It has been brought to my attention that the blogger known as Gala Darling has stopped taking comments, as if I’m the fucking Minister of Comments. Fine. I took the time to read Ms. Darling’s emotional manifesto regarding her controversial decision. It didn’t make any sense, but it seems to boil down to this:
Writing should not be corrupted by the anticipation of a response. Writing should be a pure form of expression by the artist, whose art need not and should not be produced for an audience. Otherwise, the artist is just pandering to the audience, from whom he/she desires approval.
Not only that, but the comments are hindering Ms. Darling”s personal growth.
Okay then! Do any of you feel compelled to leave a comment for Gala Darling, at the risk of fucking with her personal growth? If so, here is your chance. I will go first:
Dear Gala, I wonder why you don’t do your writing in a journal, so as to maintain your purity of purpose? The most sincere artistic expression is that produced in private, with no thought as to the market or audience! Why not go the distance, and keep your writing for yourself! Think of the purity, the boldness, the largess of freeing up bandwidth for those cheap hucksters who write in order to communicate with others! Ah, what do I know, right? Follow your bliss, but maybe lay off the tattoos for awhile. Love, SW
Gala Darling? Who she??? Oh, never mind, I don’t care about her art, mine is worth more, obviously.
Basically her whole blog is helping insecure self-pitying women to cope with their entitlement issues, under a sparkle-strewn Cosmo-esque veil of girl power horseshit.
“Radical Self Love”…because no one else will? Give me a break. She actually uses the phrase self-marriage every time. That goes far beyond self-indulgent…that is just fucking creepy.
Radical Self Hate…now theres something we can be honest about.
God knows there is a lot of money to me made in blogs like hers, so more power to her. She does it pretty well. Sometimes she posts some legitimately interesting stuff. Sometimes she dumbs it down for her readers too much-but I think she knows they only come to her blog to do the ‘radical self love thing’ aka feel good about themselves by stroking each others egos in the comment section.
If I had to stomach 75 comments about peoples “radical self love” I’d probably shut them off too.
Hell hath no fury like a Cosmo reader scorned…I hope she’s ready for this. Sure seemed like her blog was designed to provide some sense of community for her readers.
Okay, legal minds want to know. Is there actually any evidence whatsoever to back up the “she’s a call girl” thing? Anywhere? I mean, the trust fund/rich parents I can buy. That’s pretty self-evident. But call girl is going a bit far.
Arden wrote exactly what I was thinking. I always thought the POINT of blogging is to share and communicate with other people.
I don’t know Gala Darling, nor have I ever read her blog so I can’t really judge her. BUT I really don’t understand her reasoning for closing comments. I think a good blogger stays true to themselves and doesn’t let what other people may think affect what they write…but also allows comments and discussion. :/
I second the Fucking Minister of Comment Fuckery title.
Dear Gala,
I looked at your blog and I think you are a raving loon. I mean that in the nicest sense of the word. The only conclusion I can come to about you turning off your comments is that you apparently need a thicker skin because you obviously can’t handle any negative criticism. Good luck, you’re probably going to need it.
I can’t stand Gala’s blog – her pretentious twee fairy sprinkle prancy blather was always too much for me to take. I couldn’t really give a toss about whether she crawled out of the sludge from my compost bin or her parents’ trust fund.
But – I do understand her POV on this no-comments biz. I guess it calls into question what you want to use the internet for – as a comprehensive, come one, come all means of exchange, or something else. it’s difficult to say what the something else is – self-promotion, a place to twatter on to yourself – (but in which case you could just have a journal and save the electricity bill), or most like a bit of them all, with some self-preening thrown in too. or you just want to share, or more accurately broadcast yourself – without the hassle of listening to what others think. Which I think, to an extent, is fair enough – you don’t always want to get entrenched in some mile-long convo about something you moved on from ages ago. One of my favourite bloggers, Lulu (and your mom) stopped comments ages ago, and its makes for a more refreshing site. With someone like her, or even gala, sea, or some random french illustrator or something – i don’t really care what a dozen other fawning/hating readers think about it, so any ‘exchange’ is a bit of a waste of time. Whereas your blog is all about the active debate and fun and occasional madness that comes out of exchange.
i think sometimes we just have to be selective in deciding what is productive exchange and debate.
