MSW 2012 is finally here!

That's right, dollies, so hold onto your designer sunhats and run to the Broadcasting page, because it's time to campaign! Stardoll announced that MSW 2012 would be arriving shortly a few days before the voting started last night.

 

 

Last year's theme was red, and now it's blue this year. I still don't understand the color choice, but I sincerely hope next year won't be green. In any case, you can vote by clicking the large blue button right above the Covergirl/NCG star votes. Keep in mind that you can only vote for the same person once in a day.

And if you know me by now, it would seem obvious that I have no interest in campaigning whatsoever. I'm not putting down anyone who does, but I personally would feel my wallet hurting just by looking at the amount of Broadcasts people are sending out, rapid-fire. It takes a lot of work to run, and even then it's going to be extremely difficult for a dollie to make it to the semi-finals. But good luck to anyone who's campaigning! Feel free to advertise yourself in the comments below.

The prizes, in my opinion, get better and better every year. To see all of the information about MSW, click the link here: http://www.stardoll.com/en/campaigns/miss-stardoll-world/ for the full description.

Good luck, dollies!

P.S. I think I'll be posting a MSW 2012-themed makeup tutorial soon, so keep checking back and I'll keep you posted.

Stardoll Friendships and Freaky Fridays

Friendships forged on Stardoll are ones that generally last a while. I have lots of friends that I made on Stardoll that I talk to practically on a daily basis.

And then there are those people that you're not really "friends" with, but you're just nice to them because if you told them what you really think of them, you'd be feeling pretty guilty. I like to call these kinds of situations: guilt friendships. And believe me, I've had quite a few of those.

I call these next type of friendships creepy friendships, when said friend likes to imitate everything you do and pretend the two of you are practically inseperable BFFs. For example, if you make a club that is doing well, your creepy/stalker friend has to make a club of the very same nature and pretend it's just as good.

The next type of friendships I like to dub popularity friendships, when the person likes to put you on their Best Friends list because you have a high Stardoll status, ergo they are ultimately ten times cooler than everyone else. Those are the kinds of people that you have talked to maybe twice, and since you were borderline nice to them, they think you're their best friend.

Another thing that I'll probably never understand are the Stardoll friend lists, and the strange groupings they have for each category. You've got Best Friends, Friends, Family, and even Unclassified. But Stardoll was really pushing the limit when they added Boyfriend, Girlfriend, Neighbor, and Colleague. It's like they're condoning Stardoll-dating, and don't even get me started on that. Saving that rant for another day.

So whether you have a guilt friendship, a creepy friendship, or even a popularity friendship, there is always one person that will stick up for you no matter what, pick you back up when you're down, be your shoulder to cry on, and the vent you rant to.

P.S. Happy Friday the 13th. Here's hoping you don't crack a mirror or walk under a ladder. 

Hit or Miss: Windows on the World and LE Summer 2012

Finally, a new LE collection! I've been waiting forever for this.

I'm sure that was most of our reactions when we all received the advertisement in our mailboxes when we logged on today. So, being the ultimate shopper that I am, I went to go check it out. And there I am, practically salivating as my screen loads the first floor of the new Limited Edition Summer items. Now, mind you, at this point I was expecting diamonds or something, so it was a huge disappointment to find that the outfits were tacky-looking, chintzy, and full of ruffles and weird patterns that I could care less about.

See, with LE items, it's either a hit or a miss. This was a miss.

Honestly, it was incredibly difficult to figure out what the theme was, if there was one at all. Stardoll has certainly been getting lazy and rather un-creative in regards to these rare "Limited Edition" items. I mean, they expect to wow us with a plain, unadorned purple sunhat? the very same one in a different color and more textured than the free Rebecca BonBon red sunhat they gave out in a free promotion a few months ago? They're limited because they must be good, but these were a complete failure. But I'll give them a little credit, at least. Finally they put some mens' clothing in, which sold out in the first thirty minutes. And the LE earrings were nice, as well. But my favorite pieces in this collection would be Circus Tent Pants and the Lace Me Shorts. Both were very versatile and a staple in many virtual closets. That's all I really have to say about this average collection. I've seen worse LE (last month's hideous collection), so it wasn't terrible.

Micromanaging the Summer Lazies

I think I've contracted a case of the "summer lazies", where I've been caught up in way too much stuff for me to write on my blog regularly. I cringe when I say that this poor little blog has been rather neglected of late. So I'm putting lots of stuff on hold for this; between roleplay clubs, general Stardoll drama, and the usual "let's throw in the towel and have a good time". In either case, I've been really neglecting a lot of things besides Aledale and another blog I write for, but I should be writing a few more posts, though not as regularly as I used to.

Hey, being manager of one club is hard enough, and now that I am no longer the manager, it's kind of freeing. So that's what I'm going to talk about today. Managers.

