Come fashion weeks and one witnesses a host of fashionistas strut down red carpets in latest designer wear or hanging around the periphery of the big show, being snapped for their savvy sense of style. These aren’t celebrities, coveted buyers or even it girls; they are instead a bunch of pretty young things making fashion more visible by playing the role of a muse and promoter. They are the phenomena better known as ‘the blogger’.

World over, fashion bloggers have proven to be game-changers, beating out the behemoth of print magazines when it comes to social media buzz and influencing the vast audience of online readers. Proof: Scott Schuman of The Sartorialist was among Time’s list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World only three years after the launch of his website in 2005. Chiara Ferragni of The Blonde Salad also earned herself the title of “the most influential fashion blogger in the world” by Fashionista. On the local front, Sadaf Zarrar of Siddy Says and Faiza Lakhani of Secret Closet are considered two of the most wanted bloggers, each having hundred of thousands of followers eager to lap up the content they post constantly and instantly.

How exactly have they achieved this celebrity status? Some bloggers thrive on their personal style, throwing out ‘looks’ for their followers to imitate or be inspired by. Others take a more professional approach to their personal opinions by reviewing trends or products and allowing consumers to participate, follow and discuss them on their sites. Some take the time and make an effort to review, others simply document by posting galleries of images, some tweet and others just Instagram. In essence, fashion bloggers serve as an easy communicative, relatable and interactive avenue between the general public and the fashion industry.

All is well in this seemingly independent correlation until of course, brands realize this to be a beneficial marketing opportunity and bloggers find it as a great source for monetizing their website and enjoying the perks that may follow. If a brand advertises on the blog, is it fair on the blogger’s part to review the brand favourably? Does sponsored content create an unfair bias towards one brand that pays and against another that doesn’t? Furthermore, is it ethical of a blogger to post paid content without any disclosure whatsoever to his or her followers; is it kosher to borrow, wear and hence market free clothes? Before one can comment, it is important to explore whether the ever-growing blogosphere even has a set code of ethics to follow or not.

Ethics 101

Blogging and journalism are two very different mediums of writing. In fact fashion journalists have long argued over the credibility and expertise of fashion bloggers, whether they are even qualified to pass judgement or report on fashion. Hence it can be assumed that the ethics may also differ between the two.

"Yes the ethics of blogging differ from those of journalism because both are different in a lot of ways," says blogger Syed Aamir Bukhari, whose site Aamiriat can be credited with critical analyses, something most (paid) bloggers tend to avoid. "Journalists are supposed to have the relevant education, training/mentorship and are bound by their publishers in various ways. Blogging on the other hand is very much personal. So all the ethical guidelines flow from the person writing the blog because he/she will solely face the consequences whether positive or negative."

However, even within a standardized field as journalism there is no set code of ethics. "There is no one universal code of ethics that applies to journalism," asserted Pakistan’s first premium fashion journalist, and currently BBC’s senior broadcast journalist, Fifi Haroon, while speaking to Instep. "There are certain agreed parameters that do apply to news organisations - globally and local - but it’s not that stratified. Every organization has its own ethical guidelines that may differ from others. Even within the journalistic communities, there is a certain variation regarding what expectations they have of journalists."

"Having said that, there are certain basic parameters that are exactly the same between blogging and journalism, especially when one is blogging a journalistic effort," Fifi added. "For example, anything that has to do with defamation, allegations or disrepute must be substantiated with proof at all times. Agreed, blogging is more opinionated but even the opinion has to be justified and be within certain limitations. People in Pakistan tend to get carried away with criticism. You can’t just say something is bad because you felt so at random. It has to be rationalized as a whole."

Given that blogging is considered a very individualized and spontaneous activity, criticism indeed needs to be monitored along the lines of what constitutes moral in this day and age. But so does praise. If for instance critique cannot be justified, praise must also not be the consequence of a gift or monetary favours.

Paid content and the moral conundrum

"We as the marketing team have been discussing this a lot in our training that when we are already paying bloggers for advertisements then why give them freebies or extra money for content," a marketing executive was overheard saying at a recent lawn preview in Karachi. According to a purist view, blogging is too personal a conversation with readers to be driven by money. However, if one has developed a blog as a potential business then there is no harm whatsoever in monetizing it through advertisements.

"If a magazine can earn through subscription fees, if networks can earn through invite-only programs, why can’t bloggers use their readership to generate income. The only question is how you do it." Aamir pointed out. Maintaining a community blog comes at a cost - of time and money - hence it seems feasible to recoup some of that investment and it may even motivate a blogger to do a better job at it. But yes the question of monetizing a blog lies in how it’s done and among the many methods available, paid content can be quite a tricky one.

The general rule among international bloggers is that sponsored and paid content isn’t unscrupulous as long as the post mentions that it is compensated for in a statement over or below the piece. It is in fact a legal requirement. However, with hardly any cyber laws governing local web, local fashion blogs can simply do away with it and that is when it falls prey to ‘unethical’ nametags. It is the brand’s responsibility to avoid paying or gifting for promotional content and it is the blogger’s responsibility to accept it or not. When they do, both are to blame.

"If you are a blogger with a high following, writing on a topic that a brand sells, then it is likely that advertisers will tune into it to tap their market. It makes absolute sense. But you have to be very sure of what you are writing is for the right reasons," asserted Fifi. "You have to be strong about what you want to do. An advertiser can pay for an ad but it should not be able to influence how you shape your opinion in the content. Advertisers should be dependent on you, you should be the one dictating terms like you are welcome to advertise but not influence my content. Or perhaps you should not be writing about that particular brand or topic at all. For example you have a lawn brand sponsoring your page, then you might as well not write about or review lawn at all."

While the general consensus among the media machinery about positive paid content is that it’s more or less like "thuggery" because you are getting a free meal out of how you present your view, local bloggers also view it as justified on the grounds of disclosure. "Advertising naturally affects content; it shouldn’t be a question of yes and no. Don’t FMCG ads influence shows on TV channels? The two don’t need to isolated. What we need is more transparency so readers can distinguish between advertorial and editorial content. Bloggers should explicitly mention in their write-ups whether that review/recommendation was sponsored or whether they received something in lieu of writing that," suggested Aamir.

Having analyzed both ends of the continuum, our conclusion rests on the fact that while paid content may be justifiable as long as its sponsorship is made clear, it is not at all something fashion bloggers cannot do away without. If you are reviewing a collection favourably because you were lent an outfit for your grand red carpet appearance or gifted one for free, then you are doing so for the perks involved and in turn cheating on your readers who rely on your opinion for authenticity. Young audiences that make most of the 23 million users on the local internet are not aloof. They are quick to judge and form opinions; any post that has "I made a lot of money from it" etched on it is bound to eventually persuade your reader to lose trust. After all, if not already an oversaturation, there is a large pool of fashion blogs to choose from. It is surely not unethical to monetize a blog but to monetize content on a regular basis borders on moralistic fraud and bribery. A blogger’s most common defense is that many journalists take money or accept gifts to write favourable reviews too, why the crackdown on them. All one can say is that the money a journalist accepts for a favourable review is called a bribe and the journalist is branded corrupt. Only journalists who are fair and impartial are the ones considered influential or credible. What does that say about bloggers? It’s food for thought.­