Canberra loves a line. We are a city that will line up for gelato in sub-zero weather, and in the early mornings for the latest new store in town - sometimes for hours on end.

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What we don't appreciate is when people cut in, simply because they happen to be recording what happens at the front of that line. We also don't like it when the line doesn't actually live up to the hype.

And usually it's all because of curated marketing and promotion of a selected image.

I have nothing against influencers. I know the relationship and differences between traditional and social media have been a topic of discussion, particularly since content creators were admitted into this year's federal budget, but I actually have no beef with them. I consume social media and other content, so who am I to get on my high horse about it and dictate who should get access?

But I can't help but feel for the people who woke up ridiculously early on Thursday to wait in line for hours, only for influencers to be allowed in at the same time.

And for that to be the only footage shared publicly - that's not created by Mecca themselves - allowed from inside those walls does bring the phrase "smoke and mirrors" to mind.

No professional photography was allowed inside the new Mecca store on Thursday morning, and by that, I mean no traditional media was allowed to take photos with anything other than a phone. Because let's be honest, it's not the equipment you use that makes you professional, or even the quality of the images captured. It's whether or not you make money from the footage that you take that makes you........

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