As the cowardly kid who sees the bully beating up the misfit on the playground, but chooses not to intervene,

So it’s Israel.

As the adolescent who was always afraid to show him/herself and how different they were from the rest, they were, but now feels proud to be the bully,

So it’s Israel.

As the abused adult who as a child was embarrassed and afraid because of the past,

So it’s Israel.

As the young men who was embarrassed to wear the kippah in public in Moldova, Brazil, US, and some other random Eastern European country, but now does it because the people who have the same religion as his are killing women and children, while eventually killing a soldier, and now wears it proudly,

So it’s Israel.

So as you never fought for independence nor freedom, got land out of pity, and now feel entitled and justified,

So it’s Israel.

As humanity bears the societal challenge of intergenerational transmission of violence and every society keeps repeating the cycle,

So it’s Israel.

Because we are all special and capable of sadism, arrogance, ignorance, being a victim and abuser, while claiming virtuosity and nobility,

So it is Israel.

Because humans are humans, all the same, all looking to wear a different mask, but share exactly the same malevolent traits,

So it is Israel.

Because we are all the same, suffering due to human indignity and extremism, ignorance, and absolute lack of empathy, suffering through generations and not structurally learning anything,

So it is Israel.

Because humanity is made of all of us and we do not seem to deserve transcendence as we are unable to learn,

So it is Israel.

Summer 2019, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Surrounded by friends, acquaintances, and work colleagues at a bar gathering, the talk of beauty began. Some of the women and men described a bit of what they found good looking and attractive. The prevalence of European looking characteristics in the commentary was noticeable. “Oh Danish men are amazing” a female friend often says. “I got a thing for blond girls. “They’re hot” One of the males present happily announces. On another occasion, “the son was born with blue eyes. He got the better genes” a woman friend commented without realizing the curious nature of her statement. An acquaintance cites that the reason for our beauty standards is the media. “Mass media is the culprit” many say.

Indeed, on the surface citing mass media as the main thing responsible for our current beauty trends seems logical. However, mass media is both a reflection of culture and a cultural trendsetter itself. It is made by humans, their psyche and understanding of their world. And history is the intrinsic and fundamental reason for our current reality and all of its reflections; in the way we see our surroundings. Human interactions create outcomes, both short- and long-lived ones. The current concept of beauty can only be understood by considering the extreme forces that forged our current societies and world paradigm.

As such, we are forced to look at some of the artistic and philosophical movements that lead to our current concepts, and the colonialism that accompanied it. In the West at least, we are taught some of the colonialist episodes in complete separation of art history and of philosophy.

Art History Context

Most of humanity has spent the last several centuries looking at paintings and other artworks of Caucasian individuals and their Western European surroundings as a supposed clear sign, maybe even a definition of what art and beauty look like. If we travel back to the Renaissance period, we will meet Michelangelo’s sculptures of David, Bacchus and Madonna of Bruges in the 1500s. We can also go even further back and take a look some of Belgium's Jan van Eyck’s religious paintings in the first half of the 1400s. All of these are symbols of Western European art evolution at its finest and set the tone of art in pre-colonial times, and maybe even, the basis of departure of European self-image identity.

Renaissance Humanism

Continuing in this historical summary, after the fall of Constantinople in 1453 to the late 1600s we reach the beginnings of Humanism. Humanism was a period characterized by the bringing back of classic Greek and Roman cultural and artistic values. This sounds virtuous and might even give the reader a sense of cultural coziness. Yet, already in 1502 we find cargo ships bringing African slaves to the Caribbean and the rest of the American continent. In contrast and in parallel to this art evolution, by the beginning of the 1600s, the Dutch were already established in Ghana trafficking humans to Brazil. In fact, the Dutch became responsible for approximately half of all African Human trafficking between 1650 and 1675.

This High Renaissance Humanist era, outside of Europe, would see slavery obtain its dehumanizing zenith. The intensity of human trafficking was such that, conceptually and in practice, human slaves lost their humanity to become nothing more than property to be spent in mines, plantations, and any activity that meant work. Hundreds of thousands of humans had begun to be sent to their deaths not as in the romanticism that can be found in Michelangelo’s Dying Slave sculpture of the early 1500s of course, but in a savage display of cruelty.

Mannerism

Mannerism in art, lasted until the end of the 16th century and came after the high renaissance. It was characterized both in paintings and sculptures by theatrical expressions and body motion. It would make it outside of Italy into the Colonizing powers while entire civilizations were being wiped out of existence. Gold, silver, and labor riches ripped/raped from the American continent were used to decorate European churches in the Mannerism style. These artworks all portrayed Europeans as visionaries, confident individuals in their poses, civilized, and virtuous.

Considering all the violence, genocide, torture, and oppression that was in parallel taking place, it is no wonder that we don’t see Black African and Indian beauty being depicted in the 1500s, 1600s or thereafter. Why would you? Would the Nazis have made artwork depicting the beauty of the Jewish people they were murdering and stealing from? It’s a rhetorical question of course. It would have been illogical and incoherent for them to do so. After all, humans need to vilify, downgrade, uglify and disfigure that which they want to destroy.

