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The changing Dutch media landscape
through the rise of blogging:
an analysis of two online
performing women’s magazines
Amayzine and Linda.
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ABSTRACT
The rising interest for lifestyle blogs has presumably caused a new dynamic in the print media industry, with consequences from which women’s magazines in the same lifestyle category could suffer. This research investigates the influence of the rising popularity of lifestyle blogs onto the off- and online appearance of women’s magazines in the Netherlands.
This is a comparative study in which theories about print media, blogging, participation, design and political economy of the media are deployed. Two different online performing women’s magazines, Amayzine and Linda, are researched through content analysis. Predominantly this research is a comparison between theoretical contemporary aspects of blogging and these two online performing women’s magazines. Theory of political economy of the media is used to incorporate the changing media landscape and business models of publishing companies in the Netherlands.
The result of these case studies is that women’s magazines in the Netherlands have irrevocably been influenced by the rising interest for lifestyle blogs. Offline outlets have been influenced by linking, participation and are more driven by personality. This applies also for their online outlets, which also have adjusted to the technology, design and publishing models of blogs. This development should not be seen as the only reason for change and new media outlets. All the changes should be considered within the dynamic field of (online) communication. If these changes will maintain for the upcoming decades, remains doubtful. Since these changes have occurred within a small time span and could easily fade as fast as they have appeared. It is therefore advisable for women’s magazines to remain up to date with the latest forms of online media presence.
Keywords
Publishing industry, women’s magazines, lifestyle blogging, online media, The Netherlands Words
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT
3
INTRODUCTION
7
CHAPTER 1: Women’s magazines in the Netherlands
11
1.1 Historical overview
11
1.2 Published forms of women’s magazines in the Netherlands anno 2015
15
CHAPTER 2: History and the rise of blogging in the Netherlands
17
2.1 Lifestyle blogging and the publishing industry anno 2015
17
2.2 The definition of a blog
20
2.3 Capitalism and lifestyle blogging anno 2015
28
2.4 Findings
31
CHAPTER 3: Analysis Linda
33
3.1 Object of study
33
3.2 Analysis
36
3.3 Connections and implications for the business model
46
CHAPTER 4: Analysis Amayzine
47
4.1 Object of study
47
4.2 Analysis 49
4.3 Connections and implications for the business model
57
CONCLUSION
59
BIBLIOGRAPHY
62
INTRODUCTION
The rise of blogging
The beginning of the 21st century is marked by the rising influence of online platforms and blogs,
within digital media. Nowadays, any person with Internet access can create a website and publish articles. Blogging platforms such as www.blogspot.com have lowered the barriers for online publication (Darnton 258). For some this opportunity has altered their lives completely, since they have grown into bloggers with a huge fan base and became influential media personalities. In the media industry these influential media personalities are called influencers. Lifestyle blogs from influencers such as the American Julie Sariñana (www.sincerelyjules.com), the Australian Nicole Warne (www.garypeppergirl.com) and the Dutch Negin Mirsalehi (www.neginmirsalehi.com) created such a huge international fan base that they have constructed new business forms and these became well-respected companies. Used as a marketing tool, by for example retail companies, these women have become an influence in the fashion industry and in the lives of millions of people. Negin Mirsalehi became a representative for Dior, Trussardi and Philosophy. With items of clothing from these brands she creates blog posts that are seen all over the world. She also functions as an ambassador of their products, campaigns and shows. Blogs are part of the new information ecology (Darnton 258) and can possibly replace other forms of traditional media. But what is a blog? In this research theories of blogging from Danah Boyd and Robert Darnton are used to explain the different characteristics of blogs. Further elaboration will be done in chapter two ‘The history and rise of blogging in the Netherlands’, but for now a short definition is given.
The term weblog was used for the first time in 1997 to describe a list or log of surfed web destinations from a website owner (Hookway 107). Only after 1999 blogging as an online activity started growing, thanks to the introduction of blogging software (Boyd, A Blogger’s Blog 3). Now everyone could be part of the new blogging discourse and blogosphere, which is the imagined public sphere wherein bloggers and readers are part of a community and enter relationships (Meyers 30). At first there were two basic blog styles, which were called filters and journals. Today all kinds of specialty blog genres exist. In the lifestyle genre each blogger started covering their interests. Blogs consequently cover a variety of subjects such as fashion, beauty, DIY or home decoration. Bloggers
found their niches and companies saw new opportunities, by introducing corporate blogs. The used blog tools had a design that became recognizable for the look of a blog (Darnton 13). Today more customization from templates is increasingly possible, so there is a broad diversity of existing blogs. The chronological order in which content is published remains characteristic for a blog (Myers 20). But also linking and commenting are characteristic. These forms of participation create conversation, which is necessary for the existence of the blogosphere. The technology and framing of the blog is not determining the content, though it delivers a wide range of uses and asks for innovation from developers, bloggers and readers (Darnton 11). What a blog and blogging means, is mainly dependent on the uses and adaptations of bloggers and readers.
Every day new blogs arise, with the intention to gain as many followers as their influencers have. And every day the attention for existing blogs grows. But what does this mean for other more traditional media that once covered the same sort of content? The rising interest in blogs has presumably caused a new dynamic in the printed media industry, with unforeseen consequences (Darnton 258). Consequences from which women’s magazines in the same lifestyle category could suffer. This thesis examines the specific ways in which women’s magazines have transformed after the advent of blogs. Blogging and online appearance seems to be the rescue for magazines in the capricious field of the publishing industry anno 2015. Is embracing forms of digital communication or blogging a solution? This research will investigate in what ways women’s magazines in the Netherlands adjusted to this trend.
