1. Please try to describe yourself in just 5 words!
Determined, enthusiastic, happy, friendly, slightly chaotic and reflective.

2. Tell us about ‘Viennarama’ and when it all started!
Viennarama started as a university project as part of my studies and I have always dreamed of having my own media outlet. So I thought why wait?
That’s why I created Viennarama which is devoted to the cultural scene in Vienna. We are also continually expanding our readership.

3. Why was ‘Viennarama’ brought to life?
It came to life because I adore Vienna and its culture. Vienna is the perfect fusion of tradition and modernity. I wanted to pay homage to the local culture with all its concerts, exhibitions and exceptional artists and musicians. As there was no comparable online portal, I decided to start my own.

4. What is so special about ‘Viennarama’?
We are a young team of voluntary students inspired by Viennese cultural scene and want to share this with others. So you can say, it’s from young people to young people.

5. How does ‘Viennarama’ reach its readers and how does it increase its readers?
We reach most of our readers through Facebook, where we post all new articles and events daily. We are also quite high up in Google Ranking, and word-of-mouth is one of our strengths.

6. What is your personal goal for ‘Viennarama’ for Vienna?
It would be great if we could get into print as well, but that is a long-term goal. Being able to finally pay our hardworking editors is also amongst them.

7. Have you ever come across a blog or website that you thought was interesting and if yes, which one and why?
As I said before until now I have not found a blog that’s comparable to Viennarama and this is why I started this blog.

8. Any comments you would like to share with us?
The main thrust is the love of Vienna. Vienna offers so many opportunities, and it is no surprise that it is in the top spot of the Mercer 2010 Quality of Living Survey.

1. Who are you?

2. What do you like about what you do?
I really love to make research, interviews, travel, going to events, make pictures and at the same time to improve my fashion knowledge, being up to date about the impressive fashion industry and the fast increasing online marketing possibilities.

3. What don’t you like about what you do?
There is nearly anything that I don’t like, but sometimes its quite hard to make a good job at my daily work, go to events on evenings, write for the blogs I and still be up to date about what is going on in the Fashion & Model industry as well as in online Marketing.

4. Please tell us about your blog ‘Modeltalk’ and your future aims!
I started Modeltalk in February 2009. What first was an idea to learn more about the web, online marketing and the systems behind SEO and of being able to sum up informations for models, newcomers and those who are interested in fashion, is growing to a real work. While at the beginning there was more action from my side, trying to get more people to read it- is now growing up, giving me a chance to get a really insight into fashion from a wider perspective. Photographers, models, agencies, designers …
The near future main aim is to grow and share more information on a daily basis. Everything else depends on how my “daily work” will change in the next view months, as I am thinking of setting up a business- it’s kind of an adventure- we will see!

5. Are you working with other blogs and if yes, what is your favourite blog?
Actually I am not working with other blogs, but of course I have get to know many people having their blogs and I nearly read all of them or at least try to. I just started to write for a global fashion community called “The Fashionglobe” this can be called a collaboration. To mention a favourite blog is quite difficult, but as I grew up in Spain and try to keep in touch with it I mostly read Fashionísima.

6. Your TOP 3 models and why?
That’s a really difficult question! A lot of models are amazing and do a great job. As an austrian I am really amazed by Iris Strubegger- who has also been honoured by the austrian fashion industry. Her look, her works, her type is quite amazing. One of the models that most impressed me in my youth was Aurelie Claudel and she still was for me one of the most beautiful models on catwalks and prints. Last, but not least, I am a fan of Lara Stone- she is amazing!

7. Your TOP 3 model images and/or campaigns and why?
I love the campaign Jessica Stam did for Aldo last season. I like the Calvin Klein Campaign Lara Stone just did and I am already curious how the other campaigns she will shoot for Calvin Klein will look like. What I also remember quite well of the last months is the campaign image of Anna de Rijk for Gianfranco Ferré in F/W 2010 – I liked the picture a lot.

8. What are your general comments about the current model industry and the future trends?
At the moment I think it is quite difficult to say anything about the future of any industry in which the biggest value added is made through services. The current model industry is huge, but also hard to be a part of it for models, as well as for agencies as competition has grown and is still growing. The future depends on how the economy will develop- I think that is a real general comment.