Now, contrary to popular belief, I'm not one to micromanage things. I'm more of a "go-with-the-flow-and-float-where-the-wind-takes-you" kind of gal. Although in rare occasions, I get a little power-crazy and start attacking the little things that are so seemingly insignificant that I am under no obligation to fix. And don't ever believe someone who says managing a club on Stardoll is a piece of cake, unless your club is collecting dust in a corner of an old closet. Let me tell you, it's hard work. You've got to put in the time, not to mention blood, sweat, and tears, to oil the kinks in the machinery and pick the stray crumbs off the dirty iced layer of the cake. And if you've ever done either, you'd know how messy it can get.

Especially in RP clubs, managing things is incredibly difficult. You've got to delete old topics, run things while the owner is away, deal with that one member that's always breathing down your neck, and be active in roleplaying in addition to all that. But being a manager can also be rewarding. You get special manager privileges, and the satisfaction of a job well done. So all in all, it's not too terrible being a manager, but I won't lie, it's a messy job.

Unique Has "U" in it!

Sorry for the cheesy titles of late. I'm working on it, really.

Anyway, I wanted to bring up something that was bothering me for a while. After countless hours of brainless computer-monitor-staring, today's topic finally hit me. And I think almost everyone can relate to this.

Stardoll has become a haven lately for general types of immoral behavior; I don't think anyone can really disagree with me on that one. But it has also developed into a huge, booming sound system. Aaand you probably think I'm crazy. Vivian, what the hell does Stardoll have anything to do with a funky old sound system?

Think about it, when one person places a CD into it, the sound gets amplified throughout the entire area. Same with Stardoll; when one person starts a trend, everybody else needs to have the same thing. If an elite (apologies for using such a cliched example) wears their StarDesign wig a certain way, then all the other users run out to buy the latest and greatest. No one really seems to think twice about whether or not it looks good. If they have the same thing as someone popular, BAM! instant popularity boost.

But what I'm trying to get at is the fact that users in general want to feel noticed, or have people pay them more attention. Like putting a well-known user on their best friends' list is going to make people say, "Woah! This person has so-and-so-user on their BEST FRIEND list, which obviously means a lot, because they're obviously best friends."

In all honesty, if you spend all your time chasing after popularity and fame, you'll never get it. Be a trend-setter, not a follower. I think we can all say that we've had our fair share of the spotlight in this case, and I won't exempt myself from the guilt. Too many of the trend-chasers are a bunch of empty shells. Pretty on the outside, hollow on the inside.

Popularity comes to you when people are naturally drawn to your skills, talents, abilities, and personality, not how much money you have, or how long you've been on Stardoll, or your flashy diamond status. None of that really means anything unless you have the ability to back it up.

So that about sums up today's little rant. Sorry I got so deep here...I just felt kind of strongly about it. By the way, just wanted to let all my followers and readers know that you guys really made my day. Your compliments make me smile from behind the screen.

Those Darn OC-ers!

If you haven't heard what unpleasant drama has been boiling inside Stardoll for the past week or so, then you probably live under a rock.

Have you ever wanted to start a club? Make it big, watch it rise to the top of the popularity list? Well, now is definitely not the time to do it, especially not with the OC members lurking around. Rumor has it they've been sneaking into clubs and making innapropriate topics, breaking the rules, and anything else they can do, resulting in the permanent termination of said club. They're only doing this to popular clubs, it seems, and even Stardoll-staff-run clubs like Tokio Hotel, Michael Jackson, Amy Diamond.

Stardoll administration found out about the uproar a few days ago, and are taking extreme precautionary measures to make sure that the OC members stay out of other clubs, permanently. They re-instituted a huge "Follow the One-Stop Rules" banner on the Clubs page, and temporarily closed down a few clubs for investigation. Popular clubs are now going private, kicking out several suspected OC members, and deleting topics like mad.

When I checked out robin's Stardoll page (the original owner of the first OC club), he writes, "OC will be back, check this page for updates. I'll hang out in test200 in the meanwhile." It startles me how much confidence he has. It's already been deleted what, at least thirteen times? And that's no surprise, seeing as the incidents they were deleted for were highly scandalous, especially the most recent...try eleven year olds stripping on a webcam and getting the police involved.

By doing some of my own research in test200, OC's backup club, I have deduced that all the dedicated OC members seem to blame "lavenderluva", the eleven year old stripper, for the termination of OC, permanently. And that's not to say that everyone else is not to blame.

Face the truth: the OC members are homeless and angry. They want revenge on the Stardoll staff for deleting their club, and a few of the radicals are trying to wreak havok by shutting down other popular clubs in retaliation.

I'd say this has become a full-out war: OC vs. Stardoll Admin. The popular clubs have been caught up in the artillery fire, and no one is safe.
Who would you bet on?