Caribbean bloggers are rocking the world! Meet Miss Mikelah!

Caribbean Blogger Spotlight is a new weekly feature by my fellow blogger, Miss Mikelah of www.StyleandVibes.com.

Though she covers everything that is fly, happening and cool in and around the Caribbean-American community, she has now created this new weekly series on Style & Vibes to highlight some great Caribbean bloggers that you may or may not know.

Here’s a little background on my homie, Miss Mikelah!

When did you start blogging?

I started blogging in 2007. The blog was actually an extension of my college radio show, I posted new music and archive shows, but I started writing about events I attended, put a personal spin on entertaining things I saw and it grew from there.

Describe your blog in one sentence?

Fly-Caribbean-Chic!

What made you want to become a blogger?

It was a great way to brand myself. At the time I had dreams of being VJ and I knew that communication, written and verbal, were important. I wanted to do print editorial writing as well, but most publications starting out wanted you to write for free (I was in my senior year of college and couldn’t do another internship, I had 4 internships under my belt already), so I said if I’m going to do that I might as well write for myself. I’ve always loved writing and I just wrote about my interests as a Caribbean-American and found that a lot of people had similar interest.

What do you love about blogging?

Other than I love writing… that moment you press “publish” you feel accomplished. I’ve learned so much about coding, design, blog development etc. I’m still learning new things about the web all the time.  But I’d have to say the best part is I get to network with like minded people. At the time when I started blogging it was gaining a lot of popularity, but most of us lack consistency in the so networking with other bloggers really made me get on my game. Friendly competition is always good especially when we support each other. Similar blogs can co-exist in the same space.

What’s the hardest part about keeping your content fresh and relevant?

I try to not make my blog about the latest breaking news, but rather put a personal spin a real opinion and give the readers a chance to form their own opinion. It’s not driven by advertising, but rather my interest of things I like and things I don’t. A lot of writers who write for a major publication have to respect the publishing brand’s identity, where as these are my words and opinions, if you like it cool, if you don’t that’s cool too.

What do you hope to accomplish through your blog?

I hope that people see that the Caribbean –American demographic is a viable one. The Diaspora contributes to the of success of Caribbean and International brands.

Celebrity style influences?

I like people who know their own signature style. I absolutely love Tracee Ellis Ross and Jada Pinkett, they both have great style all their own. I also like how Rihanna has blossomed into a style maven.

Check out her blog www.styleandvibes.com