Last night, I was browsing through a bloggers’ forum when I came across an interesting question. Someone was trying to find out whether it is sensible to pay blog web hosting fees using a Target gift card. I found the question interesting because it was so unique. I mean, most of the questions posted in the forum tend to be on technical issues or blog monetization issues. This was the first time I was coming across a question on blog web hosting fees payments.

Most of the people who responded to the question did so by advising the person who posed it to find answers online. That is, by way of visiting the Target gift cards portal, at mybalancenow.com and the various Reddits where Target gift cardholders exchange notes. In saying that, they didn’t seem to understand what the person who was posing the question (the OP for ‘Original Poster’) was coming from. See, the Target gift cards portal is clear that you can’t use them (the Target gift cards) to pay for ‘monthly recurring bills’. So the deeper question that the original poster was grappling with was one as to whether the blog web hosting fees would qualify to be termed as ‘monthly recurring bills’. That at least is how I understood it.

If the blog web hosting fees qualify to be termed as ‘monthly recurring bills’, then it wouldn’t make sense to pay them using the Target Visa gift card. That is because, as stated earlier, the card is not supposed to be used in making such monthly recurring bills. Therefore chances are that if you attempt to make such payments using the card, the transactions could be declined.

On the other hand, if the blog web hosting fees don’t qualify to be termed as ‘monthly recurring bills’ (for instance, if you are under a web hosting package where payment is only made once), then it could possibly make sense to pay them using the card. That is because, according to the Target gift cards’ portal, there is absolutely nothing to stop you from making once-off payments using the gift card.

Lately, I have been visiting the local L Brands store whenever I wish to get ideas for my fashion blog. I am a fashion blogger, but like most writers, I often run short of ideas. Yet the blog has to be continually updated – which is what makes it necessary for me to visit the L Brands store every once in a while, in search of ideas.

One way in which I get ideas for my fashion blog at the L Brands store is by simply looking at the merchandise on display. It would seem as if L Brands has fashion researchers, who go to great lengths to identify what is ‘in fashion’ and proceed to have it stocked in the stores. There is also the scenario where L Brands acts as a trendsetter, when it comes to fashion. This is where, by stocking certain items in huge numbers, they end up pushing fashion trends in favor of those specific items. Thus by just looking at what is stocked in the L Brands stores, it becomes possible to tell what direction the fashion trends are likely to be headed.

The second way in which I get ideas for my fashion blog at the L Brands store is by speaking to the (store) attendants. The L Brands store attendants – also called ‘associates’ by websites like associateresourcesetm.com – tend to be very knowledgeable about fashion trends. That is understandable, given the fact that it is what they deal with on a day to day basis. So just having chats with them gives me solid ideas for my fashion blog.

The third way in which I get ideas for my fashion blog at the L Brands store is simply by looking at the way the shoppers are dressed. The people who visit the L Brands stores tend to be very fashion-conscious individuals (fashionistas they are called) and by just looking at them, you can gain deep insights into current fashion trends.

A question arose recently, at a blogging forum, as to whether it is proper for a L Brands employee to run a fashion blog. This is the genesis of the question: a lady who works for another clothing stores chain has set up a fashion blog that has lately become very popular. The blog is reportedly raking her thousands upon thousands of dollars in revenue. Now one of the members of our blogging forum, who apparently also works at L Brands, was seeking our views on whether it would be proper for her to set up a similar (fashion) blog.

Most of the members of our blogging forum were of the view that there is absolutely nothing wrong with a L Brands employee (or for that matter any other clothing store employee) setting up a fashion blog. The blog would only become problematic if it started taking too much of her time, or interfering with her work. But as long as she only ran the blog during her free time (as ascertained through the l brands hr access portal), there should be nothing wrong with it.

The main concern may be in the fact that running a fashion blog while also working at L Brands may be interpreted as ‘conflict of interest’. But that is surely very far-fetched, unless one happens to be selling clothes through the blog – in which case the issue of being up in competition against one’s employer would arise.

Another complication is in the fact that the fashion blog owner may not have control over the ads that appear in it. Thus, whereas she may be working at L Brands, ads for companies that are directly in competition with her employer may appear in the blog…

And finally, running a serious blog can be a time-consuming affair. She may do it during her free time, but then that is the time when she is expected to be resting and preparing for the next day’s work. So she shows up at work while edgy, groggy, not well-rested – the works. That could possibly interfere with her work at L Brands.

But in the absence of such issues, there should be (in my view) nothing wrong with someone who works at L Brands also running a fashion blog.

Blogging is a skill that everyone can learn. It just requires you to be able to write. By writing, I mean being able to connect with the ready so that they reader will keep reading and become a repeat reader. One way of connecting with the reader is by you sharing your experience or putting yourself in their shoes.