YEY!
I knew that if anyone would tackle this new turn of GD’s, it would be you. Glad my hunch was correct.
i agree with mia on both points. i don’t like gala’s blog, and i can see the redundancy of comments in that forum.
mia and marie,
i can see this POV with regards to lulu or jane because they only post outfit photos. there’s nothing to comment on except i love it or i hate it. so i can see the point of having no comments on these blogs.
gala darling is different though, imo. she says her blog is not meant to be only a fashion blog. and her IFB speech was about building community and discussion to foster radical self-love blabla.
also many of gala darling’s weekly blog posts are about discussion in the comments. curious tuesday was all about commenting. tilt was about sharing your own tilts, i can go on….
imo, gala has been alienating her audience for over year now and this is the last nail in the coffin……..
@alexa– I could not agree more. I still follow Gala (partly because of her linkspam and partly out of morbid curiosity), but the decline in quality since she moved to NY has just been depressing.
enna, the person who left this comment on gala darling’s facebook says what we’re all thinking…
“No offense Gala, but I can’t help but think that who you are today might be exactly the type of person that you and Icing (at least in the early days) never wanted to be. Also, call me a cynic but I can’t help but think comments were turned off because there’s going to be a huge announcement from you soon that you knew people would be turned off by.”
(http://www.facebook.com/posted.php?id=137095272977526&share_id=139307232780006&comments=1#s139307232780006)
I don’t think she is a fraud as much as projecting what she wants to be…not who she really is. No crime in a positive outlook on life even if in real world your life is a mess.
We all are a bit different in real life than we seem online. No crime in that either. And I am all for expressing yourself in fashion however you see fit. I am a recovered goth dresser (in my teens I dressed goth) and admire people who do their own thing fashionwise even if I find how they dress horrible or tacky.
I also understand how negative comments can drag someone down. You try to let them roll off your back and move forward past them but they can all pile up and really foul your energy up. It gets to the point where you just have to distance yourself from them and take a break from the negativity. Nothing worse than opening your inbox and having lots of hate mail to ruin your day.
Still, I am not a fan of turning comments totally off on blogs. Moderating them, yes, but stopping all back and forth communication? That takes a lot of fun out of blogging. What’s the point of sharing if you cannot exchange ideas about what you have shared with others in comments? It is like talking on a disconnected telephone line or emailing knowing you will get the email back due to the email address you are sending it to be invalid, over and over again.
I hope she eventually rethinks this move on turning off comments.
“Kind of irritated that she’s trying to make out like she makes a lot of money off her blog and podcasts, enough to keep her in furs and a $3k apartment in NYC. That’s obviously untrue and I feel like it’s a little irresponsible for her to claim that as she seems to have a lot of young readers who, after reading that, will think that they too can start a fashion blog and magically make heaps of money to support a glamorous lifestyle.”
…and gala darling’s fans continue to jump ship…..
http://community.livejournal.com/efagz/659260.html
That’s ridiculous. She’s long censored comments anyway. Rather ironic that she just spoke at some fashion blogger conference on the subject of CREATING COMMUNITY WITH YOUR BLOG, eh? As much as she advocates inconspicuous consumption, I did enjoy reading comments from time to time. Subjects like personal goals for the year, relationship advice and stories – that was interesting to me. Generally I liked how positive she tried to be too, however false it came off.
Too bad.
Though I’m sure there’s someone out there who could do it better. Echoing what was said above, cutting off comments is just one further step towards becoming completely obsolete.
I remember commenting on her site years ago – she had completely misunderstood a scientific issue (god knows why she was posting about anything remotely scientific, she doesn’t seem to enjoy evidence or reality) and I (being a scientist) tried to explain the issue to her and I genuinely wanted to help her improve her understanding of the topic. She replied with another misunderstanding and attempted to drag an honest researcher’s name through the mud, but when I went to explain the issue to her again (ever so optimistic!), she had blocked my IP address from commenting. As I said, this was years ago, so I’m surprised she didn’t disable comments sooner.