Sequels and Self-Glorification

As Europeans moved on to other parts of the world from the American continent, they would replicate the colonization model that had so well served them in the Americas. These religious extremist, avaricious, and ignorant Europeans would continue to murder, destroy, cheat, backstab, in order to then enslave and subdue civilizations around the world. These colonized peoples, to a certain degree, seem to have been too naïve to understand that those ships landing on their coasts were not peaceful tourist nor virtuous explorers, but invaders that were keen on portraying a visitor, friendly attitude, so that in a short time after, mass murder would take place.

With this wave of destruction came the self-proclaimed standard of beauty. The Dutch Golden Age of painting, during the 17th century for example, with the likes of Johannes Vermeer (Oct 1632 — Dec 1675) and the amazing works of Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (July 1606 — Oct 1669) all took place while the Netherlands was trafficking thousands of African Slaves to be worked to death in the mines and plantations in the American continent. The concept of beauty, both in terms of human aesthetics, sculpture, and architecture could only be predominantly European.

Whiteness as a Way Out

As we continue forward, the Spanish Gracias al Sacar, in the late 17th century, can be considered one of the most curious episodes in relation to race and therefore also consequential in the definitions of beauty. As racial mixing had become predominant in Latin America, Spaniards squandered the wealth robbed, and fueled England’s economy by purchasing most needs from them, the Spanish crown became in need of additional money. This lead to the “Real Cédula de Gracias al Sacar” of 1795, brought about by Carlos IV, and allowed people of different defined racial designations to buy their way into whiteness. For those who purchased it, this allowed for greater economic opportunities which in turn brought about a desire for whiteness.

After all, even in contemporary times people want to become disassociated from those who are bullied, who are abused, and in contrast, want to be part of the “winning” team. People want to be part of the dominant side of society even if this negates their own selves. In the Gracias al Sacar scheme, the certificate bought was a way to, at least on paper, showed that you were now less black, less Indian, whiter, and therefore, more worthy of economic and marriage opportunities. To contextualize this, let’s ask some rhetorical questions relevant to present times: Who would want to marry someone who was not allowed to own a home? Who would want to go out with someone who was thought of not deserving the same opportunities, both in theory and in practice? Would you want to have children with them when these same supposed lower attributes would be passed on to your children? Access to economic opportunities also impacts our perception of beauty and attractiveness.

C’est Français

Next in line, we have the French and their infamous Code Noir which reads like an inhuman, sarcastic legal document. Aside from expelling all Jews from French territories, it afforded black slaves innumerous harsh punishments and institutionalized cruelties that, in practice, had been always committed. So much can be said and described of the French cruelty in Haiti or the American South. Why would paintings and sculptures be made in the 1700s and 1800s depicting the beauty and variety of black Africans or their descendants anywhere in the American continent or in the world?

Closer to Home

Neoclassical, Rococo, all European artistic movements took place while the rest of planet Earth was been oppressed and suppressed. But, let’s quickly skip the misery of various generations of non-European peoples to land in the Civil Rights movement period (1954–1968) in the US, which also echoed across Latin America and other parts of the world. Black and White TVs had become the norm, but color TVs were already on sale and were soon to dominate the TV market. Centuries had passed, yet the cruelty, abuse, and therefore, the lack of aesthetic and beauty representation of the great majority of humans continued.

Whitewashing & Mass Media

This post slavery TV era saw white folks play the parts of Indian and Black individuals on black and white TV sets. A practice carried onto color television. Not only were most images of non-Caucasian individuals missing from the arts and recently created mass media, but you had a perfusion of European and North American white culture being created. When there were black actors, they were portraited as childish, foolish, moving stereotypes of colonial cartoons. Their roles were also that of servants and of inconsequential importance. As color TVs became dominant, Hollywood continued to see the need to paint Caucasian actors and actresses to play the roles of non-white characters.

All of this to say that the current state of mass media is not by accident. Nor is it by design of some evil illuminati. It is a consequence of history. The concepts of white, blond, blue eyed individuals as a point of reference for beauty are constructs that were disseminated around the world in the European made havoc of what planet Earth looks like today. So are the negative constructs Europeans themselves fabricated about Blacks, Indians, and later Asians; constructs which were taken for a worldwide spin.

The sad issue about this, similar to the Gracias al Sacar debacle, is that the non-Caucasian world and cultures have bought these constructs and actively reproduced them. Currently, this is not difficult to understand when one considers the force by which mighty Hollywood and all the media conglomerates have pushed European and Caucasian-American aesthetic values across the planet. In doing so, Hollywood and its look-alikes have sustained the beauty myths created by Europeans during their reign of massacres and exploitation that took place during centuries of colonialism. Most people know about Mexicans, not because they have gone to Mexico, but because of American movies depicting a “Mexico”. Released in 1966, who can forget the famous cowboy blockbuster, starring Clint Eastwood, and directed by Sergio Leone “The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly”? Guess who the “ugly” was? The Mexican guy. How many times did Hollywood represent Africa as full of primitive, savage at worse, and, at best, exotic monolithic people? Africans are the guys that carry the Caucasian “virtuous explorer’s” equipment across deserts and jungles to discover “lost cities” Right? Cities and places that in reality most locals always knew existed.