9. Any comments you want to share with us?
Thank you a lot for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts and present myself on this blog! It’s a pleasure!

After the lunch at the restaurant at eight all participants ‘disappeared’ into the ‘Ring Suite’ and Eva Poleschinski had the chance to talk about her label, to explain how she works and also used the opportunity to show some pieces of her collection.

The following bloggers excepted the invitation for this Fashion Blog Lunch:

- Fanfarella fanfarella.at
- Colazione a Roma stylekingdom.com/teresa/
- Austrianfashionnet austrianfashion.net
- Bikinis and Passports bikinisandpassports.blogspot.com
- Style Kitchen www.style-kitchen.com
- Mr. Strictly Intimate mrstrictlyintimate.wordpress.com
- Mangoblüte mangobluete.wordpress.com

We are very curious which designer will be the next one …

The 2^nd lunch took place on January 15^th, 2011 with the designer Maria Doychinova and her label ‘Doychinoff‘. She talked about her label, explained how she works and designs and also showed some of her pieces. The following bloggers accepted the invitation and attended this Fashion Blog Lunch:

- Austrian Fashion net www.austrianfashion.net
- Michaela Ambos www.cooloutfit.at
- Anna Heuberger www.hpunktanna.com
- www.fanfarella.at
- Teresa Hammerl colazionearoma.com
- Vicky H. bikinisandpassports.blogspot.com
- Leni www.style-kitchen.com
- blicablica.blogspot.com
- Miss Viki www.missviki.at

Again, like in September 2010, this was a great success and also shows how a hotel can successfully cooperate with and position itself within the fashion industry in Austria combined with web 2.0.

That is why well known fashion labels currently change their strategy and are trying to increase their direct contact with the final consumer, no better way as to use specific fashion blogs and social media networks like Facebook or twitter or even distribute a new fashion line on the best online shops.

A few examples of online shops

www.theoutnet.com
Tthe ultimate site for chic discount shopping.

www.catwalkgenius.com
A great shop where you can buy ‘hard-to-find’ pieces from designer labels, one can even buy a share in a specific collection. Their blog is also interesting.

www.asos.com
Over 876 brands & labels.

A few labels also started to integrate their consumers via the web 2.0 by putting their fashion shootings or images on different sites. A good example is www.style.com, here you can see different videos on fashion shows, fashion moments, shootings and many more. Or take www.firstview.com where you can enjoy the world’s largest fashion database with more than 3 million fashion images, videos and more. A very good site is www.notjustalabel.com, if you are searching for a specific or upcoming label you will definitely find it here and it even contains a great shop!

Interesting is an approach done on Youtube: youtubefashion1.blogspot.com Here you can see all sorts of movies on fashion (shootings and shows). And if you are an upcoming label, take a look at www.showstudio.com, not only a useful site for the making of a fashion film but also excellent for distributing.

Interested how specific shops look like? www.newfashionlabels.com has a great ‘Shop Tour Video Session’, you can look at more than 20 different shops around the globe.

What about Facebook? How many labels do use Facebook to stay in touch with their consumers, distribute their new fashion lines and gain more ‘friends’? We took a quick look at which Austrian fashion designer has its own label on Facebook. Lena Hoschek has, on her page she shows different images of fashion shows where she did attend with her label, also Anna Aichinger, she mentions all possible events where you can see or buy her fashion. Gina Drewes has posted 23 image albums, and the label ‘Elfenkleid’ has some interesting links to partners, fashion weeks & events as well as some promotional activities. It seems that many fashion labels do use this social network to provide news, special promotions and images and also distribute their new collection after the official launching, although we did not check activities from fashion labels on Twitter.