Changes in the publishing industry in the Netherlands
In 2013 the largest group of magazines were women’s periodicals, with an annual statement of 97 million euro’s. Which was 10 million euro’s less then in 2012 and 19 million euro’s less then in 2011. This was all due to the economic situation of the year of 2009 in which a global financial crisis started and publishers faced massive turnover fails, thanks to changes in their number of subscriptions and interest in ad space (De Uitgever aan het Woord 9). Several publishing companies were restructured. Lots of titles were offered for sale and hundreds of jobs were dismissed. They continued with the most promising titles. Sanoma, a big publishing company in the Netherlands,
stated that they only continued with magazines that had ‘a big digital potential’1. Due to decreasing
profits, publishing companies are looking for new revenue models. Besides cost savings, for example by letting part of the staff go, they try to innovate and look for product innovation. Due to new initiatives from Apple, Google and Amazon who provide new online and digital forms of amusement and the introduction of new tablets, Smartphone’s, e-readers and other devices, digital and online reading started growing (Massa is Kassa 23). Dutch publishing companies combine different technologies and media to reach their target groups, with all kinds of different content. They employ cross- and trans-media strategies. The changing economy and media landscape made it necessary for these companies to change their ways. The challenge for a publishing company anno 2015 is to gain attention, but most of all to find ways for profiting from new forms of online attention.
1 Soest van, Thijs. ‘’Massa ontslag bij Sanoma nog heviger dan verwacht.’’ Volkskrant. 2013. De Persgroep
Nederland. 27 March 2015. <http://www.volkskrant.nl/media/massa-ontslag-bij-sanoma-nog-heviger-dan-verwacht~a3535922/>.
Research
This research focuses on the changing media landscape in the Netherlands. It wants to create a theoretical field for describing a new trend in de publishing industry of women’s magazines. The trend of more online activity was noted by all kinds of firms before, but what kind of impact will this have on the actual magazines? And is there a possibility that readers of magazines find enough satisfaction in reading these blogs and will not buy any magazines anymore? How the editorial departments of magazines adjust to this growing interest for blogging will be researched. This results in the following research question:
How does the rising interest for lifestyle blogs influence the on- and offline appearance of women’s magazines in the Netherlands and in what way does this change the business models of companies in the publishing industry?
To answer this research question a comparative study with theories about print media, blogging, participation, design and political economy of the media will be deployed. These theories will be used for a case study of two women’s magazines that will be researched through content analysis. It will mainly be a comparison between theoretical contemporary aspects of blogging and two online performing magazines. The theory of political economy of the media will be used to incorporate the changing media landscape and business models, which are driven by economical goals. The research will not be about phenomenology, as in the relation of the body to print or online magazines. Lots of women’s magazines have been object of study in relation to feminism. Representations of femininity and masculinity have been analyzed and labor and empowerment in relation to media and magazines has been part of research. This all could definitely be researched for this new trend of blogging. Despite this, this research will not cover such terrain. It will focus on the aspects of blogging in the physical and textual appearances of women’s magazines and the trans-media appearance they have created. For outlining the theory of lifestyle blogging, theory from Danah Boyd and Robert Darnton is used. Theories of political economy are deployed from Martin Hirst, Tiziana Terranavo and Jodi Dean. These sources describe new forms of free labor and the concept of communicative capitalism. This will be needed for explaining the rise of successful bloggers and explaining their business models. The theories about implicit and explicit participation from Mirko Tobias Schäfer will be used to outline the new forms of participation from readers.
For answering the research question two different online performing women’s magazines will be used as a case study; Amayzine and Linda. Amayzine is an online magazine created in 2013 that publishes its magazine once a season. The publishing company Sanoma did not want to fund this new and experimental project, so the initiator, May Britt Mobach former editor in chief of Marie-Claire, started the project on her own. Besides their online magazine, they have a few editors that create ‘blog’ content during the whole year and they have created an app. Their content is about fashion, beauty and aims at targeting women between 20 and 40 years old. In this study the magazine Amayzine will function as a new kid on the block, that probably is very dependent on the
trend of blogging. How and why this magazine differs from other more classical magazines will be explained. A few of their online issues of the magazine will be examined and some examples of their online content will be used. Linda is a magazine that has been introduced at the beginning of the 21st century by actress, TV-host and producer Linda de Mol. The personality driven magazine is addressing women between 20 and 49 years old and writes about fashion, cosmetics, gadgets, television, cooking, books, shopping, living, activities and music. From the beginning this has been a very successful monthly magazine that is mimicked by lots of other magazines. They are an example for lots of other editors. This also applies for their entrepreneurial mind that sees new opportunities, for example in their online news blog lindanieuws.nl that functions as your daily dose of Linda magazine. They also created an app for this content. Their website became another successful
aspect of the Linda corporation, with 18.325.000 page views in February 20152. Their printed
magazine and Lindanieuws.nl will be analyzed, with a focus on the form and content of their items. These two magazines are a good combination of research objects, since each has a different business model, was created in a different time and their repertoire consists out of different media. One magazine has been successful in print for years and now expands to online activities and the other magazine is only visible online and is a ‘new kid on the block’. We will see that both research objects have been influenced by the linking and personality driven aspects of lifestyle blogs. They both have different uses for these aspects, but these have irrevocably changed the field of women’s magazines. Online forms of communication have altered capitalistic practices and therefore the business models of these magazines.
The next chapter will focus on the publishing industry of the Netherlands and particularly the history and development of the women’s magazine. The second chapter outlines the history and rise of blogging and will explicate the theoretical field of lifestyle blogging. The third chapter will cover the magazine Linda and an analysis of diverse kinds of content will be given. The fourth chapter discusses Amayzine. The analysis of this online medium, creates moments for comparison between Amayzine and Linda. At last, the conclusion will contain the results of this research.
2Linda Digital Bereik. 2015. Sanoma. 18 May 2015.
