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websites such as online magazines and online retailers. These factors will also
lead to the rise of micro-communities within blogs. All these parties will col-
lectively form an important social and economic force in multiple domains.
As bloggers get smarter and blog readers learn to read both the lines and
between the lines, the definition of a blog itself will be brought into question.
Bloggers will also understand the value of blogging in several languages and
how cultural orientation influences the response and content of blogs. Also, as
vlogs, plogs and mlogs become more popular, the value of the raw data that they
generate will be even more relevant for companies including luxury brands.
But a key issue for luxury brands to address is whether bloggers and blog-
gees have less regard for luxury brands just because all the information about
the brands are divulged for all to see online. If bloggers visit a brand's atel-
ier and subsequently broadcast all the information, images and videos on the
design and production approach, will the magic appeal that the brand has
be gone forever? These are some of the issues that luxury brands ought to
review before allowing bloggers to peruse the inner workings of the brands
or before breakfasting, lunching or dining with bloggers. However, it is rel-
evant for luxury brands not to be too far off the blogosphere.
The online world of social networks
When 27-year-old Vivian moved from New York to Paris, she didn't have
any friends in the city, she couldn't speak French and she wasn't conversant
in the French culture and way of life. She was somewhat lost and wondered
how she could avoid that feeling of isolation that is familiar to strangers
in big cities. So Vivian did what most people in her generation would do.
She went online. It didn't take her long to find different Paris-themed groups
on MySpace and Facebook, where she introduced herself. Within a few days
she had received numerous messages with information, tips and advice on
how to settle down to life in Paris. Someone even offered her lunch and
someone else invited her for a countryside weekend visit with her fam-
ily. She also found other “expats” of different nationalities who were more
than pleased to share the pleasures and horrors of living in Paris with her.
She got tips on administrative matters, language schools, references for res-
taurants, museums, stores, clubs and associations. She even found a house
cleaner and a plumber from the networks. Facebook and MySpace became
her resource centers and she was thrilled. Within a few weeks she had more
than one hundred people on her private network and friendship lists on the
two social networks. They chatted constantly about several topics and she
was often surprised at how freely the people she met online discussed their
private lives. She exchanged photos, videos and even began an informal advi-
sory on how to best enjoy a visit to New York. She also met up with some
of her “virtual” friends in real life and discovered that they were a bunch
