Really, I have nothing to add.  Thanks for such a measured take.

Julie @ The Mom Slant (f/k/a mothergoosemouse)

 i was going to do a whole post about this.  initially i was like, hmm...good idea.  but then, i started thinking about it and was like, if you don't want to do a review...no one is holding a gun to your head.  just say no.  don't do it.  and i have a really long winded opinion but basically, you said it better than i ever could.

you're bored?  got a little somethin' for you to read...http://www.rockanddrool.com

I still can't get over the name calling in the follow up post on MomDot.  

This post was perfect.

Great post Liz. I'm glad you recovered it from the bit bucket.

Great post! I was surprised to hear about the PR Blackout too -- honestly, I would never, ever dream about blacking out the great PR folks that I deal with regularly since I value my relationships with them. as a professional - a professional writer, journalist and blogger - maintaining those important business relationships is so utterly crucial. It would be rude and unprofessional of me to declare a blackout week like this.

Does that mean I review everything they send my way? Nope. Definitely not. Nor do I accept everything they offer to send. If I don't want or need it, then my answer is no. And I don't review things every week either ...

Frankly, if these mommy bloggers are getting burnt out on reviews, then maybe they need to make a more permanent change up and reevaluate their mission.

Sarah Caron Sarah's Cucina Bella

...so when I blog about a product, it's because it's something I've been searching for (usually a green alternative to a conventional product) and finally found something that works. There have only been 1-2 times the company has even noticed I blogged about them at all, and none of the products were free. I guess it's because my blog is so small. But it's really just my own opinion.

Still, I would be more than willing to participate in the week of not reviewing...I do it so infrequently anyway. I do get a little letdown when the bloggers I follow have several posts in a row with commercial intent :-)

http://www.ConscientiousConfusion.com

http://www.afamilyis.us

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Aren't boycotts usually for a specific reason other than "I need a time
out from doing my job"? Aren't those called a "break" or "vacation"? No
one minds or even cares if you take a week or even a month off from anything you do
on your blog as long as you communicate the change. For example, my
husband, who has been blogging for 6.5 years, takes a week off here and
there and even took a month off when our daughter was born. It's
obvious MomDot is looking for undeserved attention which is why they're
calling for this silly boycott.

 I really cannot believe the chutzpah of the organizers of this so-called boycott. As someone who has been blogging for the last 5.5 years -- 3 of those reviewing products -- I find it insulting to both bloggers and PR professionals alike. I hope this will send a message to publicists that the bloggers who called for this "boycott" are unprofessional and don't understand what they're doing, talking or writing about. There are plenty of fish/bloggers in the sea who appreciate the opportunity to blog about products or whatever and they don't need to make a stink about it to feel confident that what they're doing has value.

 Although I don't have a degree in PR I still think as a blogger you have to have some PR skills.  I may not being selling soap or a car, I am selling my words.  A 'PR blackout" is in a way shooting yourself in the foot.  It makes no sense.

I stopped doing reviews and giveaways for awhile it was a lot of work and I really wanted to just write.  Now I work with a few companies forming a stronger connection with the products I talk about.

~Susan

http://lilmomthatcould.com/

http://authors

Great post, Liz. Honestly, I just don't get it. Why blog at all if all you're doing are "massively stressful" product reviews?

Shannon Entin
PHAT Mommy

I rarely, if ever, do reviews on my website.  I'm presented with them quite frequently; however, I'm very picky about what I present to my readers. As a blogger that respects and enjoys her readers, I have the right to be picky.  That said, I think the Blogger PR Blackout is basically ridiculous.

I'd just like to also point out that MomDot is the site that continuously misspells groceries as 'grocheries' ALL OVER THE WEBSITE. Avitable writes a grand post about it. 

http://www.shamelesslysassy.com

Great article.

Blogs are pretty capitalistic. If they're good, people read them, and they flourish. If they're bad, people stay away, and they either die or serve a niche. 

I don't read blogs that are all about reviews and promotions and giveaways. I find them horribly boring. I want content. Sure, I don't care if here and there a great content writer tells me about something she likes or shares a deal (I do that on my blog sometimes). But you can spot a blogger who's all about the PR stuff. Her one-track mind makes her stagnant and boring.

But she can be that way all she wants, what do I care? The joy of blogs is being able to write about whatever you want, and hoping someone connects with it. If her readers connect with reviews and giveaways, hooray. If a blogger finds herself not writing about what she wants, she should quit her whining and change things. It's as simple as that.

I do wish, however, that someone would suggest boycotting stupid memes for each day of the week. 

Amy B.

http://thebeedot.blogspot.com/ 

Bloggers were thrilled when PR people came calling.

Now they are telling them to back off & leave them alone for a week?

And, then they'll beg the PR people to come back, correct?

This kind of reminds me of how a celebrity will get super famous and then tell the public to leave him/her alone. But, oh, please come to my movie next week!