Chapter 1:
women’s
magazines in the netherlands
This chapter elaborates on the development of women’s magazines in the Netherlands. For researching the two case studies Linda and Amayzine it is necessary to know the history of the women’s magazine and the publishing industry in the Netherlands. This will help to explain why certain parts of the (online) magazines and their companies are present. The first paragraph will give an historical overview for these matters. It discusses the rise of the interest in publishing women’s magazines and the growing diversity. Thereby it also elaborates on the changing dynamics in the publishing industry, especially for the 21st century since the economical crisis and technological developments have changed a lot. The second paragraph outlines the different forms of women’s magazines that are published today in the Netherlands. Women’s magazines are divided into different categories, each with its own characteristics. This paragraph will help to define to content of the two case studies. It will also help to analyze if blog content could be divided into any of these categories.
1.1 Historical overview
The first published magazines in the Netherlands appeared at the end of the 17th century. These
magazines concerned science and, satirical and controversial subjects. They were also imported from abroad. Magazines targeted at women, were published for the first time in the Netherlands at
the end of the 18th century, but women were already part of the reading public from other previous
published reading materials. The publishing industry at this point, did not aim at expansion or profit maximization. Most of the time, magazines were published because of a strong relationship between the maker and a publisher. The printing would sometimes be subsidized and most of the times the magazine would have enlightenment and humanity at its purpose (Aerts 177). There were three women’s magazines in the Netherlands at that time: Algemeene Oeffenschool der Vrouwen
(1784-1785), De Dames-Post (1785) en Weekblad voor Vrouwen (1795). These magazines covered a variety of subjects and did not have a preset layout (Johannes 3). From 1870 onward the emancipation movement of women created a new target audience for feminist magazines. Magazines these days were expensive and were only read by women who had enough leisure time, money and the skills to read. So the reach of these magazines was limited to certain elites. This all
changed drastically as a result of several developments around the end of the 19th century: printing
techniques improved, paper became much cheaper and the literacy level rose. Magazines now also reached the working class and every group in the compartmentalized Netherlands seemed to have its own magazine (Hülsken 3). After the Second World War, the diversity of magazines was small, mainly due to a lack of capital. Financial mismanagement and little income out of the sales of ads, were part of this publishing industry. Another problem that also had its influence on the diversity of magazines was, that it was difficult to create a magazine that would address women and their needs. Since there were less means of communication to investigate the zeitgeist and interests of women in those days. A new magazine would contain aspects and subjects from a magazine that had proven to be successful before (Vegt 109).
Lotte Jensen researched women’s magazines and female journalists from the 18th and 19th
century. Her definition of a women’s magazine will be used in this research. She describes the women’s magazine as a periodical, which is aimed at the female audience. It should be published regularly and at least once a year, but not daily. Periodicals usually have an editorial department for its own existence (13). Jensen assumed that the magazine would be a printed matter, but today’s magazines do also exist in other forms, which will be discussed later. The cover of a women’s magazine is most likely a combination of announcements and the visuals of a women’s face or body.
From the 20th century the content of these magazines was characterized by: practical matters,
articles and columns. Practical matters like the household and career advice would be discussed. The articles and columns would comprise subjects about beauty, fashion, relationships, sexuality, motherhood and short fiction (Hülsken 2). Libelle (1934) and Margriet (1938) are two examples of such women’s magazines that have a long publishing history and have served generation after generation. They are published weekly and still have a huge fan base. Both of these magazines were funded by different publishing companies and in these times, lots of these companies existed side by side. In 1964 this all changed when VNU, Verenigde Nederlandse Uitgeversbedrijven (United Dutch Publishing companies) was formed out of two of these companies, the catholic De Spaarnestad and Cebema. They instantly became very successful and created a monopoly in the publishing industry (Wijfjes 1).
In the seventies, the second feminist wave created interest for a new monthly magazine Opzij (1972), which still exists today. After this, lots of other magazines, with more specific target groups, as black women, lesbians and teenage girls, were launched (Hülsken 3). VNU published this diversity of magazines and reflected the changing culture of the Netherlands. The content of these magazines created form for trends as individualization, globalization and secularization (Wijfjes 2). In the nineties the magazines reflected the fast and consumption-oriented capitalist society of the West. Magazines became more colorful and there was lots of space for advertisements. In addition, lots of
these magazines cover consumption as one of their main objectives, but all other objects are possible for coverage, no object or taboo is avoided (Hülsken 4). VNU grew into an international information concern, which in 2001 sold its old core activities; newspapers and magazines. The Dutch magazines were taken over by the Finnish Sanoma, which profited a lot from this sale, due to rising profits (Wijfjes 2). Guus van Hove described the Netherlands in 2004 as a magazine country, with over 200 paid titles published that year (1). Since his research a lot has changed and in 2013 154 titles were published of which 29 women’s magazines (NOM 2013). Van Hove noted that television and radio magazines were the only magazines more popular than women’s magazines. Anno 2014 this has changed since women’s magazines have become the most read magazines. They have left radio and television magazines a milestone behind them (NOM 2013/2014). But what happened in the meantime? Why did so many magazines disappear?
In 2013 women’s periodicals were a large group of magazines, with an annual statement of 97 million euro’s, which was 10 million euro’s less then 2012 and 19 million euro’s less then 2011. This was all because of the year of 2009, in which a global financial crisis started and publishers faced massive turnover fails, because of changes in their number of subscriptions and interest in ad space (De Uitgever aan het Woord 9). Due to the decreasing profits, publishing companies are looking for new revenue models. For example by cost savings, they let part of the staff go, they try to innovate and look for product innovation. Revenue models for paid online and mobile services in the Netherlands can be divided into three categories. First there are online information services, such as weblogs, podcasts, portals and RSS-feeds. Second they can produce digital information products, which are mainly products for tablets like e-books, online-magazines and audio books. And last mobile information services can be a new form of income, by for example creating mobile apps, mobile websites and text messaging services (De Uitgever aan het Woord 49). These products sometimes can be a replacement of physical products, such as online-magazines for magazines and e-books for books. Due to new initiatives from Apple, Google and Amazon who provide new online and digital forms of amusement and the introduction of new tablets, Smartphone’s, e-readers and other devices, this form of digital and online reading started growing (Massa is Kassa 23).
