• Instagram and YouTube and the blogosphere as it were, full of amazing people. You all should be working together more frequently especially or if you're at similar levels, especially if you have an audience that you think would be into the other person but you feel like maybe they don't follow each other.

    I'll tell you one thing, if you reach out to someone, whatever you do, brand or influencer, never utter the word, never write down the word collab. If you ever tell someone you want to collab, "Yo, let's collab, it'd be great to collab," that is an immediate hard pass. First, let's just say what you shouldn't do. Don't say collab. That's really it in the what you shouldn't do column, just don't say collab. It's a fucking atrocity of a word.

    How should you do it? Structurally, what's the best way to connect with them? You guys know how to get into touch with each other. I think it's more about what should you do. I think I've talked before about what Sai and Helena from Scout The City and Brooklyn Blonde, they've been doing these kind of like fun projects that are not sponsored, that are not paid, that are just supposed to be entertaining for their audience.

    If you're doing a collaboration it should come from place not of how can I gain followers? How can I get in front of more brands? Et cetera, et cetera. Yes, it should do those things ideally if it's done well, but what does this person have that I don't have and how can we do something interesting together? Or do I just like vibe with this person really well creatively and I think we can a really fun story?

    I think it should be rooted in what is a story that you want to tell that you can't tell on your own and who can help you tell that story more effectively and work with that person? Those are the best collaborations. Those are the things that feel authentic and fun and interesting. It's not as fun when you can tell the like, especially during Fashion Month, you get small influencers who try and get photos with bigger influencers and they post that photo and maybe in hopes that the bigger influencer will repost it.

    There's this whole social climbing you can't sit here, seats taken, popularity contest thing that happens with influencers taking photos of each other, especially leaving shows during Fashion Month. That is not interesting at all. Trying to get a photo with Shay or with I don't fucking know who you'd be out there getting photos with. Yes, you see Tezza on the street, you're like, "Oh, let's get a photo together and maybe she'll post it." That's not a collaboration. What is that? That's just not interesting.

    All the time, I see influencers posting photos together and I'm like, "I know you talk shit on each other. I know one of you does not like the other person, you're just doing this hoping that they will repost it so that you can get followers." I had drinks with you last week you were talking on this person for like 30 minutes and now you're smiling and being like, "I ran into my fave outside of Selene." That is not a collaboration, okay? That is sad.

    Let's not do that and let's step back and say, "I have a creative vision. I am incapable of executing that vision of my own," one, or, "I think that vision will be even clearer if this other person is involved," two, and do something beautiful together that's interesting and send it to me because I'm always down to see beautiful and interesting things.

    Yes, when you're targeting these these people to reach out to, you want to look to someone who's about your size, maybe a little bigger, maybe a little smaller in terms of follower size. Don't put a big influencer in a position of having to say no to you because it will feel predatory. It will feel like you grabbed them outside of a show because you see all the street-style photographers and you're hoping that they'll take a photo of the two of you together and that will get on vogue.com and then she'll have to post it as well and you'll get more followers because she'll tag you. That feels parasitic. It feels predatory kind of.
    Smaller followings, followings about the same size, a little bit bigger, totally reach out.

    The other side is if you have something to offer as far as you're a filmmaker or you're amazing photographer, I think then your work can speak for it, it's not about your followers.

    If you're an incredible photographer and you have 3,000 followers but you really want to shoot with this influencer, then I would say feel free to reach out because it's the work that should be interesting to them, not the fact that you guys are going to be in a photo together.

    It depends on what your angle is but definitely be cognizant of following size and don't make someone say no to something that you know they're never going to do because I don't know. I know there's the like nothing ventured nothing gained state of mind and I'm generally am very like for that. It's a small industry and best to I think be realistic.
    Episode #119
    - Increasing Engagement, Dealing with Harassment, Collaborating