I would hope a blogger could figure out what they need and just announce they are taking a vacation from product reviews. I'm sure there are a zillion other bloggers willing to pick up the slack.

Fairly Odd Mother

http://fairlyoddmother.blogspot.com

How about a "write about great small businesses" week? Nothing paid, nothing for anyone who can afford PR.  if you're going to write about "stuff" or businesses, do it to build up your community.  I guarentee it is a lot more fun. 

It becomes more obvious the more trash comes our way and the more noise we hear, we are forced to look at what we are doing.
To have this amount of noise having aimed at us is not sustainable.
So it forces us also to look at what really counts and that is ultimately 'adding value'.

I am now only operating from that way, if it doesn't add value to everybody involved somebody looses and I won't play.

I am not a reviewer on my blog, never really knew that it existed, interesting insight but adding value counts for everybody in whatever you do, if you get paid for it or not.
Coming from adding value also makes my own life richer as it cuts out doing crappy things and it makes me feel I value ME more.

Wilma Ham

www.wilmasblog.com

I love that, Product Review Stress Syndrome.  There always has to be a syndrome, doesn't there?

Liz, you brought up some great points and as many other commenters have said, if you don't want to blog about something because it's stressing you out, don't do it!  Why do you have to wait for someone else to tell you not to do it?  Even if it's some kind of badly thought out "boycott."

I think the bigger issue here is women.  I'll try not to be too insulting here, but I think this is a classic case of women being overwhelmed and not being able to say, "No," or erect firm boundaries.

For example, I'm MommyBlogger X and I have six PR companies sending me stuff all the time.  Now that I have the free stuff I feel guilty if I don't write something about the stuff because after all I got it for free.  If I don't write a review of the product, the PR companies may not like me and the world will come to an end.

Add to that the idea that MommyBlogger X needs someone else to call a PR "boycott" for her to finally stop feeling guilty and write about what she wants instead of what she feels she has to and once again, women aren't coming off looking too good here.

Now of course, MommyBlogger X is a gross exaggeration, but I do think there's something here about women needing to be stronger when it comes to prioritizing and when it comes to managing blogging, business relationships.  

On the other hand, like you Liz, I quickly stop visiting blogs when I see that content has been replaced by PR shilling.   For some reason, that seems to happen a lot with entertainment blogs I visit and it doesn't make me happy. 

Megan
BlogHer Contributing Editor, TV/Online Video

Megan's Minute 

The more I think about it, the more I think More than Mommy has the right idea. By all means if a community of bloggers wants to take a week to reassess, together, what blogging means to them, do it. To blog about things they find more valuable than vacuum cleaners, amusement parks or whatever else they've been reviewing? Terrific.

Calling it a PR Blackout, as Liz and others have pointed out, implies that PR is somehow at fault for the feelings of burnout.

I'd like to lose 20 pounds. Having a hard time of it, but I will get there eventually. But I can't blame white wine, goat cheese and salt&vinegar chips  for my difficulties.

No one MAKES me eat and drink them. 

When i write about products, I try to write about stuff I love and really use and totally recommend. Or something gee whiz interesting. I figure that my readers don't really care about a sunscreen that I only kinda like or the food that tasted OK but is made from crappy ingredients.

Celebrate "new shit blackout week" by writing about junk you already own. Just a thought.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Heather Gibbs Flett
Co-founder & Editor, http://rookiemoms.com

CityMama wrote a simliar article and this was my comment:

Just press "delete" if you're not interested. If you feel like a slave, then stop or scale back.

I experienced "bloggy burnout" a few months ago and came to the
realization that if it isn't fun, it isn't worth it. Now, I only review
or speak about products I REALLY like and would talk to a friend about.
Products ARE a part of our real lives, so I don't fault anyone for
writing their opinions about them.

I enjoyed your post, and TOTALLY agree with all the points you made.

-Amy

Mom Spark

Mom Made That!

But I can't. Partially bc I'm too in awe of your awesome.

The other b/c I'm too busy lmao at "grocheries".

I blog because I like to write. That's the only reason. If it ever turned into more than that, I think I might hate it. But that's me.

It leaves a bad taste in my mouth... Something makes me think that MomDot wanted to take a break and didn't want to lose her PR.  What I mean is... if she takes a week off - PR may say, "hey there's many more bloggers in the blogoshpere".  PR could become disenchanted with her.  However, if she takes hundreds (not that I would think no where near that many would be joining her in this boycott) with her, then she still has some PR pull.

Another thing that does not sit well is her ulterior motive (imho) of getting more recognition and traffic to her and her site.  And that is exactly what's happened.

If you are burned out you should take a break.  For any blogger that is not enjoying what they are doing, or it has become a chore and too stressful - should by all means take a break.  But calling in the troops to rally with her just doesn't seem right.

I really wish she wouldn't give other real mommy bloggers a bad name.