Replay
Mama! I’ll admit, I’m not really into most mommy bloggers. Don’t get me wrong, I adore kids. I read blogs whose authors are mothers. And I’ll definitely read the blog of real life mother friends, since I likely know their kids. But, there’s a huge number of mommy bloggers who write pretty much solely about their kids. And what it’s like to be a parent. And call me a bitch. Call me naive. Call me honest. I’m just not *there* with them. I don’t relate to most of their stories. So, I don’t read them. It’s no big deal (I’m pretty sure most of them don’t read my blog). Except for Kelcey. She is a wonderful mommy blogger who has an amazing way with words. Like a recent post where she started off talking about the purchase of a new SUV and ended with Ruth Madoff’s sex life. Kelcey logically winds her way from start to finish. But, even if you trust me, you should read her blog anyway! {source: Mama Bird Diaries}
Sponsored! Recently I’ve seen the Brand About Town group pop up on a number of blogs I read. Gap parties. Nintendo parties. All about spreading the word of these brands through parties hosted by bloggers who have a strong following and a strong network of friends. I’ll categorize these people as bloggers first, product pushers second. On a related note, I read an article in the New York Times about what essentially boils down to sponsored bloggers. Bloggers who are showered with products in the hopes they write a positive review (or no review at all if the response is negative). I have mixed feelings about these bloggers. I mean, what a sweet deal to get a bunch of free stuff that you try and like or don’t like. But, as a person who might read these blogs? I guess I find it hard to believe their reviews any more than someone working for the local paper. And unless the bloggers are point blank about their relationship with the brands, we never will know whether they’re being paid to write a review, which may influence their opinion of said product. {source: New York Times}
Update: Based on some of the comments I have received, it appears that I have miscommunicated my stance. In writing about Brand About Town, I am trying to separate bloggers who participate in their events from other “sponsored” bloggers. I think Brand About Town is different because (a) they choose bloggers who have an established blog first (not necessarily bloggers who do product reviews only) and (b) they ask these bloggers to host parties where lots of people can form their own opinions on products. It’s the bloggers who purely solicit free stuff (and or are paid to review said free stuff) where the lines become murky. I guess if you’re fully upfront about what you do, who pays you, then you can say whatever you want. But me? I trust Consumer Reports ten times over any of these bloggers. Hope this clarifies any confusion.
Thankless! How many of you have downloaded something free to put on your blog? Whether it’s your layout template, that fancy calendar in your sidebar or even the way you track your comments. Most of us have used some form of free plugin on our blogs. Now, have you ever thought about the authors or creators of those freebies? A recent article opened my very naive eyes to the idea that maybe these people deserve credit of some kind. It could be a monetary donation (not available for all plugins or all blogging platforms), a write-up on our blogs (full of linky love) or a direct thank you via email to the author. But, so many times they go unnoticed for their work. Going forward, I am going to try to be more proactive about my use of these giveaways! {source: Weblog Tools Collection}
Control! If any of you read Snackie’s World, you have been following her journey as she decided to end her marriage in divorce, move across the country and start all over again. Snackie has done an amazing job writing about the process she’s going through. While not all of us have gone through or are going through divorces, I think there are some life lessons we can all learn from her journey. The idea that once we make a decision, we have to deal with the consequences of that decision. And the idea that there are only so many things in this world we can control; it’s important not to dwell or fight the things we can’t. {source: Snackie’s World}
Alright, that’s all I’ve got for ya this week. Have a fabulous weekend and I’ll see you on the flip side!
July 17th, 2009 at 8:14 am
I agree about the mommy blogs, it is great that they want to detail each moment in their child(ren)’s life but it is not my style.
Have a great weekend girl!
July 17th, 2009 at 8:48 am
I’m with you on the mommy blogs. I only read one (Crissy of course and it’s not really a mommy blog) and skim two others. Other than that I really have no interest because I just can’t relate to them.
