Mommy Bloggers

by Suzanne Robertson

I found myself attending a grown up cocktail party (child free!) populated by stylish singletons sipping martinis by an ungated pool. No one seemed alarmed by second hand smoke, uncovered electrical outlets or possible black widow webs under the snow white patio furniture (white furniture?!?). Excited to have something to say outside of answering the obligatory “how are the kids?” questions, I bragged about my new writing gig for eGuiders. But when I started describing the topic for my 1st article, eyes began to glaze. “Ugggg” shouted a mean queen. “You lost me at mommy bloggers. Talk to me at bedtime so you can lull me to sleep!”

Ok, I get it. If you’re not in the parent club, talk of children and child related things is excruciatingly boring. But the universal unifier for women is motherhood and the mommy brigade has a strong and growing on-line voice. Moms across the United States and beyond are somehow finding the time and energy to post video blogs on topics ranging from political (Prop 8, Sarah Palin, the auto bailout) to the mundane (bedtime and pacifiers) to the titillating (should boobs be shown on facebook?).

The cream of the mommy blogging crop is momversation.com. The site is organized in an easy to navigate (for bleary-eyed, pre-coffee mommies), entertaining and informative format. Viewers can watch, interact and post their own videos – makeup and hair not required. Rob Morhaim, General Manager and Executive Producer of Momversation, tells how mothers, the internet and blogging came together in November ’08 to become an exciting online community for moms around the world. “We watched the popular website Cool Mom (coolmom.com), where Daphne Brogdon posted video blogs. Viewer feedback and our observations of the mom-blog world made it pretty clear there was an opportunity to create a more expansive video show for moms with a broad range of voices. We decided to gather the most influential authors in the mommy blogosphere and put them in an entertaining and informative video format so readers could watch and interact.” Momversation brings together outspoken bloggers to talk about issues that affect them as women and mothers. The cast includes Heather Armstrong from the wildly popular dooce.com, Daphne Brogdon of coolmom.com, Rebecca Woolf of girlsgonechild.net and Alice Bradley of finslippy.com. Momversation’s blogosphere is growing daily and has been featured by the NYTimes' Motherlode and CNN’s Newsroom. A hallmark of online success, Momversation is now sponsored by a major national retailer.

Here’s Momversation’s most recent episode titled “Punishing Your Children.” As you might imagine, the title alone assures viewers that a variety of disciplines (passionate spankers vs. more passionate non-spankers) will be discussed and comments will be spicy!

Judging from the flurry of community comments, this episode from December 11th was a hot topic. “Should I have another child?” sparked many side questions including “How can you tell when it's time to add to your family?” and “Are kids missing out by being an only child?"

Do you live in a divided household? Maybe you’re excited about the new administration but hubby, not-so-much? Republican vs. Democrat, liberal vs. conservative, passionately political vs. non-voter? If you love someone with different views, you’ll relate to Momversation’s “I Love You, But I Hate Your Politics.”

Morhaim continues, “In addition to video, the Momversation site is also a growing and vibrant community of passionate users. We'll be adding more voices to the mix in 2009, as well as releasing some more features on the site that will make it more interactive.”

Momversation is a positive place – celebrating the ups and downs of parenthood. But if you want to hear from some pissed off mommies, Google “Motrin Controversy.” Motrin, the inarguably go-to pain reliever for cramping moms or feverish kids, ran a kicky online ad. The “Motrin Mom-alogue” addressed mothers who need relief from back pain caused by carrying – or wearing – babies in a sling. Motrin was clearly trying to be funny but…

It's only fifty seconds but WOW did mommies get pissed. Blogs, Vlogs, YouTube and Twitter were abuzz with protests from Moms who thought the ad trivialized women’s pain and mocked baby carrying. Motrin is made by healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson – producers of baby shampoo, Band-Aids and many other parent-targeted products – who obviously do not want to anger their core consumers. A testament to the strength of online moms, J & J swiftly issued an apology and immediately pulled the ad.

It may be hard to believe that “unemployed” coupon clipping mommies are a strongly influential consumer group. But just visit any playground and you can eavesdrop on moms comparing health coverage, critiquing a new TV show or recommending family friendly vacation spots. Their little crumb crunchers are adorned in Disney-licensed clothing and play alongside Prego strollers and Little Tikes toys.

One savvy mom has founded a grassroots marketing company that harnesses the online power of “stay-at-home” moms. Liza Lowenberg, President of Miles of Marketing, says, “Mothers live love to talk, compare, and share. M.O.M. uses that power to get our clients maximum coverage through word of mouth, online postings, samples and signage.” Moms may be missed by traditional advertising (they listen to Disney Radio instead of grown-up airwaves, watch Nickelodeon in place of network television and read bedtime stories instead of….well, anything) but they are using cutting edge technology to network and promote products, personalities and services that aim to capture their huge buying power. Lowenberg continues, “An advertisement, coupon or discount might speak to a mom. However, if a product is recommended and demonstrated organically at a playgroup it is more likely to end up in the shopping cart.”

Another recent scandal-of-sorts showcased parents’ networking power. Facebook ignited anger and united nursing moms around the globe when the free social site pulled user-uploaded breastfeeding photos due to violation of their “Terms of Use” (obscene?). The Mothers International Lactation Campaign (MILC, cute, huh?) was launched. The online Facebook group is over 160,000 members strong and features 25 videos protesting the photo removal. MILC even spurned an offline “public nursing” outside of Facebook’s Palo Alto headquarters. Now I’m no fan of nipples in public but surly the powers that be at Facebook and elsewhere are taking notice.

Bottom line? You may not be a member of the mom squad but don’t discount their strong voice. And if you’re a mom, log on and start listening. You might discover that you have a lot to say too!
 

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