Is it ‘hot’ to read fashion blogs? Yes definitely but it is not easy to find the best one as there are so many, it is also difficult to differentiate. The experts in the fashion industry most probably ‘connected’ themselves to the most popular ones to keep updated on what specific labels do and which new labels do enter the market. We looked at a few and what to share this with you:

IamFashion

Two ‘fashion darlings’ started this blog because they wanted to have a place where trends and fashion from the runway and on celebrities can easily be understood and translated into down to earth, youthful street fashion. They started late 2004 and this blog is full of nice articles and images.
iamfashion.blogspot.com

The Sartorialist

Done by star blogger Scott Schuhman, this blog was selected as one of Time Magazine’s TOP 100 design influencers. It offers postings since mid 2005, great images and is used by different labels for commercial issues.
thesartorialist.blogspot.com

Stylebubble

Done by ‘Susie Bubble’ from the UK, this is one of the trendsetting blogs within the fashion industry. She is not a fashion expert/insider – merely a fashion lover/consumer, and that is exactly what you can feel & see when reading her blog, full of unique daily fashion experiences.
stylebubble.typepad.com

A nice Austrian fashion blog is tschilp.com It tells you all about fashion trends and fashion experiences in Vienna.

A lot of fashion bloggers can be found on independentfashionbloggers.org It also cultivates a community for fashion bloggers to share their experiences and creates a resource so everyone can build a better blog. It also provides news about fashion shows, new fashion blogs and fashion blog conferences.

A pretty new initiative on ‘fashion 2.0’ I would like to share with you is www.garmz.com. You design and Garmz does the rest, pretty easy, they operate as a stage for designers to promote and present themselves and their work and get immediate feedback from a worldwide network of consumers and experts. They provide the handling of the complete production process at no costs and no risk. Also visit their blog to get a view behind the scene of Garmz. Since they started this platform beginning of 2010 they featured 7 ‘designer dates’. They also do organize the ‘Fashion Camp’ during the ‘MQ Vienna Fashion Week’ this year, I will be a wonderful gathering of interesting people, or a clash of cultures. The future of fashion, the change of communication, market and trend spreading. The Internet as the companion of new generations. Together with bloggers, fashionistas, photographers, designers, internet people, (online) shop operators, fashion designers and style hunters this will be nice social networking event all about fashion.

It seems that ‘fashion 2.0’ does not stop, or better to say that the web 2.0 does not stop the change process of fashion versus experts and consumers. After spending more than 24 hours on the internet, looking at more than 200 sites (blogs, shops, Facebook) one can say that creativity within this industry combined with web 2.0 is nowadays at a very high level and speed and will become larger in the very near future. Welcome Fashion 2.0!

1. Who are you?

2. What do you like about what you do?
Traveling! Our passion for travel was the reason we started this. In every city we go, we meet many interesting locals who are interested in writing for us. Meeting people with a passion for their city is so much fun!

3. What don’t you like about what you do?
Right now, we have quite a lot of technical projects, like the PDF-version of our cityguides we’re about to launch. It’s nteresting for our business, but it also means spending a lot of time behind our laptops. We prefer enjoying cities, and talking to locals!

4. Please tell us about ‘SpottedbyLocals’ and your aims?
www.SpottedbyLocals.com is a series of cityblogs that offers travelers the opportunity to experience cities just like a local, by offering local tips through a new network of blogs on European cities. On the 23 cityblogs real locals write about the spots they regularly frequent in their city, and update this information regularly. All Spotters are presented prominently on the site with their real names, a picture and a detailed personal profile. We met all our current 130 Spotters in person.

5. Are you working with other blogs and if yes, which ones and why?
Yes, we cooperate with a few other websites, who are also passionate about “local travel”. E.g. www.Tripbod.com, GoingLocalTravel.com and www.whl.travel. Together, we try to explain the benefits of “going local” while traveling:

• Understanding other cultures is good for the world
• Buying local is better for local businesses

6. Your TOP 3 city experiences and why?
That’s a difficult question… When people ask us what our favorite city is, we also tell them it’s the city we’ve been living in for the last 11 years, Amsterdam. It’s a compact city, but there’s more than enough new things to experience at any time. And it’s so beautiful… Every time I drive my bike around the Canals, I’m proud to live in Amsterdam

7. Your TOP 3 food/restaurant experiences and why?
1. A picnic on the riverside in Ljubljana in mid-summer 2009 with a bottle of white wine and plastic cups! They call it “the beach” in Lubljana:
www.spottedbylocals.com/ljubljana/trnovski-pristan
2. Meat galore in Zagreb at Bistro MZ in Zagreb. 100% local guests only, and Barbecue smell in your clothes, guaranteed.
www.spottedbylocals.com/zagreb/bistro-mz
3. Bangladeshi food in Budapest – Better than in Bangladesh (where I’ve tested the food too!)
http://www.spottedbylocals.com/budapest/bangla-bufe

8. What are your favourite websites and why?
I love catching up with our local writers (“Spotters”) on www.Facebook.com and www.Twitter.com – it’s so nice you can see what everybody is up to.