July 17th, 2009 at 9:22 am
definitely agree with mommy blogs. i have no children, have no want for children anytime soon, and i don’t really want to read about diapers and running around frantically trying to get everything done, etc. like christina said, it’s not my style.
i also agree with you on the brand about town thing. i do get jealous of all the bloggers who sign up for this and try out the products, get parties and free stuff, but i’m just not willing to sell myself for that kind of thing or fill my blog with reviews of products, whether or not i’m getting something from it. i’d start a separate review blog if that were the case, but even then i don’t really want to do all that work. i don’t know, i guess i’m mixed about it. though i did read something recently about how they’re (the internet police or something) going to start cracking down on product reviews by bloggers, investigating if they’re getting paid or not, whether endorsements are being issued, or if these companies are taking advantage of people and vice versa. it’s a complicated thing.
July 17th, 2009 at 9:25 am
The thing about Brand about Town that I’m happy about is that because most of the girls who are with them are also with BlogHer they have to put their reviews on a separate blog. But especially with so many people being pulled from the same peer group I’ve really struggled with what I think about this.
A while ago one of the bloggers I really enjoyed started doing paid posts. She would write about her strong desire to work in sales and link out to an external site, and then take it back on the next post. It was so depressing, and she went from someone I trusted and enjoyed reading to someone whose content I couldn’t trust.
When I relaunched my blog I did so without any ads on it because I wanted to just have it be me. If an opportunity comes up in the future I might consider it, but I think the traditional models are a little clunky right now. And really? This is my hobby. I don’t need to be wearing a “Brought To You By _______” t-shirt while I do it.
July 17th, 2009 at 9:42 am
I’m a Brand Enthusiast for Nintendo. The Brand About Town company in no way requires us to write a review but if we want to we can and it can be HONEST- meaning if we have a bad experience with the product we can say that.
I tend to say “no thanks” to any sort of product endorsement unless I know for certain it comes with no strings. I can’t vouch for all bloggers of course but in my case, that was the selling point and the main reason I agreed to it. Also, we get interviewed and have to be approved so it’s not handed to us.
Just a little back story. :-)
July 17th, 2009 at 10:03 am
It’s funny that you featured this in your post today because I just “applied” to be a Brand About Town enthusiast. It was helpful to read some of the comments to this post to learn a bit more about the process. I definitely won’t put endless ads all over my blog, but I am looking forward to getting some things to share with my family and friends and fellow bloggers!
July 17th, 2009 at 10:47 am
i haven’t been approached by many people because my blog’s not big enough, but i’m lucky enough to KNOW a bunch of folks who are brand enthusiasts… which works out awesome for me! i just get to go play at the events ;-)
i’m hesistant to do anything similar myself – even ads – because then i feel pressure to write every day, or make my blog “worthwhile” of the new hits i’m getting… and that is so not why i have the blog. every time it starts seeming like a chore, i take a break for a few days. and i feel like if had ads or a bigger following, i’d feel guilty if i didn’t post regularly. so basically the moral of the story is that i’m lazt :-)
July 17th, 2009 at 10:48 am
uh.. that’s lazY.
July 17th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Have a FABU time at Blogher :)
July 18th, 2009 at 10:21 am
Oh yes mommy blogs, no me gusta, for the most part. Although i am particularly fond of dooce’s style of writing. It’s one of only two mommy blog I lurk/read.
On another note, I tend to ignore blog product reviews no matter how “famous” they are in the blog world. Unless of course it’s something extremely nice (like a camera) and they are giving it away. Then I start to pay a little more attention.
July 18th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
I agree with the branding thing. Sponsored blogs make no sense to me. I don’t see how anyone would trust them and I don’t understand why companies would reach out to them to begin with. I think it makes a lot more sense to do what Gap did and reach out to people who are bloggers first and foremost, who are real and have actual communities, and aren’t just trying to get freebies. You know?
July 27th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Whenever I use a photo from another site, I always try to ask permissions first. Otherwise, I link to the site I found it at. But I would never take anything from SoMi Speaks. ;-)