In addition to the impact of the economy, the print market is affected by readership trends. Consumer magazine print circulation has been declining in recent years, in part because of the economy, but also because of competition from the Internet. People now routinely access information on the Internet and have become less reliant on magazines for information. (Entertainment & Media Outlook for the Netherlands 2011-2015 114)
Dutch publishing companies now combine different technologies to reach their target groups. In 2008 they saw their ‘mobile content as a complement to their existing products and services’, thus the printed products remained their key focus (Massa is Kassa 34). These new online and mobile services and products can provide revenue by selling ad space and through collaborations with other brands. Another source of income could be paid online content. Although printing costs are averted, the content and websites still need to be produced. Rupert Murdoch founder and shareholder of the News Corporation, that publishes The New York Post, The Times, The Sun and governs Fox
Entertainment, National Geographic and Myspace, started a discussion back in 2009. He stated that the cost for qualitative journalism is high and should be paid by the readers. The selling of ads cannot cover all the costs and therefore Murdoch was looking for other ways to create income (De Uitgever aan het Woord 46). Today magazines and publishers, with some exceptions, still offer their content for free. It has been noted that readers do not want to pay for reading online content. Lots of website offer the same kind of content and if they have to pay for it on one website, they just move onto another (De Uitgever aan het Woord 50).
In October 2013 Sanoma restructured their company, by letting go 32 of their titles and offering them for sale on the market. In their statement they reported that the remaining 17 titles as Libelle, Linda, Viva, Flair, Autoweek, Margriet and Donald Duck are their ‘crown jewels’ and they will focus solely on these titles from that moment on. Sanoma continued with the magazines that had ‘a
big digital potential’3. For these changes, 500 fulltime jobs were dismissed and with restructuring
among other publishing companies as Hearst, lots of editors happened to be without jobs in 2014. The Dutch Union of Journalists (NVJ) said that ‘this all was a big disappointment for everyone in the magazine business and that these developments would affect the freelancers who worked for
magazines extremely hard’4. The changing economy and revenues for magazines made it necessary
for these companies to change their ways. For example the decrease of ads from fashion and beauty brands in women’s magazines, made it harder for them to continue as they had before.
Lots of publishers and magazines created an additional income source, by introducing a webshop. In 2010 82 percent already had a web shop, but if the web shop only sold their magazines and services there is a slight chance that the webshop still exists today. Web shops from publishers should broaden their product offers (De Uitgever aan het Woord 21). Anno 2015 we see some web
shops of publishers (shop.telegraaf.nl) and magazines (www.vtwonen.nl/shop/ and
www.ariadneathomeshop.nl/) that offer a broad range of products, related to their initial brand. At the end of April in 2014 Sanoma and V&D, a Dutch department store chain, announced their collaboration. Sanoma will organize weekly events connected to their titles like Libelle, VIVA and Tina in one of fifteen selected stores. This, to market the magazines right at the heart of their target
groups and to attain traffic for a department store chain in crisis5.
This shows that the business models had to change drastically from the previous classical publishing model. The magazines have outgrown into brands, with a trans-media strategy, and are looking for ways to stay profitable. These brands should keep five important aspects of their business models in mind. First the target group that will use or buy their products. Second the different content, services that they provide and through which channels. Third the relationships with other media organizations or companies should be optimal, since this can provide extras for their customers. Fourth they should have unique selling points. By distinguishing the brand from others, it can speak to a certain target group and be recognizable. Last the models for revenue should be
3 ‘’Massa ontslag bij Sanoma nog heviger dan verwacht.’’ 2013. Volkskrant. 16 March 2015.
<http://www.volkskrant.nl/media/massa-ontslag-bij-sanoma-nog-heviger-dan-verwacht~a3535922/>.
4 ‘’Massa ontslag bij Sanoma nog heviger dan verwacht.’’ 2013. Volkskrant. 16 March 2015.
<http://www.volkskrant.nl/media/massa-ontslag-bij-sanoma-nog-heviger-dan-verwacht~a3535922/>.
5 ANP. ‘’V&D slaan handen ineen.’’ 2015. Parool. 16 April 2015. <http://www.parool.nl/parool/nl/30/ECONOMIE/
thought through (De Uitgever aan het Woord 50). In conclusion these brands should look for innovative and distinctive products and services, to keep reaching their target audiences. The challenge for a publishing company anno 2015 is to gain attention, but most of all to find ways for profiting from new forms of online attention.
1.2 Published forms of women’s magazines in the Netherlands anno 2015
In the Netherlands, more than half of the magazines are sold through subscriptions and the rest in stores (Massa is Kassa 9). Most subscriptions are accompanied by a welcome gift that has the same value as the subscription. As already stated a magazine is a periodical with an editorial formula, which has to be substantial and recognizable (Richtlijnen Indelen Nieuwe Titels 1). It should be published regularly and at least once a year, but not daily. Periodicals usually have an editorial department for its own existence (Jensen 13). Nowadays women’s magazines can be a printed or digital matter. The cover of a women’s magazine is most likely a combination of announcements and the visuals of a women’s face or body. Roughly said the content of these magazines is characterized by: articles, interviews and columns. These all comprehend subjects about beauty, fashion, health, travel, events, relationships, sexuality, motherhood and celebrities. In 2004 Guus van Hove wrote an
article about the Dutch women’s magazines in the 21st century and stated that the market in the
Netherlands could be divided into two types of magazines: women weekly’s and women monthly’s. These two types behold all kinds of subcategories that each targets its own audience (3).
