often I’ve not noticed the undercurrent sitting around the event I’ve blogged about. On these occasions, I’ve been reminded that this is indeed, a personal blog, thankfully - and I am entitled to my own opinions and feelings. And that I am brave to express them. Should I have to be brave? Now that’s an interesting question. With each occurrence I have been supported more so in emails than in supportive comments. That tells you something.

But mostly, as I’ve gone through those moments, I’ve received personal emails telling me how sorry they were for me to get those types of comments and how that was exactly the reason why they were too scared to express their own opinions on forums or blogs - because they’d seen it happen over and over again. There is a huge silent audience of scrappers out there, who care about the industry, but are too afraid to voice their voices freely. One person’s freedom of speech is five or ten other’s imprisonment, perhaps self-enforced, but true never-the-less.

There remain forums out there which are secular to particular parts of this scrapbooking society - some inner sanctums to designer hood for instance. No similar forums are available for solely scrapbookers to talk about the designers in a similar fashion - or the industry, where those designers are not welcomed into. One particular digital designer opened up a forum available only to herself and her own design sales base - fans or customers. No other designers or design team members welcome. What a furore over that one - it continuously kicks off about the peculiarity of that particular designer, even if somewhat as a critique towards her designs, when some finds they can not enter this inner sanctum (I can’t anymore either, by the way, not after accepting a CT position for another great designer).

As always in any society - there are gangs, groups, communities of people, where others are not included, whether by choice or simply not let in by role or rote. This is normal. But it makes for a sometimes bigger group of excluded people who still look for ways to voice their own annoyances in the same industry which perhaps excluded them in some ways.

So perhaps these may be some reasons behind why some people have a need for these types of blogs,  certainly in the creation of the 100 comments sitting anonymously on these smack blog entries. But if there are 100 comments - you can be sure there are many more readers sitting silently.

Here in the U.K. we have numerous junk newspapers and gossip magazines. Most use papparrazi to find embarrassing photos of the stars, interview ex-partners of celebrities for a tell-all version of their sexual anomolies and trangressions and tell close to home amazing reader stories sold for £1000. Not to mention the Page 3 girls. How much of it is true is beyond many of us. How many are read is the telling figure.

The Smack Blogs provide a similar service in a way, for the scrapbooking industry. They let some people air the dirty washing of gossip over the industry, and industry makers - many of whom are geniunely nice people and don’t deserve many of the criticisms appearing online.

The blogs (sometimes) also provide good fodder also. Any scrapbooking industry workers - the digital designers and traditional magazine celebrities - must find a lot of interesting feedback amongst the vitriole on those blogs. Feedback which may slant their next designs or enterprises. Feedback which is not available on forums because people are too scared to admit their annoyances there. The smack blogs do provide an interesting service in this perspective.  

If you get a hint of these blogs in forums, it’s normally hushed up. People suggest you avoid them, or ignore them, and eventually they will go away. Sometimes this hiding of the links again creates an exclusivity within the industry which results in these types of blogs in the first place. If you hear about it, how many people do you need to ask before someone will let you into the little inner sanctum of the URL to go read the blog, and make up your own mind?  How frustrating is it to see someone hint at such a blog, and five pages down in the thread, it’s still all about hushing it up, and those 60 respondents are all in the “in” towards where it might be. But you aren’t. Let everyone know, and then let those people go and refute some of the more drastic opinions on those smacks.

So, I’m going to list them on digiscrapzine, as they are part of this industry, and have been created from some need of it. Whether you choose to read them is up to you - reader beware. There are many good sides to these blogs, and perhaps one of them is simply a feeling of either agreeing or disagreeing with other’s opinions.  

 

There is a new blog on the block, dictated by Simon. Check it out should you want to see more doggy episodes.

Simon’s Blog can be found here. 

This layout solely uses the Danielle Young Freestylin’ Kit which I’ve just blogged about. The photo was taken today, and is possibly the only reasonably good one of a moving and grooving 10 week old puppy. It’s been a hard couple of days - sleepless nights, wee puddles, car trips to crowds to socialise a puppy who has no problems being around people - just doesn’t ever want to be away from any of them.

I’ve finished work now. Today’s a bank holiday here in the U.K., but tomorrow when my hubbie goes back to work, and my daughter goes back to nursery for her last day or so - tomorrow is the day I become an at home mum, alone at home with a very dependent (but lovable) young doggy. Heaven help both of us, then. Ah, but how can you not love such a cutie?

 

 

 

A few weeks ago Danielle Young advertised a name a kit competition. And somehow I won! She’s been developing the Freestyle themed kit idea which I suggested, over the last couple of weeks - and it’s finally out there, so I can say a word (or two).

Now available from today, at Oscraps, and it’s on special also. How awesome are those colours? I get the kit for free, so I’m currently downloading as we speak. I can’t wait to see how it spices up a somewhat lacking libido for scrapping currently.  

Even perhaps more interesting, will be the fact that currently I’m sleepless at nights, thanks to welcoming a very cute and eager, but also very young puppy into the house. Now, how would a black and white pup do with that kit - goodness knows he is quite freestylin’ in his own little world also.  

Sandra Evertson

Sandra mailed me and invited me to her blog. Take a look at that blogroll on her sidebar, it's full of creative blogs. Not to mention Sandra's own liking for art dolls, and artwork created by her cat. That's a big thumbs up in my book, anyway.

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