Repetition Matters

Most people around this planet, including myself, have seen thousands upon thousands of what has been presented as cute, beautiful looking Caucasian babies and little children. I and many others have seen them smile on TV, magazines, online Ads, outdoor banners, storefronts. We know what an intellectual, a scientist, a hero Caucasian man looks like. We have seen them in movies since we were all in the world growing up. We know what a bohemian white person looks like. What an elderly white man and women look like. We, and I mean the great majority of the world population, have adopted Caucasian looking people as points of reference. The ultimate expression of hegemony.

Can we say the same about black people? How many black babies have you seen on TV in your lifetime? How many times have you seen a black man or woman cry on the TV screen? How many black, Indian, Asian, or simply non-whites have we seen on movies look at the horizon with purpose as if looking into a prosperous future? How many romances have we seen involving an Asian, a Black, an Indian or Ethnically mixed individuals? Rhetorical questions to an obvious answer: very few if compared to the hundreds of thousands of Caucasian images we see from the moment we open our eyes, turn on our mobiles or simply go outside. What does a bohemian style black man look like? What does a sensual and sophisticated black woman look like? How many have you seen? You, the reader are more likely to have seen homeless people images pop in your head. All of this affects the perception of beauty. Positive image familiarity and positive points of reference affect what we find attractive.

Brain Washed & Empathy

How can we feel empathy for non-Caucasians, even when many of us are non-Caucasians ourselves? We have spent most of our lives being bombarded by media that has taught us to feel empathy for those with light skin. We were taught a world history that puts a European version of history as largely benevolent, even civilizing, and as the main character of the world scene. European “exploration” they call it. European “exploration” is made to be “human exploration”. References of this are even made to justify exploring space. “Where would the world be if humans had not dared to go to the new world”? It is often said. The absurdity of what we have inherited from centuries of violence can be overwhelming.

But, we are still under the spell of these recent eras. Even recently, researchers and archaeologists would take away paint found on Greek human statues and architecture, as they clung on to colonial prejudices that this Greek past, which is meant to show European superiority, had to be white.

Current State & Bizarre Examples

It is no surprise that so many people across this planet think of whiteness as pretty. It is no surprise that in mixed families the white child is celebrated in the middle of the living room while people compliment their supposed beauty. And, it is no surprise when I heard a Dutch woman colleague of mine say with full assertiveness that: of course people in Mexico and Indonesia found her pretty — “I’m blond” she said. She bought her own Kool-Aid and is happy to drink it. The same for the many racists of all ethnicities around the world. They consume this white beauty construct, stain their clothes with their saliva drool, and eat it up as quickly as possible.

Even sexuality is inundated by the Caucasian image. How can it be, that even in our sexuality, we have little clue of how others (the great majority of humans) look when they are having pleasure? I myself admit, as I write this, to have little points of reference for sensuality outside of what the media pitches to me every day. Especially if compared to the status quo of European looking actors, actresses, and models.

This major issue will not be solved on its own, naturally, nor by attacking one single cause. And solve it we must because self-appreciation is at the root of confidence in oneself and as a society. One cannot expect mixed societies, such as those found in the American continent to let go of their prejudices and historical traumas if we are unable to appreciate beauty in its true universal form. How can mixed societies thrive if there is self-denial and self-rejection involved? How can one progress if one is unable to see oneself in the mirror in a positive light? It does not take a genius to watch Mexican, Peruvian, Chilean or Bolivian television to realize there is something seriously wrong with these countries’ self-perception of their own population. Accessing TV, magazines or local Internet media channels, possible aliens would be forgiven for thinking that ethnic Mediterranean peoples, maybe even some Norwegians, inhabited these mentioned countries. Notions of beauty held this long have been forced by violence and have inherent lies and misconceptions which must be unveiled.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the beholder should not be a brainwashed zombie. Every region has their beautiful, sensual, attractive, cute, gorgeous individuals. It is time to acknowledge the overwhelming variety available wonderfully in humans of all shapes, sizes, and shades. Structural racism is found in the definitions of beauty that we have about ourselves and others. Let me put it in more direct terms. Being white and light eyed does not make you automatically pretty nor attractive. And, non-white people are not attractive only when they are closer to the Caucasian aesthetic. Being blond is not a beauty accolade; as much as structurally in our society you have been made to believe. Dark eyes, hair, skin, have analogous beauty and mysterious resemblance in nature’s creations and the universe as a whole. Open our eyes we must.