The weekly according to him can be categorized into two types: general interest and gossip. General interest magazines discuss a broad range of serious subjects that women find interesting. Margriet and Libelle are examples of such magazines. They claim to tell real stories and have been
like a friend to a lot of women from the 1940s onward6. The discussed subjects concern daily life as
a woman in the Netherlands and are mostly immaterial. General interest magazines that were introduced more recently are VIVA, Flair and Vriendin. The other weekly magazines are gossip magazines and these are less serious and mostly want to sustain the need for curiosity and sensation (3). These magazines are in my opinion not part of the category weekly women’s magazines, but part of the category family magazines. Gossip about Dutch or foreign celebrities are not only of interest to women and therefore do not belong into this category. Van Hove’s ideas about the different categories and types are roughly used in the coming paragraph, but altered when found necessary. His ideas are sometimes too stereotypical since he, without questioning, assigns gossip and cooking magazines to the women’s category, even when the NOM and HOI research institutes do not refer to these magazines as feminine.
Van Hove divides the monthly into two types: special interest magazines and glamour magazines (6). Special interest magazines cover one specific subject. In the Netherlands these can be magazines like Knipmode or Flow. By elaborating on one specific subject, as creating your own clothing or creating happiness, they showcase a certain branch. This creates a specific range of interested advertisers. But what about women’s magazines that are published less than monthly and what about magazines that only are published online? Roughly said these kinds of magazines can
be allocated within any of these previous mentioned categories and types. In the upcoming chapters it is researched more in depth, whether the trans-media strategies of women’s magazines create a whole different category of magazines. It is discussed if these contain aspects of the magazines mentioned above or that they are used and combined for new forms of communication.
The second type of monthly magazine, glamour magazines, are most of interest for this research since they have the most similarities with lifestyle blogs. Therefore two of these glamour magazines, Linda and Amayzine, will be object of study. Glamour magazines were a rising category in the nineties when the consumption-oriented capitalist society of the West asked for colorful magazines with a lot of space for advertisements (Hülsken 4). The international success of for example Cosmopolitan and Elle created a market for these kind of magazines in the Netherlands (van Hove 6). This type of magazine owes its name from all the cosmetic, fashion and high-end brands that advertise on lots of pages. On account of this source of income they were less dependent on their readers, but since the crisis in 2011 both of these sources of income have dropped drastically. Glamour magazines can be divided into three different subjects: gossip, glamour for the young female and I-magazines. Gossip magazines are not like their weekly peer, since they discuss glamour and gossip. Glamour magazines for the young female such as Glamour, Marie-Claire and Cosmopolitan came to rise due to the growing (financial) independence of young females. Amayzine produces the same kind of content as these magazines. They discuss lifestyle related issues, with celebrities as their style icons (van Hove 6). The last type of glamour magazine is the I-magazine, the personality driven magazine. O Magazine from Oprah Winfrey is an international example of such a magazine. The object of study Linda, is also such a personality driven magazine. These magazines all have one person as their main subject. For example, Linda magazine always has a cover shoot and starting column with Linda de Mol herself. Over all, these are the only two aspects in which she as a person is reflected personally, but the overall brand identity used throughout the magazine relates to her personality.
The upcoming chapter will first elaborate on the concept of blogging. This all will create a clear understanding of the Dutch traditional publishing landscape and the more recent digital media landscape. Together it forms a theoretical field for analyzing two types of women’s magazines in a new media age.
Chapter 2:
HISTORY AND THE RISE
RIRUSE
TUSE
OF BLOGGING in the netherlands
This chapter comprises the theory of blogging that is necessary to analyze my two case studies Linda and Amayzine. I am only interested in the characteristics that contribute to the analysis of these two case studies and therefore I do not discuss all aspects of blogging and its history. The concept of blogging is always studies from a wider transition in the online media landscape. The first paragraph will outline why blogging became interesting for the publishing industry in the Netherlands. This paragraph exemplifies why research about the influence of blogs onto women’s magazines is relevant. The second paragraph will elaborate what blogs and their characteristics are, combined with a historical overview of the most influential moments for blogging techniques and usages. These characteristics are necessary for the analysis in chapter 3 and 4. They will help to look for comparisons or differences between the women’s magazines Amayzine and Linda and lifestyle blogs. The third paragraph will elaborate on capitalism and blogs, since due to the popularization of blogs, they have become a new way for making money. This paragraph will show the different forms of paid and unpaid labor that arose and will explain the concept of communicative capitalism from Jodi Dean.