And the thing is, I wasn’t criticising her – I was trying to help her. And even that was something she couldn’t handle. What an strange creature. The people who I know who were “friends” with her in Melbourne don’t paint a pretty picture of her in real life either.
Please let ‘Comments for Gala’ be a regular feature, Sister Wolf!
I second Ashley. I found your website through a google search of “Jane Aldridge spoiled” or some such wording. I hadn’t even heard of Gala Darling until I started following your blog. I think they’re two interesting contrasts to each other. One is a spoiled, vapid brat from a flagrantly wealthy background in TX. The other is a calculating, manipulative whore that uses and abuses the poor men who come into her life. I think GD would be a great character to follow. I find it fascinating how she’s garnered an audience and seduced them into buying her overpriced podcasts shilling the exact same happy sunshine sprinkle bullshit she types up for her blog.
This article is probably the worst thing ever written. I can’t believe she gets paid for this.
http://www.chinashopmag.com/2010/05/karl-lagerfeld-polymath/comment-page-1/#comment-5127
“The movie Lagerfeld Confidential, released in 2007, followed the prolific designer & gave an insight into his daily life, & in 2006 he starred in Signé Chanel, a reality show about the creation of one of his collections. ”
Does no one edit this? How could this run-on-ampersand-catastrophe of a sentence slip through?
K: Gala Darling got fired from Chinashop because of her atrocious writing & ampersand run-ons & reader complaints & ….
Sister, we’re clamoring to make Comments for Gala a regular feature. Gala gave her site a launching page and *beware* it will make you vomit sparkly unicorns! What do you think?
http://galadarling.com/static/welcome
She didn’t start “Things I Love Thursday,” by the way. Just gave it a new name.
My shrink was assigning teenaged-me similar projects – “Write down everything that made you happy this week and reflect on it, spend at least 30 minutes on it” – as part of cognitive-behavioral therapy many years back.
I’ve followed Gala’s blog for maybe almost two years now. Religiously. I would check her site every day MULTIPLE times and as of recently I would check her twitter with the same dedication. To say that I idolized her would be an understatement.
However, my first response in reading that her comments had been turned off was, “that’s it, there’s no way a blog like this can function without comments” but, as I read on I bought the emotional explanation. Oh, and the fact that she told me that my “art” was better was the kicker. Oh! I have art! Gala says I have art! Ooooh!
But, as I read all of these comments, I feel as though the world has been turned upside down. I had only read loving ravings about her so, when all of you talked negatively about her, it made a light bulb burst off in my head. Really though, could Gala’s blogging could ever be considered art? Posting pictures and post after post of shoes, clothing, and quotes from other people? It wasn’t until I read these comments that I really analyzed Gala’s “work”. I’d very much like to leave a comment.
Dear Gala,
You caught me at a very impressionable age and quickly became my idol. You told me that young girls like myself could make a living from blogging, could live a carefree life of shopping for shoes, sparkles and photoshoots and more so that that was how my life should be spent. If it wasn’t what I wanted, than I just didn’t love myself enough. If I loved myself like you loved yourself than my life too would be consumed with shopping sprees and soapbox speeches for animal cruelty whilst wearing fur.
I bought it, I bought all of it. I found myself shopping in forever 21 deliberately looking for dresses you had and eagerly scooping them up even though I hated the gaudy patterns. Oh, but Gala wore this so it must be nice! I bought Moleskine after Moleskine even though I rarely wrote anything down or organized a damn thing in my life. I listen to podcast after to podcast even though I never thought I needed help with my manners or how to become a playgirl of the universe. I bought that there was a reachable goal that a young girl could survive from her thoughts on a blog and google ads.
I am not blaming you for my easily impressionable young-girl nature. It is not your fault that I quickly idolized you and wanted to be just like you. What I am distraught over is that you no longer need me.
You no longer need the young girls who eagerly waited for each new article and couldn’t care less about their thoughts. You don’t need to know just how that Moleskine of mine is filling up nor how I love that new dress. If I told you just how your thoughts that were instilled in me were progressing, that would be hurting your ART. The people who made you, who continue to make you, would ruin your art. How dare we ruin it with our continuous conversation that you were encouraging with your Curious Tuesdays, TiLTs and IFB conference just days before you took the comments off.
