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Although I could easily recount a hundred fabulous things about this year's BlogHer conference, I have largely avoided discussing what I felt to be a pervasive undercurrent amongst some of the non-parent attendees. Although (for me) that was but a tiny piece of my overall experience, it was there. And it was this: Who cares about stupid mommyblogging? Why is mommyblogging the hot thing right now? Now there's entire companies advertising on mommyblogs? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard.
I have my own opinions about the answers to those questions (plenty of people; perhaps because the majority of adult humans either are or have parents, and there are a lot of really interesting people out there blogging about it; yes there is, and it's called marketing where the iron is hot), but I'm just delighted to see that the argument about blogging and advertising has landed squarely on the mommyblogger segment. Because heaven knows it's bad enough that we're out there blogging about our kids as if they're somehow interesting, but now we're making money off of it? Well, there you have it. Proof of all that's wrong with the world, right there.
Okay, maybe no one said it quite that way. (Actually, some people did, but I'll try to stick to those who make more direct points for the purposes of this discussion.)
And there's no disputing the fact that some people believe deep down in the cockles of their idealistic little hearts that blogging is blogging and business is business and never the twain shall meet. Bloggers, this faction avers, should never ever blog for money, lest they sully their authenticity. (I have often wondered if those people believe that novelists who publish have similarly compromised themselves, but that's another topic for another day.) What is interesting to me, now, is that the focus on mommyblogging has brought out the naysayers who seem to want those involved to feel an extra measure of guilt. After all, we're moms. Just like with raising our children, we should apparently be blogging purely out of love and selflessness.
Liz of Mom-101 is taking the critics to task with her usual mix of savvy and humor:
Interestingly, there's one consistent phrase that I've seen in both kinds of discussions, either by the author or the commenter. And that's the idea that those who disdain blog ads, do so in part because they make me buy products I don't need.
I had no idea we were so powerful. Neither did Liz.
Now personally, I would loooove to know which blog ad--the majority of which are poorly designed, and show a complete lack of understanding of the blog audience in both content and style--has that ability. Because if I knew it, I would be rich. Rich beyond my wildest dreams. So rich that I could buy you each ponies, and then ponies for the ponies, because hell, even ponies must dream of having their own ponies. And then we'd ride off together on our ponies (these are very sturdy ponies), with our ponies' ponies in tow, headed right for Canyon Ranch, where the Bali Spice Body Mask and Hot Stone Massages are on me.
One of the posts that prompted Liz's discussion was this piece by Jen of MUBAR about how blogging as a whole is changing, and not for the better:
The idea of being paid to blog certainly is a seductive one and one I've considered strongly. And I certainly do not think badly of any blogger who receives remuneration for her work (in fact, I think that as more and more people get paid to blog, it will become more democratic and less a hobby of the middle and upper middle classes). But one of the great things about the blogosphere in its infancy is that is was free from advertising and corporate meddling. It offered us something that other media channels didn't. Those days, I fear, are all but gone. (And yes, I've read all of the verbiage about advertisers not having an impact on content. But their patronage does complicate the blog conversation just a little, because it's a little like trying to have a serious conversation with a good friend with a guy from P&G sitting in the corner, taking notes.)
Content used to read as raw and fresh, no one was trying to sell you something or increase their site traffic. There was collaboration among bloggers, not competition, because, well, there was nothing to compete over. But now,