2.1 Lifestyle blogging and the publishing industry anno 2015
On the 20th of April 2015 blogger Negin Mirsalehi (www.neginmirsalehi.com) reached 2 million
followers on her Instagram account7. For some starting bloggers this is the dream they want to
chase; becoming an influential media personality. In the media industry these influential media personalities are called influencers. Lifestyle blogs from influencers such as Mirsalehi, the American Julie Sariñana (www.sincerelyjules.com) and the Australian Nicole Warne (www.garypeppergirl.com)
7 Negin Mirsalehi. 2015. Instagram. 23 April 2015. <https://instagram.com/p/1tZM7vx3i5/?taken-by=negin_
created such huge international fan bases that their blogs have turned into their fulltime jobs. Blogs are part of the new information ecology (Darnton 258) and can possibly replace other forms of traditional media since they have become so popular and visible in all kinds of media. Sanoma, the biggest Dutch publishing company for women’s magazines, has noticed these developments and started managing the accounts for some bloggers in 2013, under the all encompassing name Blogtoday. Each blogger that they represent has his or her own webpage on their website with
information for external brands who are interested in collaborations8. Until 2015 Mirsalehi was one of
these bloggers, but her company has become such a professional organization, that she and her employees started managing their own accounts. Other Dutch blogs such as April and May (www.aprilanmay.nl), Redreidinghood (www.redreidinghood.com) and Beautyill (www.beautyill.nl) are part of the portfolio of Sanoma. Marijn Luchtman who was working as ‘publisher online woman’ when the initiative Blogtoday was launched stated that ‘bloggers remained owner of their blog’ and explicated the initiative:
Wij doen de verkoop van advertenties, de marketing en promotie. Daarnaast helpen wij met het verbeteren van de site en het verhogen van de traffic zodat ze nog interessanter worden voor adverteerders. Blogtoday stelt bloggers in staat samenwerkingen aan te gaan met sterke A-merken uit ons portfolio als Grazia, Marie Claire, Styletoday en Fashionista. Adverteerders kunnen hier op inhaken. Op die manier kan er een structurele samenwerking ontstaan met de belangrijkste online
influencers.9
This new initiative shows that publishers became aware of the business opportunities that have surfaced due to the growing popularity of blogs. Not only do they want to manage the accounts for these important online influencers, but they also see opportunities for creating liaisons between these women and their own magazines and eventually advertisers. In the period that Mirsalehi was still part of the Blogtoday portfolio she had multiple appearances in several magazines. In 2013 she
had an interview in Marie-Claire10 and in 2014 in Grazia11. In the 8/9th week issue of 2015 from
Grazia, Mirsalehi was cover model and had a fashion spread covering eight pages12. Thus the
influencer has become part of the content of publishing media. They have become so influential that magazines want to cover them. The collaboration can create more visibility for the magazines , since bloggers will likely post about these happenings.
In 2014 lots of women’s magazines changed their websites. Before this moment their websites were traditional, in the sense that they were static and straightforward (Tidwell xxi). In the images 1, 2 and 3 three screenshots of the website from Flair, Libelle and VIVA show their previous websites.
8 Adverteren digitaal . 2015. Sanoma. 23 April 2015. <http://www.sanoma.nl/merken/digital/>.
9 ‘’Sanoma brengt bloggers en adverteerders bij elkaar.’’ 2013. Sanoma. 23 April 2015. <http://www.
sanoma.nl /en/brands/news/sanoma-brengt-bloggers-en-adverteerders-bij-elkaar/digital/blogtodaynl/>.
10 ‘’Marie Claire Interview.’’ 2013. Negin Mirsalehi. 23 April 2015.
<http://neginmirsalehi.com/lifestyle/marie-claire-interview-a-closer-look>.
11 Grazia 2014/31. 2014. Tijdschrift 365. 23 April 2015. <https://www.tijdschrift365.nl/Titel/Grazia/ Tijdschrift/
871084170167803114>.
12 My Grazia cover and page spread. 2015. Negin Mirsalehi. 23 April 2015. <http://neginmirsalehi.com/fashion
Image 1: website VIVA 200713 Image 2: website Flair 200814
Image 3: website Libelle 201215
Within these websites there is a variety of subpages that the user can choose from. A side bar creates order, but also limits the ways of interaction within the website. The home page covered different items that were published throughout the website. Banners and branded content were already part of commercial logic of these media, but probably did not create a considerable amount of income. Already in 2007 in the case of VIVA, a blog is part of their website. Only now it is a page within their website and the whole layout and technology of the website remains traditional. The blog is a subpage that can be approached by clicking the link in the side bar. Most of the times these websites were created with Wordpress, so it was easy to upload or change content. The maintenance of these websites therefore is not dependant on IT professionals, but can be handled by editors or interns within these companies.
Flair (www.flairathome.nl), Libelle (www.libelle.nl), Margriet (www.margriet.nl) and VIVA (www.viva.nl) out of the portfolio of Sanoma continued in 2014 with a new website design, that visually looks similar to other lifestyle blogs. The images 4, 5, 6 and 7 show screenshots of these new websites. The published content shows other similarities with the content from lifestyle blogs, since they casually cover fashion, beauty and lifestyle. The side bar has been replaced for a top bar,
13 VIVA (tijdschrift). 2015. Wikipedia. 3 May 2015. <http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viva_(tijdschrift)>.
14 ‘’Winactie met Flair.’’ 2008. KwartetCadeau. 3 May 2015. <http://www.kwartetcadeau.nl /page/nieuws/
winactie_met_flair>.
15 Ram, Paul. ‘’Libelle gebruikt Wordpress voor het online magazine.’’ Paul Ram. 3 May 2015. <http://paulram
which creates an immediate experience. The stream of content is published on the homepage, which erases the need for an extensive side bar to create order. Even though commenting was possible on previous website, the new websites have opportunities for commenting. It is no longer necessary to create an account, but mentioning a screen name and mail address is enough.
Image 4: website Flair May 201516 Image 5: website Libelle May 201517
Image 6: website Margriet May 201518 Image 7: website VIVA May 201519
The changes for these websites in relation to layout, technology, content and also the inclusion of an online community exemplifies that there is a need for research covering the influence of lifestyle blogs onto the online appearance of women’s magazines.
2.2 The definition of a blog
In 1997 the term weblog was used for the first time, it was mostly used to describe a list or log of surfed web destinations or a list of all the links of interesting web addresses someone had found on the worldwide web (Hookway 107). The exponential growth of blogging as an online activity occurred after 1999. In this year the introduction of Pitas blogging freeware and another blogging tool, created by Pyra Labs, made it possible for a vast number of people to start blogs (Trammell 971 and Boyd, A Blogger’s Blog 3). An activity that formerly only would be accessible for those who had enough knowledge of the Internet and web creation, is now available in accessible form for every Internet
