In what I am sure the mommyblogging crew will call a ‘hit-piece’ the LA Times has a full length article on how mommybloggers are being wined and dined by some of the giant food companies.
It is no wonder given some of the examples outline in the post by P.J. Huffstutter and Jerry Hirsch that the FTC has decided that bloggers need to play by a different set of disclosure rules than traditional media – even though I am sure that if we dug hard enough we’d find the same thing happening, only quieter. From flying them to meet celebrities to putting them up in posh hotels while making sure their families get the finest steaks for the time mommy is gone food conglomerates are trying to milk social media for all it can.
For all this exclusive treatment companies are hoping for good Twittering and blog posting of their products which in most cases they get – in spades. Because as one mommyblogger, Christine Young, puts it:
“My business is not to bash companies,” said Young, 32, who lives in the Sacramento area. “My business is to create buzz for the products and services we enjoy.”
This is why she has a closet full of free baby products she never wrote about. It would seem that the old adage of never biting the hand that feed you has taken root. Sorry, but if you aren’t willing to write about the bad just as you do about the good then you are nothing but a shill.
It is this type of blogging that has created a real rift in the blogging world and has given many the opinion that we’re all in it for the freebies that companies are willing to send our way. The fact is that not all companies are willing to be so exuberant is handing over products and neither are all bloggers willing to give companies a pass when their products suck.
I would like to believe that these types of bloggers are only a small minority within the larger blogosphere but believing something and dealing with reality is two different things. In many cases the bloggers I know don’t need to be forced into providing disclosures nor would they hesitate at writing a fair and balanced post about any product they may have gotten to review.
If you are going to do nothing but write high praises about all the stuff you have gotten for free don’t call yourself a blogger of any kind – you’re a shill. Period.
It’s all about – honesty
Guess what – being an income making blogger isn’t cut & dry
Luckily, Christine Young’s view was not the view of ALL of the bloggers quoted in the L.A. Times article. The article noted that Andrea Deckard, the mommyblogger quoted at the beginning of the article, “is up front with her readers about such trips.” In addition, the article quotes from Liz Gumbinner, who has set up a group called Blog With Integrity.
Frankly, I wish the Christine Youngs of the world would follow the examples set by people such as Chris Brogan, Loren Feldman, and Julia Roy, who have done sponsored posts with full disclosure, and whose sponsored posts were synchronized with their general interests (the one I saw by Feldman, for example, concerned video equipment, something in which he would obviously be interested). And people such as Brogan, Roy, and especially Feldman are not shy about saying that they don’t like something.
John E. Bredehoft´s last blog ..GE – we bring good things to…well, to everyone else
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It’s unfortunate that what I said was painted here in a such a horrible light, as I couldn’t be further from a company shill. The reason why I have “a closet-full of free product” – which happens to have been items we’ve since donated – is because I refused to recommend them to my readers as items we love, free or not. I have addressed this issue, at length, on my blog – http://www.fromdatestodiapers.com/2009/11/mom-bloggers-big-brands.html.
Christine Young´s last blog ..Mom Bloggers and Big Brands
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First off I just want to say thanks for stopping by Christine and adding your side of the story.
I am glad you disclose but I guess where I had a problem with what you said, and probably the reason I directly pointed to it, was that you say nothing when you are given a product to review and for whatever reason you don’t like it.
Aren’t you in effect cheating your readers out of valuable information by which they can make a fair and informed choice but not also writing about those items in the closet?
An in part aren’t you also cheating the company by not offering a negative response to their product. Products only get better if companies know what they are doing wrong.
By limiting yourself to just positive and glowing blog posts about products might ingratiate yourself to the company but in the long run you are only going to face more questions like this both from readers and I would bet – the companies themselves.
Furthermore, John, it is evident you have never visited my blog or you would know that I do disclose on each post when I have received products, services, trips, etc. I pride myself on being open and honest with my readers and do not withhold that information from them.
Christine Young´s last blog ..Mom Bloggers and Big Brands
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Christine, after Steven wrote his follow-up post, I did revisit your blog and found your disclosure statement. In my follow-up post on the matter, I said (in part):
And it should be noted that Young does disclose. For example, if you look at her October post about the upcoming FTC guidelines, and scroll to the lower right of the post, you will see a disclosure statement, as well as a link to a disclosure page….
Now voluntary pledges and FTC enforcement won’t result in a perfect world. For every Liz Gumbinner or Chris Brogan or Loren Feldman or Julia Roy or (I’m eating my own words here) Christine Young, there are going to be people who take money or goods on the sly and don’t mention it in their glowing praise.
But it’s a start.
My apologies.
As for the fact that you choose not to discuss your negative reactions to products, that does not bother me in the same way that it bothers Steven. There are blogs (and TV shows) that only present positive views, and there are ones that only present negative views, and there are some that present both. I don’t believe that blogs and shows that only present one point of view are necessarily dishonest.
John E. Bredehoft´s last blog ..Revisiting Christine Young, and Blog(ing) With Integrity
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What she fails to mention, and what should always be pointed out, is that MSM journalists often share the same perks, if not more.
Getting flown to events, put up in nice hotels and indulged is standard fare for the industry. Does journalists doing it make it right? probably not, but the same standards should and must be applied to all.
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[...] been thinking about this whole LA Times mommyblogger thing since posting my initial reaction to it earlier today and I wanted to highlight what I think is one of the most important things when [...]
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Hey Steven…
… Had I been not so busy this week, I would have probably said as much in the email you sent me before the post went up, but the LAT are known for reality-skewing hit pieces. I would have urged you to be cautious before going off, simply because taking the LAT perspective at face value has blown up in the faces of many’a friend.
That said, I still firmly believe that the FTC should back the fuck out of our business, even if the worst of the column should be believed, since I have a right to fail publicly, should I want to. Scroom. If I want to push my reputation to the breaking point, that’s my friggin’ prerogative. Screw the government for trying to stop me.
Also, there’s this: if not reporting on every negative free offer you get is “blogola”, than Mashable is the king of that. You know that we were regularly told that if we had a review to do and it was horribly negative, just to not do the post altogether.
Pete’s been quoted publicly saying that he prefers the tone of the blog to be positive overall, and stuff that we thing sucks should just be avoided rather than negatively reviewed.
Not making comments as to the wisdom of that policy, just pointing it out.
Mark “Rizzn” Hopkins´s last blog ..You Just Never Go Full Retard
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[...] next month. This past weekend there were a variety of pieces written about mommy bloggers. Steven Hodson takes a look at the issue and notes, “If you are going to do nothing but write high praises about all the [...]
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