Gala, it’s been great but the spell is officially over. You becoming completely unapproachable and disgusted by what the people who love you the most might have to say has shown me just what your blog is a just what you are.
Always,
Madeline
dear gala,
continue being awesome and making a name for yourself.
We went to school together and you were always lovely and probably the nicest person to me when everyone else was bullying me. I will never forget that. And its been amazing watching your blog grow and see you pour more and more of yourself into it.
I know that we are similar and i would probably turn my comments off too.
So i will stick to emails and facebook as a means to get my point across.
Dont ever get down by the negative bitch’s out there who will try to pull you into their depths of depressing lives.
Remember that its only about you. And no one else. As it is only about me in my world. Just keep expressing yourself through anyway you want. People will read it. or they wont. They will criticize it all they like.
but strangers can not judge the real you. They have no idea who you are. And can make up childrens stories of call girls and money on trees.
I also heard you were 10 feet tall and could shoot lasers out of your eyes too.
Just remember to stay true to yourself.
i still love you..
xxxxx
Madeline- I felt the same way about Jane (Sea of Shoes) before I came here that you did about Gala. It’s kind of sad, in a way, because I used to think Jane was great, and then I got here and Sister and co painted her in a whole new light. Now I agree that Sea is incredibly pretentious, irritating and materialistic, but I still admire the mad things she wears and it looks like she has a happy enough life. Sorry you were disenchanted by Gala, but one of the great things about this blog is it allows you to really assess your opinions. You’ll have people viciously attacking and people even more viciously defending. And if you stay, you’ll often pick a side. But while Jane never responded to my adoring emails (yes, I am slightly ashamed) Sister responds to our comments, comments on my blog and replies to my emails. The people here appreciate what Gala chose to ignore – the community.
Jess – maybe if your screen name had been ‘Sparkly Fairy Dush Scientist Glamour-Pixie’, she’d have listened.
ahahaha is sister wolf the NEW GALA DARLING now?
have you seen who youre dealing with here? absolute freak show!
jimbo – And you are the new Mutterhals!
It never ceases to surprise me how, with a bit of extra browsing online, you can find some of the most unique blogs. It’s frustrating that more articles like this, aren’t ranked at the top when I look with a search engine online, I’ve added you to my favorites, I also have a buddy, that will really enjoy this page, so ill send them, a link to your website, as well. I am certain they will really enjoy it.
The first time I saw her was on a Threadbanger video, and I honestly did not like her at all, she’s no DIY or anything, in that video was just a pose and blabbling about shoes…
Then I found her blog, for other reasons, and I liked it, spent some days digging old posts etc, I had a “girl crush”… Then something changed. She answered rudely to critical comments, I understand she did not thank or credited a girl for giving her an idea for a blogpost, she started selling those superpriced podcasts.
So I started googling, and found out some dirt (true or not, on comments, on chinashop, on trusfunds, on callgirls, on cultural appropriation, blablablah), and I started seeing her as I first thought with that video: a pose, just to show off things she has, a “life” she constructed pretending to play dressup, being nice and being “oh-so-original”.
But anyway I still could read and enjoy some posts without being spoilt by her posey image.
But when she wrote that thing about comment I stopped going to her blog. I mean: first of all you’re doing it because bigger bloggers did it before, so you’re just following a(nother) trend, nothing original there.
You’re not making “art”, you’re posting outfit pictures and asking lazy questions to your readers. You have a blog, what’s the point of a blog without comments? (At that point I realized she deleted the sections with links to her “nonpareils” and now she’s full of “hire me, pay me, buy me!” crap).
But what really pissed me off was “don’t lose yourselves in my art” WHAT??? how can you be so full of yourself to think that people is so in love with you to stop living their lives??? Come on girl, as I already pointed out you’re no artist at all, and second please stop thinking you’re the next best thing, for Pete’s sake!
And last, I would really like to read REAL reviews about her super-pricy podcasts, other than those raving love-blind ones she displays (of course). Did it really worth it to pay to listen to her blabbling about stuff you can read already on her blog or, best, google on your own?
