Hello world!

I’m finally back and posting again. I hope you missed me, I know I did for sure. I had to take a few days away to travel, as you probably know already, but also sit back and take a look at a few things that had been bothering me. I’m not a therapist but I’m very good at breaking down situations to figure out what’s right or wrong with me or what needs to change to make things better. I made a plurk on Tuesday and I want to tell you all about it today. So grab a snack, this is going to be a long read.

I noticed a month ago that I was feeling more and more stressed every day, tired and worn out. Yes, I have a busy RL, with work, dance classes and everything but my SL had turned into the same mess as well. My everyday routine would basically be, go to work, then to classes and then come back home and stay up until late at night (or early in the morning if you will) to work on images and projects. I know what you’re thinking, “Eva, you took on way too much”. And it’s probably true. But I’m very sensible. I know when to say no and when to stop. I know when enough is enough. And I have selected the people or events I work with carefully. Funny how I said “I selected” when really, they selected me, right? But on some level, we make the choice first. They just have the final say.

So, my first thought was, “I need to take a break”. Seemed like the right thing to do. And I did, I went to Spain! But I can’t say that solved any issues. My next thought was, “everyone has to stop eventually”. Meaning, how often I see fellow bloggers leaving SL or quitting blogging. But that was an idea I immediately rejected. I’m addicted to blogging. I love it too much and it makes me feel really good. I’ve also invested so much time and money to it, it’s just impossible to throw it all away. So then, I did a comparison of what has changed from April 2016 – when I first started to blog – until now. And the answer was right there in front of me. Blogotex!

I never hid my feelings towards Blogotex. I wasn’t too vocal about it but given the opportunity, I would always express how I found it to be wrong. All the people close to me can verify that. And most of them really loved it! I was mostly offended by it, because I felt it was created in a sense of “organize your crappy bloggers and get rid of the bad lazy ones” and I get it, this is a situation brands in SL usually struggle with. So I was willing to play along and try it out. I consider myself a very organized person, I have OCD and I’m a Virgo, so I kid you not, post-its and deadlines are my thing, however, I was open to new suggestions, and kept telling myself: “let’s see if this platform has something new to offer”. And it did. But not what I expected.

I think everyone will agree with me that Blogotex is a tool designed for creators. It was made for them and every update ever made was meant to make it a fun experience for them. And it makes sense, they pay good money for it. When it first came out, it had no demos. Designers would send their blogger packs but we weren’t able to demo the products. That was soon fixed. Then there was a timer issue. From my experience, that was only a matter of the designer, to set it as they wanted. Others had an open timer, resetting every time you would submit a post, others had timers that were activated only after you had taken something from the list. Blogotex would then send you notices in-world, reminding you of the deadlines and how many days you had left before…you were suspended. That quiet threat was also a huge problem for me. Hell, I don’t want to be suspended. And I don’t want to ask for a time extension either. But you know, sometimes, a picture is hard to make. It takes time, it takes effort and a lot of trials and errors. I don’t want to be pressured by constantly being reminded of my deadlines. Especially when I know I still have more time – but Blogotex was set in a way that wouldn’t give me it. I’m well aware of my deadlines. And the notices are definitely not helping me do my work any faster. But enough about how Blogotex works, I’m sure every one of you knows that well by now.

A tool can be great or bad depending on how someone uses it. So the question was, is Blogotex really bad or are people using it wrong? Although, the real question in my mind was, what did Blogotex really fix? I follow the social media and read what everyone has to say. The majority of the posts I see, is from designers complaining about bad bloggers and from bloggers struggling because they can’t come up with ideas or be creative.

There will always be irresponsible bloggers. Just like there will always be irresponsible designers. No platform can fix that. I think it’s a matter of choosing the right people, managing them better and creating a fun environment with them overall. And in my opinion, that was only possible with the inworld groups. The designer would send us the product and then we would chit chat and talk about whatever. Blogotex on the other hand, took away that part of blogging and replaced it with comments on the posts we submitted. Yes, there is a chat option (only available to premium Blogotex users from what I’ve been told) but come on, who really spends that much time on that chat?

So on Monday night, I made the decision to deactivate my Blogotex account. That means I was instantly removed from all the brands I’ve been blogging for that are using it. That’s probably 70% of my sponsors. I let everyone know with a notecard as well and it was definitely not an easy thing to do. Some of the best brands are using it and now some great events are partnering with it as well. I respect their choice to do so but I had to focus on what’s best for me. I have been using Blogotex for more than 2 years and I’m not happy with it. So it’s my problem and only I can fix it.

To my surprise, a few of the brands I was working with, reached out and offered alternatives. That meant the world to me, because I never even met or talked to some of them before. It’s such a great feeling to see that people appreciate you. I have to repeat and make it perfectly clear that I’m not quitting blogging. I just want to go back to the April of 2016. When I was so happy making pictures, because I wanted to create something pretty by showcasing a few items and not because I had a form to fill and a post to submit. I no longer want to be associated with Blogotex and I really hope, people will, at least, start using it differently.

I think I’ve said enough and I apologize for the long post. It’s just thoughts I’ve had for a long time and wanted to share with my readers (yes all 10 of you). I chose to do it on my blog, and not on Facebook, since this is my platform where I can say anything I want without anyone filtering me. Summing up, I want to say a big goodbye to Blogotex, it has not been a fun experience but it has been educating.

Now a quick mention to the things showcased in today’s picture. Dust Bunny made this beautiful floral archway, which is currently available at Anthem in two colors and I’m also bringing you some new Apple Fall goodies that will be available in the SL16B venue. It opens later today so if the SLUrl doesn’t work, be patient. The Anashara dining set is not a new release but Apple Fall has just updated with more summer-y textures/colors and they’re also available at the SL16B venue.

That’s all for today, thank you for reading and always supporting me. I can’t thank you enough. I’ll see you all next time!

Have a great day!

♡

dust bunny . floral archway . with curtain . natural @Anthem (NEW!)

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West Village – Anashara Dining Set (Updated!) @SL16B(NEW!)

West Village Anashara Dining Chair – Rustic
West Village Anashara Dining Table – Rustic

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West Village – Patina Urn – Terracotta @SL16B (NEW!)

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{sallie} Brunch in Green (gacha) @The Arcade (NEW!)

6.{sallie} Brunch in Green – Glass w/ Green
3.{sallie} Brunch in Green – Tree Bark Slice w/ Plates (pink)
4.{sallie} Brunch in Green – Tree Bark Slice w/ Plates (white)
5.{sallie} Brunch in Green – Tree Bark Slice w/ Plates (red)

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Apple Fall Fig & Blackberry Cake

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Apple Fall Hartley Fencing Set

Apple Fall Hartley Fencing Short, Post – Wood
Apple Fall Hartley Fencing Short, Wide – Wood

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Apple Fall Milk Urn w/ Wild Geraniums

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Botanical – Boxwood Hedge v2

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Mesh Plants – Evergreen Bush – Wide Cone

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HPMD* Sweet Garden Grass08

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HPMD* WildGrasses