16 Flair at home. 2015. Sanoma Media. 3 May 2015. <http://www.flairathome.nl>.
17 Libelle Daily. 2015. Sanoma Media. 3 may 2015. <http://www.libelle.nl>.
18 Margriet. 2015. Sanoma Media. 3 May 2015. <http://www.margriet.nl>.
user. Giving an exact description of the phenomena of blogging or the blog as a concept is difficult, because of the evolving usage and technology of the medium. The bloggers and users of blogs have broadly constituted the definition of blogs. From the beginning it has been a grass roots medium for news coverage and discussion. As such, blogs had the potential to replace professional journalists. According to Robert Darnton sixteen thousand jobs in the US disappeared in 2006, because of the use of this new free and instant form of communication. He states that bloggers were motivated by their individual obsessions, which resulted in websites such as ‘perezhilton.com (gossip), wonkette.com (political junkies), ivygate.com (college students) and abovethelaw.com (lawyers)’ (258). He described their online formula as old-fashioned tabloid journalism, in which names make news (259). Tama Leaver states differently, she thinks that blogs are no replacement for journalists, but simply provide alternative ways to critique existing media structures (13). This tabloid form of news coverage was and is not the only genre of blogging. By following their interests bloggers have created all kinds of niche markets. The creation of all these niche markets has resulted in a growing number of blogs but also readers. In 2006 Danah Boyd wrote the article ‘A Blogger’s Blog: Exploring the Definition of a Medium’, in which she stated that ‘blogs were a rising subject of interest for youth, researchers, mainstream media and the entrepreneurial Silicon Valley’. At that time, according to research, only 50% of Internet users read blogs and many of the Internet users did not know exactly what blogging meant (Boyd, A Blogger’s Blog 3). In 2015 there are 3 billion Internet users, a billion
more than 5 years ago20. Today 77% of all Internet users visit blogs, these blogs have gained a lot of
publicity for a form of online communication that was first coined in 199721. Blogging is a relatively
young phenomenon that will be explained by four of its characteristics: the blogosphere, content, technology and design.
2.2.1 Blogs and the blogosphere
‘..the imagined public sphere, the space inhabited by all of the public digital bodies.’ (Boyd, A Blogger’s Blog 19)
From the arrival of weblogs, links and commentary have been a great part of their characteristics22.
These days, lots of other forms of online communication also include these previously owned characteristics from weblogs. But for blogs it has contributed to ‘establishing interlinked communities, the blogosphere’ (Lindahl 114). In this blogosphere people are connected through shared interests, while the linking to each other created connections. These connections have constructed a blogosphere, which can be seen as an imagined public sphere wherein bloggers and readers are part of a community and enter relationships. There are three kinds of relationships. The blogosphere first consists out of contact between bloggers and other bloggers. There is a whole community of
20 Luckerson, Victor. ‘’Internet Users Surge to Almost 3 Billion Worldwide.’’ Time. 2014. Time Inc. Network. 25
March 2015 <http://time.com/3604911/3-billion-internet-users/>.
21 Social4retail. ‘’The Blogconomy.’’ Social4retail. N.d. 23 April 2015.
<http://www.social4retail.com/the-blog-economy-blogging-stats-infographic-2014.html>.
22 Hourrihan, Meg. ‘’What We’re Doing When We Blog.’’ Megnut. 2002. Web DevCenter. 23 April 2015.
bloggers who interact with each other. Together they comment on their own and others blogs. Almost every blogger links to others. Links tend to form clusters of people, with the same opinion (Myers 30). The relationship between these bloggers can be described as friendly and collegial. Connections between blogs are made by ‘hyperlinks from one blog to another, mentions of other blogs and bloggers in entries posted to weblogs, and comments posted in response to other bloggers entries ‘(Herring 1). These days lifestyle bloggers do not specifically link to each other, but the bond between them remained (Garden 494). This relationship is seen online in reactions to posts, a post with an interview from another blogger or sometimes by linking to websites from others. But due to the rising professionalism and popularization of some bloggers, there is no longer need to refer to other blogs. They have become influential on their own, since their online community has grown so much. Offline the bond between bloggers has remained friendly and collegial, since they see each other quite a lot. Lifestyle bloggers receive lots of invitations for press events and introductions. It is very common that they travel together to these occasions or catch up at the actual event. They refer to other bloggers as their friends or colleagues, since they get to spend so much time together and discuss all of the blog related issues with each other.
The second relationship within the blogosphere is the one between bloggers and their audiences. Within the commentary section the audience replies to the items or poses questions. This
sometimes provides the opportunity for a ‘conversation’, since bloggers will respond 23. In this
commentary section the audience has found a way to perform ‘forms of social control, signs of
approval, acceptance and value24’. The audience replies to stuff they feel like mentioning, this can be
a thing they liked or things they disagree with. Bloggers are very interested in these comments, since they represent the sentiment on their blogs. Each new written item, is mostly written with comments from previous items in mind. This relationship also exists on the social media accounts of a blog, since liking and commenting are part of these media as well. Further, audiences have the opportunity to participate in polls, e-mail bloggers directly with questions and sometimes people get the opportunity to be a guest editor or become one of the blogs real editors. Thereby some influential bloggers have started organizing their own events. Mascha Feokistova (www.beautygloss.nl) for example started her Beautygloss parties in 2011. It started as a one-day event, with activities from all kinds of beauty brands and a goodie bag. Anno 2015 it has turned into a three-day beauty event with
a big party at the end25. At this event her fans have the opportunity to meet Feokistova in the flesh.
The third and last relationship within the blogosphere is the relationship between different persons from the audience. This relationship is manifest in the commentary section of the different blog items. By responding to these items, persons from the audience sometimes start a conversation with one another. These persons can even become familiar with each other, since they frequently respond to items from their favorite bloggers. The audience often has an own ‘responding’ account,
23 Teachout, Terry. ‘’Culture in the Age of Blogging.’’ Commentary Magazine. 2005. Commentary. 4 May 2015.
<https://www.commentarymagazine.com/article/culture-in-the-age-of-blogging/>.
24 Miller, Carolyn R. and Dawn Stepherd. ‘’ Bloggin as Social Action: A Genre Analysis of the Weblog.’’ Into the
Blogosphere. Laura Gurak et. al.. N.d.. University of Minnesota. 4 May 2015.