And what about that tease “in this podcast I’ll tell you all the truth on how I earn my money”…. ok, someone please spill!!!
Or are these podcasts so cheaply made you don’t even want to put them on some torrents? 😛
Dear Gala,
Those shoes you “designed” and are now hawking through your website look like pink pony abortions you can wear on your feet. Where are the materials sourced from? Are they manufactured by child laborers in Chicago? Sad.
Look at all those comments, i could swear most people dont even read the whole article!
I just found this forum. Awesome. I thought it was strange too that Gala posted all this stuff about how comments where affecting her “art” when, in reality, she hadn’t posted any real original articles in about a year. All she did for this past year of mid 2009 to mid 2010 was “Carosel” and “TiLT” which are basically lists and links to other people’s blogs (and the same blogs, btw…how many times do we need to read the Oatmeal and Sarah Wilson?) Eh, she’s lame. Now I noticed she has started posting some real actual content. Too bad it still sucks and is uninteresting. There’s still no REAL content with any articles. All she’s doing is going around interviewing people about their lives. She mentioned something about how she wants to write 3 books…but about what? I dont see any evidence that she actually knows anything about happiness or how to be independent. She’s jumped from live-in boyfriend to live-in boyfriend and has never actually been single for more than a few months at a time. She has no idea what it’s like to spend holidays alone or away from her mom & dad (she mentioned last year was the first year she didnt go back to NZ for Christmas). No idea how to handle negative criticism in a mature manner. I dont see anything I could learn from her to be honest! She puts herself in the same league as life-coaches and fashion bloggers but she’s neither of those. She has almost no original content… Honestly, I think that the only reason why “Carosel” exists is so that she gets more clicks when people click on other blogs (WITH actual content) and then have to click back her her blog. Ridiculous. She’s a scam.
Honestly, the new “interview” thing she’s doing now is just a ripoff of what Sarah Von has been doing for ages. The difference is that Sarah’s are more insightful, genuine and well-written, and she encourages discussion and questions about the interview that took place.
Gala somehow manages to turn every one of her Q&A sessions into an homage to herself and/or her recent purchases. And she only seems to be interviewing people who have blogs she can trade backlinks with, or people who sell a product she wants for free.
I am late to this thread I know but still want to make a quick comment. I went over to her site now and again, not really because I liked it – more to have a little scoff to myself. I did enjoy some of the links if I’m honest. But, gosh – the comments thing really shocked me! I couldn’t believe she was actually turning them off, I didn’t see how she could go forward with the site as it is soo reliant on the participation of readers. I am still shocked at how arrogant she is to think she can get away with this but she has always been extremely arrogant and treated herself as some kind of legend/visionary. I am trying not to be too bitchy but, objectively, she wasn’t really great with the fashion thing, she was a hypocrite when it came to many many things i.e consumerism, animal rights and she couldn’t really write. It’s almost like she brainwashed these young girls that fell for all her crap. Anyway, without her comments I predict that website eventually failing..
I stopped reading Gala when she removed comments. I’m sick of comment moderation, too. I like bloggers who let it ALL hang out.
excellent writing skills & also I just had a quick question for you.. is this a WP theme blog or is it a different theme? I really like the design
Hi there ladies and gents,
I’ve been reading Gala’s blog since 2007, when I was still an impressionable teenager. Over the years, and threads like these, I’ve noticed some curious discrepancies. But some are really, really bugging me and I’d just really like some straight answers.
Anyone notice the recent article on how to move to New York? Early in the article it is stated plainly Gala had no, or a very low, income. How on earth do you go from such a low income to international plane tickets every three months, as well as maintaining a pleasant city lifestyle filled with outings and a social life? I live in London and some weeks I struggle to pay the rent, the bills, and have three square meals. My social life is non-existent!
How did she do it? How, as a reader, could a person be expected to take that as advice and follow it without problems?
I’m not attacking anyone. I’m just utterly perplexed, as I sit here on a student budget in London, unable to afford to get a train back home to the other end of England.
p.s. Also the article on shopping detox that swiftly seems to have been forgotten
http://galadarling.livejournal.com/67120.html
this is before her new snazzy wizzy glittery unicorn poo blog.