Contemporary Whitewashing & Tech

In the present, the challenges brought along by our historical past persist. Additional ones also present themselves. Cameras from the latest smartphone models of companies like Apple, Samsung, and others take pictures of non-white individuals and lighten their skin tones. If you are brown skin like myself, you will notice how in pictures, suddenly you appear white. And, the hegemony of the Caucasian beauty concept is such, that you will see in social media, individuals choosing for their profile pictures, those images where their skin looks the lightest. From India to the Americas, and anywhere else, men and women alike emphasize their fake light-skin tone. As a result, the ego of blonds increases, while the non-white-brain-washed zombies seem satisfied with their electronic “Gracias al Sacar” filters.

A cultural and art revolution is needed. A revolution that confronts the many falsehoods on multiple fronts in a smart, witty, and actionable way. A movement that can shine the light of beauty, in its multiple angles, not away from the Caucasian and white looking individuals, but also, onto all other humans on this planet; in the same proportion, and with the same intensity. We want to see how other ethnicities, colors, sizes, look like when they are looking at the horizon with a positive vision of the future. We want to be turned on by other women and men from different ethnicities. We want to be familiar with all expressions of joy, sensuality, wisdom, heroism, happiness, present in all of humanity.

Song to Relate:

Back in history regular folk in regions XYZ might have considered themselves better than peoples in regions ABC. Just like in today’s world, when Cariocas believe they are better than Paulistas. New Yorkers look down at their Californian counterparts, or Amsterdamians think they are really cool compared to their Rotterdam compatriots (who in turn seem to complain that in Amsterdam people don’t really work). In the past, when institutionalized conflicts came, of course people would pillage, rape, and destroy. But, despite conflicts, because of trade interests or simple power lust, most people would not consider others inherently subhuman to the point of justifying mass genocide — a generational effort to, not only destroy civilizations, but to enslave survivors and their children in a truly subhuman way.

This subjugation and dehumanization not only erases the cultural identity of the other, but allows the oppressor to reap the riches that come by having an entire cultural/ethnic group work for them for free (or nearly so). Yes, I am referring to the deeds of Europeans and that melting pot of Europeans that would then constitute the initial stages of the United States of America.

To many humans living in today’s society, these past 500 years can seem almost irrelevant. Our tunnel vision keeps us entertained with what we consider to be relevant according to what we narrowly see in the present. However, when we follow the breadcrumbs from our past and quickly jump to our 21st century we will find that there are still many survivors from the Civil Rights Movement in the US. And actually, there are hundreds of thousands of survivors that were alive during segregation in the US or Apartheid in South Africa. Original and native populations in the US are still fighting for their rights in reservations, fighting for their territory in Brazil, discriminated against in Guatemala, and continued to be abused and segregated in Australia.

It seems like colonialism happened long ago — the constant pillaging, enslaving, exploitation, and generational murder; however, this era truly was not that long ago and it is not that difficult to understand why we still have all of the civic issues we still have. Whole families, as well as societies with their varied ethnicities were ruthlessly exploited, enslaved, and robbed of their cultures. Their histories, and traditions were usurped by institutionalized violence for generations until by massive struggle from the disenfranchised, we arrive at the world we know today. The past is not so distant after all.

Out of this whole mess comes a term that fills the need, by those in the dominant economic power position, to try to ameliorate their own interactions with what is the majority of people on the planet who are not Caucasian: Tolerance.

The word is old. It has existed for hundreds of years and its meaning for most of the time has been that to endure, to tolerate. A mild form which is more recent is to tolerate that which we disapprove of. Merriam-Webster has probably the softer secondary meaning: “sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one’s own”. It seems to have a bit of a condescending note to it. Sort of when you hear the term “ethnic” or “world” music referring to non-American music genres. As if these musical styles enjoyed by vast swaths of the global population were the exceptions from the “official” ones.

The term tolerance has always struck me, at best, as bizarre. Because somehow, we are made to believe that those who are different will inherently push hate and rejection buttons, supposedly buried deep inside us all. There are even current theories that point to an inherent bias towards that which is different. However, these inherent and violent biases have been practiced the most by our European brothers and sisters who have come to write the rules and shape a good part of what we now deem to be “human nature” and socially acceptable. These for discussion at a further time.

Aspects of curiosity, like personal ones I witnessed, when I remember my five year old brother approaching a total stranger black kid, wanting to play with him at a beach in Rio de Janeiro. Or the curiosity of a women that looks at a well-built male foreigner, no matter where he is from, with interest in some small town. These and many other examples of day-to-day experiences are ignored by the status-quo. The black or Indian family in the US that is curious about visiting Mexico: — “let’s not pay attention to that” or “let’s consider it the exception to the rule”. The liberal stance is that we should and must tolerate differences. It is taught to us, and it has become almost hegemonic that our natural state is to reject, to want to destroy that which is different.

