WCW: Nubia Mejia of Nubiasnonsense.com
Happy Wednesday Peeps! You know what time it is WCW! Every Wednesday I will highlight an awesome chick that has been inspiring to me and many! This WCW is my fashion/geek twin: Nubia Mejia, of the popular blog Nubia's Nonsense. Nubia’s Nonsense is a very unique blog from the over-saturation of fashion blogs out there. Her content goes beyond fashion; Nubia also posts about geekery, self-help and beauty. She also is a brilliant social media strategist, who witnessed the profession evolve into the necessity for brands today. Originally from NYC, Nubia took a major gamble and moved to Las Vegas (more on that below). Check out my interview with Nubia, which is anything but nonsense.
O.C.O: How old is your blog, what do you think of the blog invasion over the past 3 years? What do you do to stand out?
N.M: The Ups: My blog is a few years old now... 5 or 6 maybe? There have been a lot of ups and downs in the blogging industry. So much that I can probably write a short novel on the topic. I recently wrote a post on my blog Nubia's Nonsense about how I lost passion for blogging for a long time and just recently started regaining it again. I think the blog invasion has been great in a sense that it has created an urge for young people to become entrepreneurs and start their own business ventures. That's amazing! It's also a creative outlet and a way to influence a worldwide readership in many ways, positive ways hopefully.
The Downs: I think the down side of blogging is that not everyone does it genuinely. Now that there are so many blogs, too many of them are way too alike. Carbon copies you know what I mean? Some people are using it solely as a way to make a quick buck and don't care about their readership or review products honestly which is sad. I would like to see more people challenge themselves and push creative boundaries. For example: 10 girls can wear the same pair of jeans, but probably only one of them is going to make me want to buy it. Maybe it's the things she said, the photo she took, the way she styled it stood out, maybe she wrote a damn poem about the jeans I loved... It could be so many different things. When things are too alike or people are doing things for the wrong reasons, everything loses value. The youth today has a crazy short attention span, it's bad. No one is paying attention to detail and it's the details that make things beautiful. A lot of sites I visit barely even write. Like, what? 2 sentences? What's up with that?
To Stand Out: I just try to be myself, I'm pretty kooky. Right now, I'm in the transition of implementing a lot of new stuff on my site so that's going to be exciting. For years on my style site I did things such as cover New York Comic Con where I would shoot cosplay outfits and compare the looks to fashion trends and such (I even attended the very first NYCC in 2006). I would write post about things such as "How To Bring Out Your Inner Wonder Woman". I would cover Lolita fashion, Harajuku trends and even dressed myself up for the Japanese festivals. These were things my peers weren't really doing much I guess you can say. I very much incorporate comics, pop culture, and my urban roots into my site. This week I have a post coming up called "Pretty Things To Wipe Your Butt With" It's about pretty toilet paper ha ha. I try to think out the box, be silly and have fun with it. I do what feels right. I've had cool sponsorship opportunities along the years and I hope to have more. Maybe I'm not getting as much as a lot of other bloggers sometimes but I'm not like them. I'm being me and I like me! I refuse to change who I am for a sponsorship opportunity.
O.C.O: Describe your personal style.
N.M: I wake up and dress how I feel in the morning. It could be a pinup, grunge, 80s, or flower child. That's the best way to describe my style. I don't really stick to one look. One thing I have always loved though is bright colors. I would wear neon’s all day if I could. I guess if I had to label myself I would say funky/fresh/urban.
O.C.O: What are you looking forward to seeing at this years NY Comic Con?
N.M: I'm always looking forward to seeing the cosplayers and what new craziness they come up with. Discovering new artist, attending panels. I've very much enjoyed the Women of Marvel panel the last few years. I remember going to the first one and it being nearly empty, now it's packed! So amazing. Meeting new people. I look forward to the full on experience of it all. It's always different.
O.C.O: What has been your favorite cosplay you have done from all the Cons you have attended?
