Here are some good reads* if you've got a few minutes. (Of course, just make sure if you're a mom that your kids are first fed, bathed, and safely nestled in their beds before even thinking of anything else.)
New York Times article: Honey, Don't Bother Mommy. I'm Too Busy Building My Brand.
[Whoa, Nelly - if that ain't a headline that you'd never see with the word "Mommy" replaced with "Daddy". Equally offensive is the illustration accompanying the article.]
but please don't miss this:
Response: Honey, Don't Bother Mommy. I'm Writing a Mildly Annoyed Letter to the New York Times.
[In my opinion - a respectful, measured critique highlighting the positives of blogging while pointing out the Times article's shortcomings.]
In conclusion: Moms get the shaft way too often simply by virtue of being moms. Okay, I'm off to throw on my mom jeans now. And style my mom hair. And nag my kids and husband - I'm very good at that. : ) <-- see that? see how it works? the smiley face indicates that I am saying this all in good humor and do not really have a bug up my ass (excuse my language) about these things.
*So, had you already seen these links on Ohdeedoh? Apologies if this was a "yeah, Kate, I don't live under a rock" type of non-newsflash, but I thought some people might be interested.
A Little Chef's Card Victory
11 years ago
Posts
5 comments:
Hey Kate! I expect to run into you any one of these days now. When do you usually head to the park? We are more flexible now, Waylon is down to one nap a day now. :)
Read the article on the NY Times and was disappointed. I agree with the response letter. The piece had some interesting points buried beneath a mountain of snark. What I did take away from it is just how fast the whole world of mommyblogging can go from connection/community prose to advertising/money-generating drivel. I find that for every blog I discover and love to read, there are 10 more I can't stand for the barely hidden agenda of MAKING $$. So what does that say? I guess we are the only ones keeping it real. For reals.
I have to say I didn't think the article was AS bad as the title. The response was lovely. Mom101 does a good job of keeping it real in a respectful way.
I do agree with the above commenter... for every decent read i find while out surfing i find at least ten more of product x and giveaway y or whatever. (click away! click away!)
i don't know. for me, i just like blogging. i like sharing. i don't EXPECT things to happen b/c of my blog about my family. i think it's gotten to a crazy point where people (mostly moms? maybe?) do expect to make money or rec. free products.
guess i'm just old school. (with my OLD age and mom jeans and all.)
i also have to add that i do run BlogHer ads on my blog and receive a very tiny amount of compensation that i gladly cash at the bank every few months. and i'm okay with that. ads on blogs don't bother me as much (there are freaking ads in bathrooms and on bus stops and pretty much every where else you look!) as the blatant "product reviews" that are all fluffy and favorable.
::stepping away from the computer now::
agreed, agreed - the headline was by far the most sensationalist part. and I agree with you that blogs pretending not to push products that really are pushing products come across as....insulting to my intelligence. It's like, I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING! Don't act like I don't. : ) [DesignMom's name dropping of the Mayflower brand during their family's move, (a site I normally love btw), comes to mind.]
Overall the article isn't terrible in my opinion, but at the same time, I think that moms are often unfairly treated in the media - in this case, I thought that a certain level of entrepreneurship that would be seen as "ambition" if it were men was portrayed more negatively just because it was moms.
p.s. Kat, I have no personal problem with your Blogher ads! I don't make a dime from blogging but I say more power to ya if you do.
Post a Comment