An entire paragraph of one of our posts about Benetton's Unhate Campaign was quoted on the website of a noted French magazine: ELLE. We are hoping it is only the beginning of a successful year. It was also the occasion for us to take a look at how Incognito has grown during the past six months, since its creation to the end of 2011.
Do you
remember when you created your own blog ? When you start, you have little to
no experience and you have to start from scary a blank page in order to
progress to the nice blog you had in mind. We basically imagined Incognito from
its editorial line to its design and its content. We had to learn by reading
other blogs and what we wanted to do or not on Incognito.
First of all, we chose the name Incognito because it means "ones whose identity is disguised". This definition corresponds to the concept of our blog. We chose to use nicknames in order to let our articles prevail. It doesn't matter which one of us wrote this or this post. We are all writing under the banner of Incognito.
First of all, we chose the name Incognito because it means "ones whose identity is disguised". This definition corresponds to the concept of our blog. We chose to use nicknames in order to let our articles prevail. It doesn't matter which one of us wrote this or this post. We are all writing under the banner of Incognito.
Incognito was
first thought as a magazine; that is why our first posts are more about ideas
and culture and less fashion oriented. The three
of us met in prep school where we developed our interests for literature,
languages and art. It then seemed normal that culture would take a great part
in our project. But it wouldn't have been sufficient. Who would read articles
full of complex ideas expressed in long sentences without dying of boredom? Our
posts needed to put culture under a new light that was interesting enough to
catch the readers’ attention.
We always
feel the need to explain our point of views even when it is about taste (in
fashion or music for instance). Because sometimes subjectivity has a les
important role to play than we think.
Our education
allowed us to learn how to explain things objectively and how to develop our
point of view by conducting an argumentation. But writing a good post doesn't
come down to that. It takes effort, time and above all passion. Passion for
writing and passion for the subject we are developing.
However, if
the text is the main part of our articles, what can speak better than a
photograph? At first we didn't have the suitable equipment to take pictures. We
needed a better camera than a simple digital camera. We're talking about bridge
or reflex cameras that are worth at least 300€! So at first we used images from
Google. But we soon felt the need to invest into cameras and learn how to use
them. Indeed, photographs can tell so much about a blog. They aren't just there
to look nice. They personalize the articles and summarize the point of the
post. For now, being college students, we don't own the best cameras but we
still care about the quality of our photos and we learn everyday how to
optimize them thanks to tools like Picnik.
Once an
article is ready, we directly submit it to the other two for review. And we're
not afraid to say when we disagree with something, believe me ! But as long as
it's constructive, it's worth listening. The three of us form a real team, the
Team Incognito. We spend hours talking on skype for the sake of brainstorming.
We're constantly throwing out ideas and exchanging thoughts and points of view
with each others, and that is also what makes our strenght.
As much as
we love writing, we do not post article for the sake of it only. We want to
share our thoughts and ideas so we need people to read and give their own point
of view. And you probably know as well that readers don't just appear by chance
on you page. Publicizing is also a great part of our work for Incognito.
We have a
Facebook page, a Twitter; we're on bloglovin, IFB, hellocoton... so much so
that it's easy to get lost with all these walls to keep busy and all these
passwords to remember. Also, being college students, we don't have enough time
to use these platforms to their full potential but they come in handy to keep our
readers updated about our blog's life.
And you
guys seem to appreciate our posts. You are more and more numerous to join our
Facebook page and give your point of view through comments even when you
disagree with us. Because we're not writing in order to have dozens of people
approving everything we say. We expect people to react and share their own
stories, express their approval or disapproval. And that is what we do when we comment your blogs.
So for
2012, we only hope for more collaboration and events to attend. We also hope
that you'll continue reading, liking and supporting us.
The Ladies of Incognito
Interesting peek into the makings of Incognito! For 2012, I wish all of you inspiration, determination and a above all: an extended and deserving audience. I think more and more people are getting a bit tired of just watching outfits and reading infinite 'things I love on this random day of the week'-posts and vapid runway reviews. Incognito fills a much needed gap: somewhere between lifestyle, fashion and serious cultural writing. It's about way more than your personalities: an aesthetic vision, a way of thinking and reporting. I can only hope more bloggers will follow your example. To a great 2012!
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