Much to your dismay, we are stepping away from the laptop bags for this week’s Chic Geek column. I know, you all were extremely excited about the ONA Bag giveaway and were probably looking forward to another similar giveaway. But I’ve got something even more cute for you to win! Hard to believe, right?

Enter PhotoJojo’s Toyko Dreamer Camera Straps.

Who knew you could decorate your camera strap in a fun and funky way? Instead of that boring black strap, you can use PhotoJojo’s special straps, adding a hint of personality and flair to your camera. Made of  durable vegan leather, the strap is a total of 4.5 feet long and has a soft velvet-y lining cushioned for neck comfort. My favorite part of the Tokyo Dreamer strap isn’t the soft leather, color choice (even though the colors are pretty adorable). No, I’m a sucker for the quote printed on the strap.

“Today, I’m just a dreamer, dreaming my life away.” Isn’t that just the ultimate mantra for every photo addict out there who spends their days surrounded in photos?

While I can’t grant make your dreams come true (literally), I can give away THREE camera straps to one lucky IFB dreamer! To enter, you must:

1. Tell me what your biggest dreams are. Career, life, love. There are no rules; just be honest and share what your biggest dreams are!
2. Like IFB on Facebook 
3. Be sure to leave a valid email address.

Contest ends Monday, February 13, 2011 at 11:59pm EST so hurry and enter!

From online retail sites to mobile apps, last year was all about fashion websites/apps. ShoeMint (all the Mint properties, really), Moda Operandi, OpenSky. The list can go on and on. But 2012 will be even bigger and better. Fashion technology is rapidly growing thanks to new apps and sites that are shaking up the digital space, offering users a chance to dive into their closet and rediscover their style.

From selling your clothes back to booking discount beauty appointments, the new wave of apps and websites make being a gal so much easier.

Here is a list of the 5 Apps and Sites I’m keeping an eye on (and you should too):

1. ReQoop: Do you ever find something amazing at a store, snap a picture, then forget where you were when you found said amazingness? It happens to me all the time! However, enter ReQoop, the newest mobile app that allows you to take pictures of items at your favorite store, upload them to the site, then share them with other users. It’s like having a personalized catalog with items from all of your favorite stores!

2. Buyosphere: The best part about having a personal stylist is being able to ask them all sorts of questions. Where to purchase things, what kind of items you should stick with, etc. Instead of paying for a pricey stylist, try using Buyosphere, a website that tracks your purchases and gives you the chance to host your own Q/A with your fellow shoppers. Need to find a white maxi dress? Ask Buyosphere. Want to know what is trending in colors? Ask Buyosphere. It basically acts as your personal shopper! What could be greater than that?

3. Lifebooker: When it comes to beauty treatments, you need to book appointments fast. You don’t have time for chit-chat nor do you want to sit on the phone for an hour trying to find an open spot on your stylist’s calendar. You want something quick and relatively cheap that leaves you looking gorgeous. Thanks to LifeBooker, you can search  for salon, spa and beauty deals near you. Getting your eyebrows waxed now is almost painless.

4. Poshmark: Move over, eBay. Poshmark is here to make your clothes reselling experience 10x more enjoyable. With Poshmark, you can browse a fellow fashion girl’s closet, sell your (gently) worn designer clothes, and participate in virtual meetups and shopping parties. With its secure database and easy interface, it has never been easier to make money of off your wardrobe’s neglected pieces.

5. MADE Fashion Week: Thanks to Milk Made, fashion’s cutting edge resource and studio, runway collections can be delivered straight to your smartphone. Users get live access to collections, share favorite looks with social media followers and learn more about designers. For every blogger who attends fashion week and can’t be at every show, this is your best friend. Or, for the fashion lover who wants front-row access, this app gives you an up-close-and-personal view of Milk Studio’s hottest collections.

My iPad is already overloaded with fashion apps but these new ones are worth it! What do you think? Are you loving our fresh crop of apps or are sticking true to the ones you already have?

It’s safe to say you all LOVED last week’s Chic Geek Giveaway! Your comments and suggestions were dead on. Many of you wanted sturdier bags, colorful bags, and bags that offered more compartments. I couldn’t agree more; there is nothing worse than a bag that falls apart right after purchase or a boring bland bag.

This week, I have another gorgeous bag from ONA, which means “to feel,” “to believe,” and “to experience with the eyes” in Swahili. Created by Tracey Foster, the ONA bag is a stylish take on the traditional camera bag. Instead of lugging around the fashionably-challenged camera bag, you can carry your camera in a bag that works for brunch, date night or shopping with your friends.

Foster states, “Each ONA camera bag is handcrafted from premium materials and designed to blend the functionality of traditional camera bags with contemporary styling. ONA camera bags are produced in limited quantities to ensure that an unparalleled level of attention is paid to every detail.”