Hi, I think your site might be having browser compatibility issues. When I look at your website in Safari, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, fantastic blog!
I’ve been reading up on Gala the past few days, strangely fascinated..
Interesting thread!
I’ve come across her blog before, and it was just ‘not my thing’… I was very dubious over advice she gave to young girls to just get rich with this blogging thing.. for some people, this can work, for some, not so… many of the so-called Lifestyle Design blogs or people just promote this ‘one answer fits all’ approach.. Gala got inspiration from Steve Pavlina (no surprise, he was selling affiliate links to webhosting and such and basically got rich from recommending people to do the same!) and not surprisingly, Pavlina turned off his comments after a while too.. (people can still talk on his forum though hmm.. and yeah, everyone can write about it on their blog and comment via own blog post, no? Maybe it was a ploy for Gala to get more Twitter and FB followers – interesting! lol She clearly still does discussion with people there, though maybe in a more limited way – might be easier to unfollow or such? And yeah, some bloggers do seem to straight out post their Twitter stats along with other ‘advertising’ info hmm…?)
Actually, I don’t have a problem with ‘no comments’ cause comments CAN get overwhelming.. even if you only have a tiny blog or if you are frequent poster at forums.. And even for country stars they say they are more ‘accessible’ and easier to talk to or make friends with in the begginning of career than when they get more ‘famous’ (or infamous, or have had some bad experience with people..) Not that I’m comparing her to any, it just seems a general phenomenon that happens in many places..
It does seem a bit scary that girls would actually buy fake eyelashes or insanely over-priced outfits (or non-eco glitter) to look like any role models.. Personally, I only got inspiration in fashion magazines or blogs and then rummaged old wardrobes or cheaper stores.. Since I went eco this only leaves mostly ‘pre-loved’ stuff anyway so it’s good that ‘retro’ is still ‘in’..
I’m still fascinated by the whole Gala Darling thing.. Actually I do not mind it if she has a trust fund or if she really ‘would’ be a call girl.. It’s just amusing, the whole story.. Maybe because I didn’t get ‘burnt’ by her and wasn’t in it from the beginning.. I was following real heroes like eco bloggers lol.. (who told me NOT to buy stuff hehe..)
Some of her older posts do seem to make sense and offer some inspiration so hey –
Maybe people who want to travel for free or cheap need to check out HospitalityClub.org or Couchsurfing or the hitchhiking sites (in some countries it’s quite safe if you know what you’re doing :)) It’s probably better if you go with someone else first, especially if you’re female..
There have been people who ‘travelled for free’ and even got plane tickets (or money for those) and such.. (by just being bold and asking for it!! Or busking on the street etc. You do have to be brave and maybe a bit reckless for some of these things..)
I think Gala got some/many products and maybe even travels or at least upgrades for free or heavily discounted due to her blog, so if that’s your thing, maybe you can try to do the same? 😉
So, in a way I do admire her – she’s BRAVE to do it at all (and expose herself to criticism and all) and does offer some INSPIRATION… On the other hand, no way would I EVER buy fake eyelashes (though I have been fascinated by them too!) or those horrid shoes, lol!!
And people commenting about ‘low quality posts’ and ‘too many links and ads’ probably never connected the dots?? Any money coming in was via ads and links, most probably! Some bloggers do manage to do it in other ways, and I admire those, most still seem to get $$ via advertising/affiliate selling or such – sad but true!
Maybe also life started interfering with blogging? I have a friend who has had the most drama-rich adventurous life & has always been too busy/lazy to actually write about it? (Or maybe there was not so much to write? hehe.. Been guilty of that at times too.. To just have had ‘unproductive’ times when I couldn’t seem to blog for some reason..)
So what I’m trying to say, I don’t really understand the hatred and negativity…? Maybe because I’ve only looked at it from ‘outside’ and have seen other bloggers or public/media/interwebs personalities do worse things than that?