N.M: I think my favorite Cosplay has been Emma Frost. I was inspired by art I've seen from Jim Lee in some of the older comic books. I'm planning a pretty mean gambit this year though. That Cajun might just top it ha.
O.C.O: The female nerd is having a presence from Cosplay articles on Elle and Refinery 29 to Instagrams like Style By Marvel. The female nerd is now cool, do you think social media had a hand in that?
N.M: I have to start by saying the female nerd has always been cool! Maybe now she's just "trendy”. I think social media has had a hand in that because of all of the traffic these conventions generate online. People want to cover what's popular and trending naturally. Was Elle covering Comic Con Cosplay before social media got crazy popular? I'm not sure but I doubt it. Also, I think all the Marvel and DC films being released play a big role. Now we have tons of X-Men, Spiderman, Batman fans who've never even picked up a comic. They see girls dressing up and they're like "Whoa, she's hot. That's cool". I hope the films and all the social media movement have inspired a few people to pick up a comic more often. Style By Marvel is interesting. I hope they keep doing what they're doing and reach out to the right people to work with in terms of fitting their aesthetic.
O.C.O: What made you move from NY to Las Vegas?
N.M: Show me the money!!!! No, I'm kidding. I'm not a crazy gambler... even though thanks to my boyfriend I do enjoy making some $$$ during Football season (so excited it's starting). I moved because I'm young and because I could. I am a born and raised New Yorker and though I've traveled a fair amount, I never moved out of Queens. I thought it would be enthralling and inspire me to do new things.
O.C.O: You have seen social media take on a life of its own the past 4-5 years? What advice would you give aspiring social media professionals starting out?
N.M: I have absolutely seen social media take an insanely crazy and hectic life of its own. It's like the "it" girl in high school full of drama who's unpredictable. My advice would definitely be to make sure this is the correct path for you first and foremost because it's only getting wilder. When I first started my social media career, the main social sites were Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You would also use sites such as YouTube and LinkedIn too but for daily purposes it was FB, Tw, and Insta. Now there's something new coming out every day! You have to be like a tech trend forecaster and predict what you think is going to stick. This goes back to me talking about short attention spans... so many of these apps are so similar, where's the value?
Anyway, on the bright side it is a cool career. I think if you work for a company you actually respect and are passionate about you'll be good and you could have so much fun. I used to do fashion week every season and do live coverage of the runways where I got to see and touch all the clothing, meet designers and celebrities, it was tons of fun! My main tips are try to work for something you love and stay on top of trends. Oh and also, everyday is a #National_______ day.
O.C.O: What inspires you?
N.M: I get inspired by the streets mainly and art. I like to watch people and how they dress especially in other countries. It gives me a fresh perspective. Lately I've been inspired I think by the 90s a lot. Kind of starting to love the baggy attire again. We'll see where that goes.
O.C.O: Do you think the power of the blogger/influencer will die or only evolve in the next 5-10 years?
N.M: I don't think it will die, it's always evolving. We rarely see fashion/style bloggers anymore, now everyone is a "Lifestyle Blogger" covering more than just fashion and incorporating fitness and home decor etc. I feel like any day now a blogger is going to make some sort of show that lives online about something and it's going to be so popular that Netflix will pick it up. I see things moving in that sort of direction. I think if people push their creativity more and keep attempting to be unique, the names and the deals are only going to get bigger.
O.C.O: Team Marvel or Team DC?
N.M: This is a very difficult question for me ha, you have no idea. I initially started my passion for the comic book realm through watching the X-Men animated series on Fox Saturday mornings that aired 1992-97. It made me want to get up early on Saturday morning! Almost no kid wants to do that lol. I will be forever grateful for that series. Then again, it didn't take me long to gain an immense love and admiration for DC's Batman shortly after. This hurts but... considering all characters, story lines, comic books and movies... I'm going to have to side with Marvel. Sorry Batman!!
Photos taken from www.nubiasnonsense.com