I believe that the insistence broadcast in all mediums for us to “tolerate” one another comes out of the engrained colonial hate and ignorance about “the other”. We have all, across the planet, inherited this from our European backstabbing great-grandparent conquistadors and their descendant families who urgently needed a justification for all the horrors that were caused around the world. In the West (Americas, Western and Northern Europe, Australia, New Zealand) where societies have become, to various degrees, mixed in culture and/or ethnicity, understanding people’s differences has become paramount for the continuation of society. In the Americas, the stage where colonization began and set the tone for centuries to come, it is of course, even more the case.

Despite the white supremacist belief, in the US, Europe, and other regions, that backstabbing those who welcomed you to then kill them, genocide them (as seen in most of European expansion), is a sign of superiority, and that Caucasians are to remain isolated and “pure”, most humans and biological forms of life, for that matter, mix. With humans, the process of mixture creates new cultures and variations of ethnicities that help societies thrive and face new challenges. In the American continent specifically, this mixing violently or not, has created challenges that although understood by European countries where immigration from old colonies presents similar situations; this is rarely understood elsewhere.

If we trace the historical trajectory that brings us to our present and evaluate the terminology developed, “to tolerate” your neighbor sounds insultingly condescending to say the least. After all, aren’t these people those who built the infrastructure where you live and work? Aren’t these people also those who share your social struggle, who share your ambition for a better life? For a vacation, for a night out with friends and family? It is just a plain stupid term that does not fit the importance of your neighbor, your society nor the dynamics of the world.

There are better terms and verbs such as to welcome, to learn, to be curious. Tolerance is for the empowered who are afraid. Curiosity and welcoming are for those who share the struggle and vision of a better future for themselves and their families.

I have always been struck by the general attitude of those who live in favelas in Rio de Janeiro. If someone from a distant region (Africa, an Arab country, another Latin American country, Europe, Asia, Eastern Europe or wherever) ends up in a favela, being a neighbor, they will most likely get the invite to a churrasco (a BBQ) during the weekend: — “Hey, come to the roda de samba this Saturday”. An invite to dine, to party together. It is a common denominator that, generally, if you live in a favela that you are well, not in the best economic circumstance. And, people’s behavior is not one of “tolerance” and yes, one of invitation, of curiosity: “How do you say this in your language?” Most likely a kinky term or a bad word of course. We all yearn for a good laugh, for connection.

It is important, even a priority, to understand that our current mental state as a society comes from centuries of participating, willingly or not, in a worldwide exploitation system that has served its own needs and shaped our twisted historical view, our societal view, and that of each other as human beings.

I find it extremely primitive yet very imaginative of the Homo-Sapiens species to judge others by the pigment of their skin. The ones wearing the light-pink color sweaters believe they are better than those wearing other color sweaters: — “Hey, my sweater is better than yours and it gives me some special imaginary power at the playground”. But, this is the world we now inhabit and we need to be aware of how it came about and change it. To continue to use terms such as tolerance and the mentality that comes along with it, is to treat only the symptoms of lack of respect and a dubious view of life and society that centuries of ill will have created. It is unlikely to have positive long-lasting effects.

I am not romanticizing. I am also a deep believer in Homo-Sapiens’ lack of ability to see the obvious. Humans will try to get work for free, steal from each other, ignore what is in front of their faces, and insist in clinging to childhood behaviors that think that big, shiny, and not sharing are best. These simplistic triggers seem to have formed most of our current world mess. However, it is important to acknowledge that more and more, if you grow up with these children-like views, in our contemporary world, in the west at least, you will have fewer dates, fewer sex. If you keep to this childhood mentality, you will most likely not travel to other places, you will not be exposed to different cultures and points of view, and therefore, you will probably have greater difficulty in activating your pre-frontal cortex or into becoming more mentally aware and creative.

Being aware of our past, how it contributes to our present, and the terminology that gets used in our human interactions is a choice we actively need to make as a society and more actively so as individuals. Being critical takes mental energy and effort. The outcome can be rewarding and the realization that being curious about who is different or looks different and being kind is not that difficult after all.

Do you know that annoying old uncle/aunt or even grandparent that makes really ignorant and stupid comments at family gatherings? The one that makes ludicrous comments about science, history, and loves pushing conspiracy theories? The one that says that the holocaust was fabricated and probably believes Sinterklass and his “helper” Zwarte Piet exists? The one that probably believes Pinocchio became a real boy. Well, as the current younger generations inhabiting this planet, we can look at two options:

1) Keep rooting for these bizarre uncles/aunts, their beliefs, and world views.

2) Create a better future by being conscious of our history, taking into a hard-felt and actionable consideration what needs to be done to improve our future and damage control our past.

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Tolerance has become a mainstream term. Terms and words have power, and they reflect underlying beliefs. Historical trajectories are highly instrumental in the vocabulary that gets developed and used. Tolerance is a term that might serve the world view of those who continue to be in power and how they view the world their ancestors forged with violence. Instead of using “to tolerate” those that are different so that we can be at peace, I favor more positive and long-lasting terms: respect, curiosity, welcoming, equality, acknowledgement, awareness, respect (yes, I am repeating it), and engagement. These to be applied by all for all.