1. Who are you?

2. What do you like about what you do?
No one tells me what to do, except our bank manager. Being an entrepreneur has many advantages, it is very fulfilling and satisfactory to achieve success based on your own ideas.

3. What don’t you like about what you do?
Well sometimes I would love to switch off my brain, and spend an evening without thinking of our venture. My life is the business right now, it is hard to switch off.

4. Please tell us about “Not just a label” and your aims?
NJAL is the London based online platform for emerging graduates and design talent, counting more than a thousand fashion designers from over forty countries. It provides an outlet for talent to blossom; a place where visionaries meet collaborators dedicated to the creative spirit of fashion. The platform targets graduates and avant-garde fashion designers, providing a stage where collections are showcased online. Numerous designers have already been discovered by international press and recruited by renowned retailers and prestigious fashion houses via the NJAL website.

We have now launched THE SHOP, a new kind of online shopping experience offering unique, one-off designer garments. Addicts and admirers alike now have the opportunity to purchase special and limited edition pieces from designers recognised as the leaders in avant-garde fashion. Check it out!

5. Are you working with blogs and if yes, what is your favourite blog and why?
Yes we must say that blogs made our success possible. In general the power of blogs is underestimated. Blogs by Diane Pernet, Susie Bubble and so on dictate what is “hip” in fashion these days, and it gives readers in every part of the world the possibility to get in touch and interact with an industry which normally is hard to access.

6. Your experiences with the fashion/lifestyle industry in general?
Let me tell you that fashion is not so different to other industries, I have worked in finance and media before, and all industries have their positive and negative sides. What I love about fashion is its drive to hedonism; you are surrounded by beauty in every sense all the time.

7. Any comments you want to share with us?
Not today, we just launched THE SHOP and our phones don’t stop ringing …

Enjoy Vienna, what a city…

When hoteliers and internet marketing folks start to discuss the value of a hotel blog, you hear lots of tech talk about visibility in search engines, the importance of social networks and so on.

All of which is true. But it misses the point which is at the heart of hospitality.

Blogs are an opportunity to have a conversation with a customer, to express the property’s personality and convey a passion for interests associated with the hotel’s locale.

In short, a successful hotel blog is like a successful dinner party – guests converse, make delightful discoveries, are amused, feel included and look forward to the next get together.

Let’s face it, hotel websites, by necessity, are a collections of facts, maps, menus and photos – more akin to a product catalogue than a conversation with a customer. Blogs can compensate with frequency of ‘new news’, imaginative inclusion of ‘beyond-the-guidebook’ events and attractions and leave a visitor with the feeling ‘I want to go there’.

Hotel blogs that only promote their own product or agenda are like guests at a dinner party than can only speak about themselves – boring.

While the technology exists to measure the impact of a blog:

• How many visitors
• How many comments
• How many links in others’ blogs to the hotel blog

The real measure is more elusive and that is – the power of affinity. People frequent restaurants where they feel comfortable, recognised. Similarly, a blog can convey the hotel’s ambiance and attitude prior to a guest ever setting foot in your lobby. The feeling of ‘I belong there’ is persuasive when choosing a hotel or restaurant.

This ability to project personality and passion empowers a hotel to stand apart from the competition and, further, be distinguished from the bland, overused verbiage characteristic of descriptions on the big portal sites.

So, yes, an active blog, crosslinked with your main site, will reach more searchers using a greater variety of search terms.

Yes, an active blog will get quoted in others’ blogs, reaching their audiences as well.

Yes, an active blog can attract partners, contributors and comments in a way that websites cannot.

But is a hotel blog worth the time, energy and investment?*

In this digital age of self check in, concierge kiosks and the like, the essence of hospitality can be lost, the personal touch, welcoming communication, the delight of satisfying a customer.

