How to Spot a Blogger – A Field Guide

You might think bloggers are just ordinary people.

And technically you’d be right. But once you’ve been blogging a while you might notice yourself behaving in certain ways that PB* (*Pre-Blog) might have seemed odd, or even utterly insane.

When you’re out and about and you know what to look for you can spot a potential “social media influencer” a mile off.

So today I thought I’d write a little field guide, to help you spot them too.

Sometimes the signs might be subtle, but once you’re clued up you can spot those tell-tale giveaways that you’ve just seen a lifestyle blogger in the wild, wherever you go.

Appearance

The first thing to assess when you spot a potential blogger is their appearance. Bloggers may come from many different style tribes, but you can often pick them out of a group by their flamboyance. They may be dressed inappropriately smartly, inappropriately casual, wearing ridiculously high heels or be over accessorised to the max. A bloggers outfit is worn to be photographed.

Look for:

Bold accessories – Brooches, headscarves, bracelets and watches that other people might neglect are essential to a bloggers wardrobe.

Anything Rose Gold – especially if combined with a slogan sweater.

Hats in Summer – No one really wears hats in Summer unless they are at a wedding, or a blogger off to frolic in a corn field (see also: flower crowns).

Large bag – Blogging requires a surprising amount of “stuff”. You’ll need a large bag to carry your camera, phone, back up charger and notebook decorated with inspirational phrases.

Behaviour

Keep your eyes peeled for key behaviours that will immediately identify a blogger.

It is a fact that any blogger can be instantly identified by their inability to eat or drink without first pausing to take a photo. If you spot someone standing on a chair to get the perfect “flat lay”, rearranging all the table decorations, or moving their entire meal to an area with better lighting you are almost certainly dealing with a lifestyle blogger.

A blogger will invariably have their phone permanently attached to their hand, and they may well be speaking into it to update their Snapchat or Instagram Stories. If you spot someone who appears on first glance to be normal but frequently whips out their phone to produce a running commentary on the goings on around them, then congratulations, you’ve spotted yourself an influencer!

Other more subtle behaviours that may help you identify that you are, in fact, dealing with a bona fide social media influencer, include a magnetic attraction to brightly painted walls, taking photographs of their own feet and an inability to pass a stationery shop without purchasing something in black, white or rose gold.

Habitat

No, we’re not shopping for sofas, though you may spot a lifestyle blogger lurking in the fairy light section. Instead we’re looking for the best places to spot a social influencer in the wild.

Any bar that sells cocktails in mason jars, tin cans or vintage tea cups is a good place to start. Especially if it has good lighting.

It is well known that a bloggers favourite meal is brunch. If you find yourself perusing the menu in a restaurant that prominently features meals including avocado then keep your eyes peeled for tell-tale blogger behaviours in your fellow diners.

Lastly, if your city has a large, flat, expanse of wall painted in bright colours like pink or yellow it’s an excellent place to hunt for fashion bloggers using it as a background for outfit photos.

If your chosen venue has a bad 4G signal, or no Wi-Fi, then I’m sorry, your blogger hunt is over. No self-respecting blogger spends much time in a venue with bad connectivity.

And that’s how to spot a blogger in the wild. Do you have any tips to add to the spotters guide?