Friday, January 28, 2011 at 9:40AM Op Ed: Outcry in Bloggerville
On January 21st fashion designer Erin Kleinberg, stylist Stephanie Mark, and photographer Jake Rosenberg launched The Coveted dot com, a website that offered readers a behind the doors peek into the stylish closets of fashion's most 'elite' personalities, including many members of the fashionable institutions such as Karla Martinez of W Magazine, Joanna Hillman from Harper's Bazaar, Mary Kate Stein miller of Teen Vogue, and Keith Pollock of Elle.com. To the surprise of many established bloggers whom are familiar with the usual growth rate for web based businesses, the site attracted massive media attention within mere hours of launching, garnering praise from everyone from Elle.com to Racked.com to Refinery 29, all declaring the "new site The Coveted" as lust worthy, trend setting, and instantly addictive.
But there is just one little problem; there was already a website called The Coveted.
Founded in 2007, www.the-coveted.com (widely known simply as The Coveted) is a street style/what I wore blog created by fashion writer , entrepreneur, and architect of The Independent Fashion Bloggers Network, Jennine Jacob. Extremely successful by blogging standards, Ms. Jacob and her blog The-Coveted have enjoyed a variety of press over the years including write-ups on Glamour.com, Flare Magazine, Shop Therapy and many others.
Taking Ms. Jacob's high profile, and her large web-following into consideration, it doesn't seem like that much of a leap to come to the conclusion that the founders of the new site were trying to tap into an established brand's popularity in order to promote their content; which is the conclusion that many bloggers are now asserting, and at press time has not been publicly denied by founders of the new site.
As the Editor in Chief of Style Wylde, which is a wholly independently owned new media outlet, I have watched this story develop over the last few days with interest, as it addresses a bevy of legal issues that are created by the very existence of blogs, and may usher in a new era of legal rulings. I have also watched this story develop with the intent of staying neutral in public opinions on the issue due to my lack of first hand knowledge at what has transpired. After all how can I know what Kleinberg and company thought when creating their new endeavor?
Unfortunately, in the last 24 hours my "Switzerland" stance on thecoveted vs. the-coveted controversy has become impossible to maintain.
Early Yesterday Ms. Jacob revealed she "was about to let it go, until Monday when I got an email in my mailbox with “Welcome to The Coveted” in the subject line. Not only did they know of my blog, they subscribed me to their mailing list without my permission." Additionally, Ms. Jacob revealed that when she had attempted to contact the owners of the new site to alert them to her trademarked brand name so that the situation could be resolved amicably, they responded by threatening Ms. Jacob with legal action that would include seeking financial damages if she, or anyone else mentioned the situation publicly again.
This latest development forced me to take another look at the new site. With seemingly strong ties to several publications, a disproportionate amount of press ahead of their launch, and significant legal firepower defending them, it appears to me that that the new site is less of a "blog" and more the faux-indie arm of established media outlets.
And I find myself wondering if these media outlets have a vested interest in raising their social-media profile by stepping on the back, and in turn destroying the business of a young entrepreneur.
Why does this matter to independent fashion writers and bloggers, or to you the reader?
For years there has been an ongoing battle between mainstream media and the blogosphere, especially in the fashion market. From black-listing bloggers at certain shows, to bad mouthing individuals in the press the established media has often decried the rise of the fashion blog as an instrument of the industry's demise. And while there can be many arguments made that irresponsible, unprofessional bloggers create a lot of chaos for hardworking, seasoned editors whom have paid their industry dues, an argument can also be made for the absolute need for fashion bloggers in the market place. It is the bloggers that attend small off-site shows during fashion week, and often give coverage to fledgling labels. It is the bloggers whom are interviewing emerging designers on the national scene, and focusing on designers in their own geographical areas whom may not have gotten media coverage any other way.
Without new voices, such as Ms. Jacob's The Coveted, the marketplace would become decidedly dull. And while I love big, established brands and magazines as much as anyone, I also recognize that opening the door for new talent helps keep the US fashion industry fresh and creatively competitive on the world stage. Thus, allowing these voices to be bullied out of business and off the web, by not speaking up in defense of Ms. Jacob and her work is a bad move for anyone who intends to be part of the future fashion.
Want to support independent fashion media and The-Coveted?
Sign the petition in support of Jennine Jacob
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Read other articles on this story here, here, and here
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