Generally people tolerate those who they respect. But, seldom do they respect those who they only tolerate.

Songs to relate:

As summer ends and fall and winter enter our commercial field of vision, the need to put products and services out there that are relevant for our customers grows. Search engines, correct that, Google plays an important part in driving traffic towards e-commerce sites and presenting consumers with buying options. You might be very lucky, have done an amazing job in branding, and have customers that, if they need anything, they just go to your store. However, companies generally have competitors that are trying to increase their market share or they simply want to keep the loyalty of their current customer base.

“One of the most influential factors in ranking well in Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs) are backlinks.”

One of the most influential factors in ranking well in Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs) are backlinks. And, this has everything to do with marketing. The greater the number of links that point to your home, category or product detail page, the better. Well known online magazines can do a good job in putting your new product line out there. In addition to this, regular people talking about your product can make a big difference in providing you with valuable links that can help your home, category or product pages come into greater consideration by Google.

Think of the bibliography of any book you have ever read. Within it, you have references that have been used to write a specific book or article. You can think of these references as backlinks. They show Google that this source is worthwhile taking into consideration. As Google and other engines crawl the Internet, these are counted and sorted. The more backlinks you have coming from credible sites and relevant content topics, the more consideration Google will give you in order to present your product pages to users.

Articles from influencers, up-and-coming and mid-tier (i.e. credible ones), can provide a river stream of backlinks along with related visual assets and keywords that signal to Google that your product is worth considering or do so even more. Please think follow links of course. The more articles that can be written about your products the better. It adds up like different small streams add to a main river. These will influence your traffic going forward and its effects are longer lasting than a paid Facebook or Instagram campaign for which after your budget is spent, so is the traffic that it generated.

“…we are able to select not only women content creators who have a positive profile for brand names, but also ones that have good domain authority, and create well written and quality content.”

Managing different micro and mid-tier influencers can be daunting though, requiring time and therefore money. At FashionPotluck.com we have thousands of women content creators who create content on a regular basis. Credible content creators with authentic audiences together add up to thousands of viewers that can provide you with backlinks that will increase the ranking in search engines of your brand and products. Consequently, you will be reaching to consumers bringing awareness of your products and services. Consistently guided by quantitative data and traffic analysis we are able to select not only women content creators who have a positive profile for brand names, but also ones that have good domain authority, and create well written and quality content. This together with our Fashion Potluck boost enables us to push forward a message to thousands of users across the Internet. Combine this with your usual Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook posts and you have a winning strategy.

I hope you enjoyed this piece. If you have any questions about the topics covered, feel free to reach out and message me.

Written by:

Luis Galdamez Echeverria
Founder of FashionPotluck.com

Over 8 years of prior experience in e-commerce plus 4 years of Online advertisement. Worked with import and distribution in Brazil having signed licensing contracts with 20th Century Fox and Disney Latin America. Bachelor’s in economics and history from UC Davis (USA), and MBA with a focus on finance from EDHEC (Nice, France).

“You have to be real to get a deal”

Recently one of my colleagues sent me an article published this past November 2017. The article came from a Fashion blog that positions itself as a source on the business side of fashion. It announced that it was now offering an “influencer” degree. This influencer program would train those interested and give them a “degree” as well as incorporate the participants into their own influencer portfolio. This type of commercial offering can be seen as a sign of the times in how marketing and media in general have changed. Stepping ever further away from the print, billboard, TV Ad world, social media has garnered a momentum that seems unlikely to curve anytime soon. Social media and the role that those who have acquired large audiences have, those called influencers, some rightly so, has started a type of gold rush. Thousands of individuals and companies are rushing in and they all want to make a buck.

How did we get here?

As with any gold rush, all those who participate believe they can become rich and in the social media case, also famous. But, let’s try and slow down a little. In a marketing sense, what is an influencer? In the past decades an influencer was defined as an individual expert in her field who also was well known and respected by others, both within and outside a particular field. Today, this meaning remains. Well known individuals with expertise in a field are able to convince and influence others into a related point of view or a product line.

In the beginning of FB, YouTube, and IG there were people who well, looked pretty and painted a life image that the great majority of us wished we could have. A lot of women took up to showing different varieties of how glam could look like. Professional models were no longer alone. Many women that could be considered aesthetically interesting by traditional media took online to show that they could also do the catwalk. The new influencer was born, for whom, specialization in anything was not a pre-requisite. Armed with a camera and social media platforms they could reach out to millions. Everything was new to everyone; the platforms themselves, their users, the content creators that adopted them. Based on these, companies started popping up going after this new marketing segment rightfully called Influencer Marketing.