A blog is a creative canvas, an opportunity to experiment … if curated with care and attitude, a hotel blog connects with guests in a uniquely personal way … in a way that is not measured by bookings alone.

Ready to inject hospitality spirit into digital? Ready to give it a try? There is a plethora of excellent ‘how-to’ advice online.

Some blogs that embrace a hospitality attitude:

Opus Hotel Blog
Hotels Paris Rive Gauche
Happy Hotelier

* I often hear ‘we don’t have the budget’. Reframe the issue ‘how do I finance this effort?’…but that is a story for another time.

Many thanks to Carl-Peter Echtermeijer for seeking my opinion on blogging.

About Liz Craig

Liz Craig, President and founder of OneglobeNetwork, an interactive agency that provides online and mobile marketing services, strategic business consulting, cutting-edge website production, fully enabled by proprietary processes and web based technologies.

1. Who are you?
My name is Jessie de Haan and I am responsible for DiningCity, your online dining guide, in Vienna.

2. What do you like about what you do?
I like to create additional benefits and more reservations for good restaurants on the one hand and serve visitors of DiningCity Vienna on the other. Contact to other people with the same enterpreneurial spirit is something I enjoy in particular.

3. What don’t you like about what you do?
Something I like least is the paperwork, which of course comes along with every job.

4. Please tell us about DiningCity and your future goals?
DiningCity.com is an international online restaurant guide, which is already very successful in different cities within and also outside Europe. Since November 2008 DiningCity Vienna is online too!

The most important advantages:

• Bilingual: DiningCity is always available in English and in the language of the city
• All important contact information about each restaurant you’ll find online (including the link to the homepage of the restaurant itself)
• 3 nice, professional pictures per restaurant
• Restaurants have the possibility to attach (and change) their menu at any time
• DiningCity offers to recommend (of course free of charge and without obligation) 3 restaurants which meet the requirements for your business dinner or your dinner with friends.
• You have the possibility to reserve online
• You can evaluate the restaurants online
• Only upscale and top restaurants can be found on DiningCity.com
• Nice design of the website without distracting banner ads

Just click on www.diningcity.com and have a look!

My future goals are to let DiningCity Vienna grow to the best online dining guide with about 300 great restaurants in Vienna and finally to expand to other cities in Austria. In this way and looking at the services DiningCity offers, I’m convinced to be appreciated by lots of national and international visitors.

5. Are you working with blogs and if yes, what is your favourite blog?
I’m not working enough with blogs yet. Some blogs I like besides The Ring Hotel Press are: blog.austria.info, www.kochblog.at, www.speising.net, www.gourmetwiese.at.

6. Your experiences with the overall food industry?
Vienna is a city in which you can have a marvelous lunch or dinner at a reasonable price in comparison to other metropolises. You’ll find almost any cuisine you can think of. The only difficulty is to differentiate between restaurants which offer a good value for money and restaurants who don’t. DiningCity is trying to support its visitors here as good as possible.

7. What are your most favourite restaurants?
Besides at eight, Le Ciel and Unkai, which suit DiningCity very well, I like restaurants like Mraz & Sohn, Le Salzgries, Eisvogel and the Himmelsstube very much. They all have their own unique speciality and are all to be found on www.diningcity.com/wien/.

8. Any comments you want to share with us?
DiningCity is not only an online restaurant guide. We combine the online marketing of the restaurants with offline events. The next big event is the first Viennese Restaurant Week powered by DiningCity. This culinary week will take place from July 6th until July 12th 2009 in about 50 well-known restaurants in Vienna.
The concept is very simple. During the DiningCity Restaurant Week top restaurants offer a 3 course gourmet menu at the price of €25. For guests of the Restaurant Week it means getting to know new restaurants and enjoying haute cuisine at a very special price.
Reservations can only be made online on www.restaurantwoche.at starting from June 9th 2009. Reservations are made real-time, which means that they will be confirmed automatically. The technology behind this system is unique for Austria.

So make sure you’ll be in Vienna from July 6th until July 12th and book your table online on www.restaurantwoche.at as-of June 9th!