Frankie, I know what you mean – but haven’t you noticed that before? Gala Darling constantly contradicts herself. In fact, I’d almost go as far as to say that everything she says or writes is a total contradiction. She preaches about radical self-love, and then walks down a catwalk for Betsey Johnson with her eyes to the floor looking miserable (while every other ‘model’ looked like they were having the time of their lives). She says that it’s nobody’s business how she earns her living, but then poses with hundred dollar bills and writes things like ”I made six figures tonight” (well, at least she used to, before other people called her out on that).
My biggest problem with Gala Darling is that she’s basically a fraud. No, not a trust fund kid fraud or whatever, but a success fraud. For years her identity and story were based around the fact that she was supposedly earning a living full-time by publishing her blog – she wasn’t. She was publishing a blog, but she wasn’t earning any money from it at the time (and she later admitted that) – her boyfriend was actually supporting her, but if you’d read her back then, all she ever talked about was how happy she was to be ”living off her blog”. He then paid for them both to visit New York for a holiday, but Gala chose to stay and dumped him.
In 2008 she bragged about how she was going to Paris and how much of an ”international playgirl” she was (most annoying title ever – most people travel more than her), never mentioning that the only reason she was going was because her then boyfriend (or $#%# buddy) tattooist Tim Kern, was going for business and paid for her to come with him. (Not long after, he was dumped too. Are you seeing a theme?)
She is an expert at putting a positive spin on everything to make it sound better that it is, and nothing else. She’s not an original or a visionary – she just excels at stealing other people’s messages (Louise Hay, Danielle La Porte, Steve Pavlina… whoever her obsession is, she’ll rip them off) and appropriating them for her own posts.
Anyone spot the New Zealand “Big in the blogosphere” feature? Nice to see a little openness about how the money rolls in and, most tellingly, the sheer amount of free stuff rolling in through the door!
the Gala Darling “Big in the blogosphere” feature was utter bullshit. Gala claims she makes $100,000 a year …………………. from what? The interviewer says blog ads (like 1 a month???) and selling her podcast and a few blogger campaigns that hardly paid (i know bloggers who did them too). It’s such crap.
Her web-stats and number of Twitter and Facebook followers are drops in the ocean compared to ppl who really make money from blogging.
Wish the TV NZ host had the balls to ask Gala Darling the tough questions and demand PROOF.
What is your guys problem???? She has a right to express how she feels on her website. Just because she is a better person than you and is a lot happier than most of you haters leaving paragraphs about how much her website annoys you. Just don’t follow her on twitter If you have a problem or dont look at her blog if it makes you mad.
well said aly
I am going to be honest, I am not 100% sure who Gala is, nor how I came across this thread. Randomness brought me here.
Nevertheless, Aly I think you have a good point, even though it is unfair to say she is better than others. Everyone in this world has both positive and negative qualities.
Moreover, just because people say something over and over doesn’t make it true. Even if it is, so what?
To paraphrase one of the criticisms, “She says she earns her money but really she has a trust fund.” Where is your proof??? The people making the claim should be able to back up their words not with websites filled with comments but actual facts. NEWS FLASH: Gala does not have to prove anything just to appease people.
To paraphrase another criticism, “She turned off her comments. Now I can’t criticize her…” Whatever, her site, her choice plain and simple. Like Aly said, don’t like it, don’t read it.
Ok, sooooooo I know this is about a year and a half too late, but I think this quote from the NZ Herald (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10703414), in relation to disabling her comments, sums her up perfectly:
“”Like, I value my boyfriend’s opinion, my parents’ and my friends’ and that’s about it. So anybody else I can take or leave. If somebody I really admired had a criticism of me I would listen to them but if you were just a 14-year-old-girl in your bedroom, then I don’t really care what you think of me.”
That would be all well and good… if the success of her pathetic blog didn’t depend on impressionable 14-year old girls in their bedrooms reading the shit she spouts.
you evil bastards. go. and puke your negativity elsewhere! I
notice all there comments are at a time when you should either be in bed or at work. which means you fuckwits have nothing better to do
Oh Maggie. Have you heard of “practice what you preach?”
I followed Gala for around a week, the same week she shut comments off. I was disappointed in her. She really could have had a positive impact on her blog, but went a whole other way with it.