Cool looking but not so cool engagement

There is one important aspect though that differentiates social media platforms from traditional media and this is its omnipresence: everywhere and anytime. This aspect allows acquaintances, friends and family — if we accept their invites — to be part of our day-to-day experiences all the time. And, because these platforms are open, we can also see into other people’s lives. We all personally know that individual who has an amazing online presence. The girlfriends that go to a supposedly cool bar, don’t have anything to talk about, but suddenly cozy up together for a boomerang shoot. Try once, twice, thrice, there, perfect. Post it, and go back to a lame posture. looking at their phones, looking around, and then calling it an early night. As a result, we know that many of these early made online stars were just hoaxes of what real life is or can be like. Another consequence of this is that the early online stars have lost a lot of their shine. Once seen by early users with a Wow factor, these hundreds of thousands, often millions of subscribers/following base influencers became marketing companies. New users quickly saw through their lack of originality and overall lack of down-to-earth style. These online super stars have lower engagement overall (i.e. interactions/number of followers).

Missing the point?

The mentioned realization is more and more the case. However, there are two groups that seem not to have caught on. Many brands and beginner content creators miss the point. With their eyes fixed in the remanence of social media’s early beginnings and their early participants, they still look for the girl with the half a million or more followers on IG. And, the woman content creator that reads about these online stars looks up to them and their pseudo traditional media style and wants to copy them. And this is where “influential” agencies come up. Setting their eyes in these two groups, they try to milk both brands and aspiring women content creators into paying them a pretty penny. The great majority of these influencer agencies act more like parasites providing little value to either. Thousands of women give their names, links, and emails to these agencies hoping they will be chosen. The influential “networks” that often are anything but, then turn around and tell brands they have millions in their social media outreach without even having made any contact with any of the people who gave them their personal info. The latest event into this gold rush and the milking of the social media cow, is the influencer training “certificate” mentioned at the beginning of this article.

All of this money being spent by both brands and aspiring content creators is largely being wasted. Aspiring content creators spend a lot of effort, money, and emotional energy so that they can feel unappreciated as they see themselves never get chosen via these influencer agencies. And, some brands are beginning to realize that paying up to 30k for an IG campaign or several thousand for an IG post is not a good cost/benefit strategy.

Keeping it real

Approachability and authenticity are preferable. In this, up-and-coming and mid-tier influencers are the ones that provide the greater engagement. Fashion Potluck is a new social media platform. It is a community of up-and-coming and mid-tier influencers.

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After attending a recent fashion blogger’s event (SimplyStylist) for Fashion Potluck in Los Angeles, it became clear that a lot of women content creators are having difficulties in developing content that brings about an audience and consistent traction. A lot of comments as to what to post, possibilities of focus, times to post, and the works were brought up again and again. Women content creators have a lot of power in regards to trends and putting forth ideas and concepts. Following, I write some critiques, thoughts, and tips about creating content that is more engaging.

Analyzing the current blogging trend, it takes but a few reads/visits around the existing blogs and video channels to realize that one of the common characteristics is that of a lot of repeated content themes. This is not because there are no topics to write or film about. For fashion and beauty at least, the topics are abound and the styles being created out there are mindboggling. So, what causes this content creators writing/filming block? Most fashion and beauty blogs, in terms of web design, look extremely similar. If you were to take the header of most of these blogs away and put them side by side, it would be hard to tell them apart. The relevant factor is the content. So, let’s get to it.

The “I love writing” (falsely so) effect

It is common to meet bloggers who will tell you that one of the reasons why they went into blogging was because they “love to write”. However, when you go to checkout their blogs, you find at least 5 pictures and a small paragraph stating what they are wearing and something or other about where they were wearing it.

If you were to ask a serious journalist, they might just tell you that this is not writing. If we take the strict and back to school basics route, texts generally require an intro, a body, and some sort of conclusion. You could be writing in an inverted pyramid style or in a totally free style form and see where it leads. However, it will be hard to create loyalty among any reader if all you do is snap some pictures, and then quickly describe what the reader is seeing. Where is the personality in this? How do you communicate uniqueness with this strategy? What value and or entertainment are you providing the reader? These are, of course, rhetorical questions. The answers in order of appearance: nowhere, you don’t, and none.

Maybe there is a misconception about what blogging/vlogging really is. Hey, sometimes, I myself wonder. According to the Merriam-Webster definition a blog is “a Web site on which someone writes about personal opinions, activities, and experiences”. It can be interpreted that this differs from microblogging, as in Twitter, where writing a few short sentences does the job. Well, most fashion, beauty, and lifestyle blogs out there are looking more and more like microblogs. If you believe human beings have an extreme short attention span and believe this is fine anyways, then hey, keep at it. I tend to believe though that readers are curious to know more about who is in that picture or video clip.

This is not to say that your blog compositions need to be complex, long, or formulated in an academic style; whether written or filmed. Far from the truth. But, being able to contextualize the reader and viewer as to why you are writing or filming a piece, the importance this has for you, carefree or even futile, and communicate this purposefully, can be very powerful.

We all want big brands right? Do we?

