The impact of bloggers and real-time media has had a profound effect on how designers and media participate in Fashion Week. To better gauge blogger impact and influence on Fashion Week, I started monitoring the online discussions and articles two weeks prior to all the events and continued through the end of the runway shows via Biz 360 Community.

According to a Technorati survey of bloggers worldwide, most are men, ages 18 to 44, affluent and well-educated. About one-quarter work for a traditional media outlet in addition to blogging, and most still don’t make any money from their self-publishing activities. But there are other ways to create value.

Nearly six in 10 of all the bloggers surveyed said they were better known in their industry because of their blog, and one-quarter had used their blog as a resume or sent it to potential employers.