Social Media

Alert! Alert! We like these sale events this week: Wolford, James Perse, and SoulCycle. But hey, don’t call us “Influencers.” We’ve never been fans of the term, and frankly a handful of people are unhappy with the concept too…

Unless you yourself are one of said influencers, you likely don’t know that the FTS recently sent letters to popular social media celebrities, informing them that they’re in violation of the new stricter guidelines requiring that any sponsored content be “conspicuously disclosed” in “unambiguous” language “within the first three lines of text.”

Who are these violators? Not a bunch of nobodies… among the celebrities and brands who’ve failed to disclose paid collaborations are names you’ll recognize: Kourtney Kardashian, Victoria Beckham, Adidas, Chanel and  Yves Saint Laurent. And not that they need it, but they’re making a pretty penny too.

The world of sales is undergoing a major makeover—and it’s definitely the YouTube, product-flashing, tutorial kind. Instagram influencers and bloggers with enough followers are the new all-star sales people that brands want to hire; they bring in as much as one full third of the traffic for companies like Net-A-Porter. But the relationship is different than any typical employment. These influencers are constantly courted and wooed by companies that spend less and less money on sponsoring traditional campaigns. These brands prefer to throw money at new mediums in an attempt to attract the ever-elusive millennial. The irony is that these bloggers are coming full circle when they themselves start reaping the benefits of the model that they have tried to eliminate. And we get it; when someone throws money at you, it’s easy to make decisions from a personal place rather than one of principle.

So in the spirit of transparency: no one is giving us any pennies—pretty or otherwise. No one is paying us to share our opinions. We stand on this soapbox for the sheer joy of standing on it (and perhaps because it feels like a catwalk?)! So listen up because we’re about to wax poetic about sample sales…

Nothing says California beach like the soft cotton James Perse t-shirt. You will find men’s and women’s apparel, accessories, footwear, and home furnishings at up to 70% off MSRP at the James Perse Sample Sale. Fun fact: the company once ran a campaign featuring Maye Musk, the mother of none other than Elon Musk, in an attempt to appeal to customers of all ages.

Are you a member of the SoulCycle cult-following? Then get ready to spin (no, not that kind) with joy because they are organizing a sample sale where you can find the usual club attire at discounted prices.

And though we’re no influencers, we are self-proclaimed psychics—our sample sale crystal ball reveals the Woldorf sample sale is going to be an exceptionally good one. The Austrian hosiery and lingerie company has recently lost its designer and has reported financial losses, so we can expect to find hefty discounts on everything: tights, apparel, lingerie, bodysuits, and accessories.

Feeling… influenced? Well, we promise our influence comes at no benefit to us—other than the pure joy we get for having assisted in the betterment of your closet. 😉

Recently, the Refinery29 gals decided to conduct their own social media-based experiment on “relationship visibility,” or the way we flaunt — or hide — our relationships on Facebook. The term “relationship visibility” is actually based on a well-known concept from The Science of Relationships referred to as “impression management,” which says that, according to our individual goals, we fabricate a certain perception to align with those goals.

This particular study used Facebook as its primary platform and set out to ask what our social media behavior says about not just our relationships, but our individual selves.

The hypothesis was a simple one: Anxious individuals, or those who are insecure in themselves or their relationship, are more likely to show off their coupledom via status updates and pictures. In other words, all those happy pictures of couples rubbing noses — and all those status updates about how Sally or Sam is the best S.O. in the world — may be a reflection of a.) insecurity and/or b.) wishful thinking.

In the end, researchers found that their hypothesis was, for the most part, accurate. Of course, there are some disclaimers, but that’s to be expected. Read more about the study here.

By Wendy Rose Gould

Image Credit: ShutterStock.com