The blogging world, as admitted by either new, up-and-coming or more traditional bloggers, has indeed gotten very competitive. Some would say saturated. And yet still, despite the great number of fashion and beauty blogs present, there seems to be an insistence on generating content for big and established brands. Chanel, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Michael Kors, and others both in fashion and beauty have hordes of bloggers and Instagramers creating content for them. Most of it is the type of content discussed in the above chapter, pictures and a paragraph or two. Some content is created as collaboration pieces with these same brands, other well, go guess and/or figure. Some content creators might even buy these products and talk about them. In the end though, this content becomes commoditized. If a new content creator wants to start their own new blog or vlog, it is difficult to see how original content can be produced by talking about the same brands and products as everybody else; over and over. After all, what will distinguish the same product or product line from one women content creator to the next?

Whatever happened to relatively small brand names and shops? Even though there is plenty of demand and desire associated to luxury brand names, I would like to think that we use other clothing, accessories, or makeup products. At the very least, we go in different shops to checkout cool stuff that might be selling. As such clothing brands like NASASEASONS from Paris, streetwear Chief Rock from the U.K. or Ader Error from Korea — no, I’m not getting paid to talk about them — can be interesting bets as well. The point here is there are many, many clothing and makeup brands that don’t get evaluated or credited enough. How about trying new brands that will make the women content creator stand out and the audience go “ — huh, I had never heard of that brand before. Maybe I’ll give it a try”.

Being yourself and keeping it real

Being yourself by contrast is advise that is often dispensed by more seasoned bloggers. This comment is left at that, without going into defragmenting it and explaining pragmatically how this translates into writing original and therefore more attractive content.

We all have personality traits that differ from all others. We also have traits that are similar. Being yourself and expressing this means looking at your personality, your aspirations/frustrations, and identifying how these are reflected in your day-to-day, how you work, have fun, and enjoy life. You are writing or filming to communicate something, to help, to share. That’s why many times you will see such large audiences for Q&A sessions for vloggers. Once you are able to express yourself, people become interested in similarities or differences they might have with you. You engage in a natural desire to want to know more. If in addition to this you are providing content that contributes (a tutorial, product review or opinion), shows originality (i.e. talks about you), and is approachable, you will, little by little, achieve an audience that is loyal. Fashion Potluck is exactly about this. It is open to all women content creators. However, we love it even more when we get a content creator onboard that is “human” and feels free to express whatever she wants in the fashion, beauty, and lifestyle world. And trust me, there is a big wide world that deals with these subjects.

Blogging and vlogging are about creating content and engaging with an audience. This can only be done if there is originality and value in the content that’s been created. For the first time in contemporary times, we have all the necessary tools available for quality content production. Whether we are talking about equipment in the form of cameras, lighting, and sound equipment, to the software necessary to edit anything that’s produced. Of course these can sometimes be expensive, but most are financially in reach. All one needs are ideas and consistency in the production and posting process. And, as for the ideas factor, we are all different and therefore have something different that can be said and shared. Blog and vlog saturation can be affirmed only if all the publishings out there are talking about the same thing and producing in an extremely similar fashion. It is my belief and that of Fashion Potluck that content creators are the artist and stars of the future. It’s all about creativity and originality.

My name is Luis and I have been an entrepreneur for most of my professional life, over 10 years of creating, learning, and realizing that we can all make a difference on how society functions, from the bigger things to some of its details. All have risks, some are easier (by luck), and all of the attempts in engaging change or starting something new will always, independent of the outcome, result in learning and living life outside of the comfort zone.

I am creating this blog mainly to talk about my current project, Fashion Potluck (www.FashionPotluck.com ) and the challenges that I see in content creation for the women’s fashion, beauty, and lifestyle sector in the Internet. It is my belief that fashion is all around us, it represents the expression of ourselves, our environment, frustrations, aspirations, and current societal paradigms.

There are two fundamental aspects when it comes to online content in the fashion, beauty, and lifestyle sectors: the mainstream and the alternative or change-seeking content. It is my view that both have a place. However, mainstream as per the definition of the word, implies a certain domination of “space”. Or as Merriam-Webster would state, a prevailing current or direction of activity or influence. This usually ends up meaning a lot of model aspiring women, who follow not only the tall and thin body types, but also cater to the dominant brands in the market. It implies on blog after look-alike blog of traditional magazine emulations. Again, I believe this is fine. All the mainstream investment and creativity has produced some awesome products.

However, it is (or should be) the nature of the Internet to allow for inclusiveness, to give or pragmatically attempt to give equal space to all to express their fashion and beauty sense. We all wear clothes, fix our hair, listen to music, like to date, and are attracted to esthetics. It is part of being sensual, fun, expressive, human.

Content creators need a place that will give them equal access, from the expert, to the day-to-day lover of fashion, to the woman who simply wants to express herself and share. Fashion Potluck is a project that has as its main goal to welcome women content creators into being part of a community that is dedicated to the subject. Channel bags can be really stylish and need to be included. The other smaller brand names or even self-made purses also should have their space, an audience, and hey, why not, also allow for the making of a descent income.

Let’s keep at it and as always, baby steps, always improving, and with the help of users and contributors, the sky is the limit.