<http://blog.lib.umn.edu/blogosphere/blogging_as_social_action_a_genre_analysis_of_the_weblog.html>.
25 Beautygloss party 2015 <3 5e editie. ‘’Beautygloss party 2015 <3 5e editie.’’ 2015. Beautygloss.
with their own name and a photo, this helps establishing a relationship within the commentary section. Fans from a certain blog sometimes create fan (web)pages or accounts on Instagram or Facebook. In these places fans from a certain blog can exchange information and keep each other up to date with new of their favorite blogs. Thereby fans from blogs can also meet at events like the Beautygloss party.
The formation of a blogosphere, with its linking and commentary, is a way to facilitate participation. Participation from readers will increase the potential of a blog. A blog with high viewing rates and links from and to the blog make tit more valuable for advertisers. A commercial logic behind all of these blogs is to increase response and viewing rates, since these can mean attaining more money. For this, bloggers need to create a strong relationship with their fellow bloggers and readers. The forms of participation that are mentioned above are related to the forms of participation that Mirko Tobias Schäfer has introduced: explicit and implicit participation. This first form of participation ‘is driven by motivation, either intrinsic or extrinsic’ and ‘reasons to participate are as diverse as the skills and abillities of those who do’ (Schäfer 51). This form of internet-enabled participation results into created products such as blogs or musical remixes or mash ups, thus real and original media (Fish 376). For bloggers themselves explicit participation is the creation of their own blog and entries, but for readers of blogs it means different things. For them it is the opportunity to comment, be a guest editor or respond to polls for for example choosing what the next item should cover. Implicit participation does not ask conciouss activity of cultural production and is channeled by design. Producers create blogs from which certain user activities are structured. The user-generated content is the input that the producers of such blogs want (Schäfer 51).Within blogs, creators and users are not equal. The creators and business owners have limited the power of the users. These users do not have anything to say about the governance of the platform, altough for example tips for improving the user friendlyness could be used for future improvements. Over all the participants do not benefit from the blogs success except in ways that are not as tangible as the profits of the
business owners (Jenkins and Carpentier 273)26. Lots of media these days do not simply project
their flow op programming onto the audience but create a feeling of conversation between the medium and its listeners, viewers and users (Peters 117). This feeling of conversation through the use of participation makes the audience feel connected to the brand. In the case of for example women’s magazine, it makes women feel connected to their magazines, there is an opportunity to give feedback and share their opinions. These possibilities create a loyal audience, since the bond between them feels more connected an intertwined, than it would have without participation. The engagement of the audiences is what binds them to brand. This aspect will help to analyze if forms of participation in media outlets from Amayzine and Linda are present and what different forms of possible participation are used. Altogether the linking and commenting characteristic of blogs is central to the blogosphere. These forms of participation create conversation, which is necessary for maintaining and feeding the community from a certain blog.
26 Swart, Eefje. ‘’Instagram as part of retailers media strategy is changing the work field.’’ Paper Case
2.2.2 Blogs and content
‘..today’s blogs are tinctured by allusions that appeal to today’s readers.’ (Darnton 258)
Blogs have existed in all kinds of different forms. Charlie Lindahl stated there were two basic blogs styles, which she called filters and journals. The filter style blog, had lists of links to other websites and the journal style blog was more or less an ‘online personal diary, with dated entries presented in a stream of consciousness (114)’. In 2015 the filter style blog no longer exists, since people interested in sharing links have moved to other tools for brief updates, such as Twitter. And describing personal journal style blogs as online diaries is a problematic description (Garden 498). Evaluating blogs in terms of diaries gives no agency to the concept of blogging on its own (Boyd, A Blogger’s Blog 7) thereby ignoring the diversity of blogs when referring to diaries.
Some blogs are open diaries or scrapbooks, while others are thoughtfully written on-line magazines, enthusiastically and often professionally presented by one person or a group. Some are interactive adjuncts to newspapers or barely concealed marketing tools for home- produced goods. On some sites there is in-depth analysis of writing
trends, cultural comment, and artful polemic.27
Due to the development of blogging tools, everyone could be part of the new blogging discourse and all kinds of specialty blog genres arose. In the lifestyle genre each blogger started covering their own interests and blogs consequently cover a variety of subjects such as fashion, beauty, DIY or home decoration. With the growing interest in blogging as a hobby and opportunity for possible profits, the publication of an instructional book from Dummies was inevitable. They advice people to start a niche blog, ‘that focuses on a very specific topic’. The Dutch influencer Yara Michels (www.chapterfriday.com) confirms the need to start a niche blog to thereby stand out from the crowd,
‘since so many blogs are already out there’28. Finding a niche, that will fill a void, is the way to target
an audience (Blogging for Dummies 79). For a niche blog several types of forms for content are distinguished: lists, how to’s, don’ts, videos, polls, readers questions, reviews, links, trends, success stories, interviews and guest blog posts (126). These content types are accompanied by the presence of lots of consumer products. All these products derive from different retail companies that started giving away these products or creating alliances. Therefore the content from lifestyle blogs is often branded, although bloggers claim to be authentic and only choose the products that they like
themselves and want to cover in their items29. Using all these kinds of content to showcase the
subject of the blog at best, can create the feeling of the blogger being an expert (83). Yara Michels (www.chapterfriday.com) for example is known for her items about careers and being professional and stylish on the work floor, Mascha Feokistova (www.beautygloss.nl) can tell you everything about
27 Featherstone N. ‘’Blogging uplugged.’’. Canberra Times. 2010. 19 April 2015.
<www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/blogging-unplugged/1806767.aspx>.
28 Michels, Yara. ‘‘My Career’’. HEMA blog academy event. HEMA. Amsterdam, 10-9-14.