I think what makes an ONA bag so special is the quality. From the full-grain leather exterior to carefully planned compartments, it is exactly what a budding street style photographer would love to have while shooting and not be embarrassed. A chic alternative to the basic messenger bag, ONA’s Venice is one beautiful bag, featuring long straps (easy for you carry cross-body or over the shoulder), and padded compartments for your DSLR or tablet. My other favorite parts of the bag? The gold buckles and zippers. What girl doesn’t love a little splash of gold?!

We are giving away one Venice bag to a lucky reader this week and here’s how you can enter to win:

1. Tell me how you currently carry your DSLR now in the comments section. Small purse? Camera bag?
2. Like IFB on Facebook 
3. Be sure to leave a valid email address.

image from DanBrady

You clean your house, your car, even your purse. But what about your blog?

Depending on the size of your blog and how long you’ve been at it, your archives and categories could do for a little impromptu cleaning session. Even a blogger with the best intentions will procrastinate when it comes time for blogging maintenance, but it is definitely a task you have to tackle soon. Imagine all the untagged or miscategorized posts that are floating around on your blog. How will any of your viewers get to that one must-read post if they can’t find it? A quick clean-up session will give your readers more access to your content and will lead to an increased amount of traffic. Plus, all those dead links just leave blog readers frustrated!

Conducting blog housekeeping might seem slightly painful but with planning and time, you can easily tackle this blogging project.

Here are 5 easy tips to help you clean out your blog:

1. Get your blogging archives up-to-date. The easiest way to clean house is to pay attention to your archives. Organize them by year/month and you have just given your readers an easy way to follow your posts throughout the year. For WordPress users, you can use various plugins including the Simply Yearly archive plugin or the Clean Archives Reloaded which will automatically sort and catalog your posts according to date/time.

2. Tag your posts with traffic-friendly keywords. What’s the easiest way to drive more traffic to your archives? Use the best keywords as your tags! By doing this, search engines will direct traffic to your posts because of those popular keywords. To figure out which keywords to use, try Google Insight which allows you to find the most-searched keywords for your blog post’s topic.

3. Clean Out Your Blogroll. Yes, it’s sad to weed out the dead links (RIP Blogs!) but those dead links are just annoying. Plus, they are taking up precious space on your blog. Make it a habit to check your blogroll every month and add new favorite blogs to increase traffic and build relationships with other bloggers.

4. Edit your Categories. Does our category menu look like a never-ending list of random words and tags? It’s time to combine your categories and weed out the unnecessary ones. I recommend this Bulk Category cleaner which allows you to create new categories, delete old ones, and combine smaller ones. By categorizing your posts appropriately, your readers will be able to find relevant information that they didn’t intentionally search for but are happy to have found.

5. Find and delete old links. It’s inevitable- you will find dead links on your blog at some point. Yes, it’s obnoxious but there is an easy way to trouble-shoot that issue: find a plugin. You knew I was going to say that, right? WordPress (aka my heaven) has a substantial amount of plugins that make it easy for you to do site maintenance. For instance, this dead link finding plugin will sort through your posts and notify you if there are dead links. Unfortunately, there isn’t a simple tool that Blogger users can use. But don’t let that detract you!

Now you’ve got the basic rundown of how to clean up your blog. That wasn’t too hard, was it? If you have any questions or concerns, leave them in the comments section! Or if you know of a handy plugin that can help with any of the housekeeping issues mentioned up, do share!

Have you ever noticed that fashion and technology don’t always go hand in hand? All these gadgets and gizmos sure work well, but when it comes time to accessorize them, I’m often left high-and-dry.

Enter IFB’s new Chic Geek reviews, delivering all the stylish and sleek tech accessories you could ever want.

From ever-so stylish tote bags to bold cases, I’ve got plenty of gorgeous products coming your way. And you know what makes the column even more sweeter? I will be giving away one item each week especially for you IFB readers.

First up is the OMG, Lo & Son’s Overnight and Medium Bag. Get it, OMG- overnight medium gym bag? I thought it was cute too. Big enough for your office notebook, 13-inch laptop, water bottles, iPad, and secret stash of candy (don’t lie, you know you have it), the OMG is perfect for the girl who is always moving. Yet, it’s not so massive that you feel like you are carrying a 5-lb weight around town.

My favorite part of the bag? It has so many secret compartments. All of your pens, business cards, spare lip gloss, and miscellaneous stuff will be neatly organized with this bag. Which means no more endless bag searches in your gigantic black-hole of purse! I should also mention that the hummingbird lining is super adorable too.

The only con about this bag is the black nylon. I know, I know! Nylon is great because it is water-resistant, which means my clumsy ways won’t ruin it. But wouldn’t it be great in a bold print or hot pink color? I guess I’m just a sucker for a bright pop of color. What do you think about the bag? Do all the compartments make you as giddy as me?

One lucky IFB reader will get the chance to review his/her own Lo & Son’s bag and I can’t wait to hear your feedback.

To enter the giveaway:

1. Tell me what your ideal laptop bag would look like below in the comments section.
2. Like IFB on Facebook 
3. Be sure to leave a valid email address.

Good luck and be sure to check out the rest of Lo & Son’s collection.

UPDATE: Contest is closed now. Thanks for participating!