I spoke my piece, reassuring the filled-to-capacity room that I had nothing against product reviews (hey, I've done a few) or giveaways, but that I felt that basic integrity demands we disclose if a product has been given to us for free. And if a blogger's been paid to write a post or do a giveaway, it should be treated as an ad. Because that's what it is.
Honestly, I thought my feelings were pretty mainstream. Not any more. The women in the room were afraid to post negative reviews. Even posting constructive criticism was avoided. They were terrified of pissing off the PR folks and stopping the flow of goodies. And besides, writing a product review or hosting a giveaway was hard work. They deserved to be compensated for their work on behalf of brands. An interesting argument, but if you're turning yourself into a freelance copywriter, isn't it a little unfair to your readers to post as just another regular, trustworthy mom? I am an advertising copywriter, but I'd never recommend shampoo to a friend without mentioning I work on the account.
Where BlogHer 07 was a kind of geeky gathering of babywearers and girls in horn-rimmed glasses who dreamed of making the jump from blog to book, BlogHer 09 was a chaotic, whorish dance of brands and bloggers. The Expo Hall heaved with activity. Tide brought Tim Gunn. Walmart had Paula Deen. Rick Bayless appeared on behalf of the Pork board. Ronald McDonald, Mr. Potatohead and the Michelin Man posed with women weighed down with bags and bags of swag.
There was the official BlogHer swag bag. Expo Hall swag. Session swag. Party swag. Suite swag. I got a obscene amount of free stuff, and I'm not complaining. I like free stuff. But apparently it brings out the worst in some people. I saw women shove others aside, lunging for more free shit.
And as if the endless free samples, Strawberry Shortcake-sponsored Mommyblogging sessions and Ragu-branded lunch break (I'm sorry, but yuck!) weren't enough, the Blogher09 Twitter stream was just as cluttered with sponsored messages. When a blogger who calls herself Marketing Mommy is fed up, you know it's bad.
Yes, those are D-List Mom Blogger stickers on our table centerpiece
But enough about what I didn't like. Here are my top 9 memories from the past 3 days.
1. Hanging out with fellow D-Lister Sara, who boasted the conference's cutest baby bump.
2. Finally meeting Rookie Mom Whitney in person, after feeling like I've known her since I was pregnant with A. Lunch at Fox & Obel was 100 times more delicious than the Ragu glop I'd eaten the day before.
That's us
3. The Community Keynote. If there was ever any doubt that bloggers are writers, this forum should have put that misconception to rest forever.
4. Hanging out with fellow Chicago Moms Blog writers at the SV Moms party on Thursday.
5. Friday night parties with Jeanne. I let her beat me at a racing game at the EA party at the House of Blues, but I beat her at both drinks consumed and number of items dipped into the chocolate fountain at the Mommy Needs a Cocktail party.
6. Introducing Jeanne to Whitney and the other Rookie Mom, Heather, only to find out that she grew up practically next door to Whitney and went to college with Heather. Small world!
7. Meeting another Alma. I'm 33, and this is the first time I've ever talked to someone who shares my first name.
That's me on the left, Alma on the right
8. Sharing my cache of D-List Mom Blogger stickers with the handful of attendees who were there for themselves and weren't tweeting about their Yummie Tummie tank tops and Lord knows what else.
9. Seeing Liz, Kirsten and Magda in person. These bloggers have integrity. Magda (aka Ask Moxie) performs a public service to parents everywhere and Liz and Kristen know how to work with sponsors and do it in a way that doesn't sacrifice their integrity or voice.
10. Going home every night to Oak Park. From a Thursday late night birthday party for my next door neighbor to Saturday's block party (complete with wading pools, tropical cocktails and a live band), it was refreshing to escape for a check of reality. Heather Spohr closed out the Community Keynote by saying her IRL friends and her bloggy friends are one and the same. I'm not quite there yet.
32 comments:
i didn't get to that session and was very bummed about it. i am extremely mixed on the whole sponsor/unsponsor thing. but whichever way you stand, just be true to yourself! that's what blogging is all about anyways, right?
blogher was incredible. i wrote a post about it too. the good, bad and drunk. i found it to be a little disillusioning. but amazing still!
great post.
Interesting account of Blogher 09. It's the 1st one that I have read so far. I too will never be a A-list blogger..also way far from having more then 100 readers in my RSS feed.
I admire your truthful account of the occassion.
You've given me so much to think about, Alma. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I can see both sides and just hope that my actions show my integrity in reviews.
I didn't get to the sponsored/unsponsored session because of heavy planning going on in a suite... LOL
I agree with you that a paid post is no longer an independent post, it is an advertisement. And all you have to do is say so, and then go on with the review. But no one seems to want to do that, as if admitting that it's paid or sponsored is somehow going to make them look bad and no one's going to listen to them anymore.
Yes, admitting that you got paid to do a post/review is going to change things for some people. And to be honest, if I see a blog that is nothing but paid/sponsored posts, I'm going to pass it over for the next blog. But if I see a blog that is mostly really great content, with a sprinkling of reviews and paid content, then I'll keep reading it. Because being a Totally Broke Mom (TM) :) I completely understand the need to make a bit of $$ wherever you can. Because I'm there myself.
Getting sponsored post assignments is really, really easy. And that's why so many people are doing it. They want easy money. It's getting creative and finding new ways to get sponsors and PR people involved that's hard, but when you come up with something fresh and new, the PR people love it. LOVE IT. I learned that at BlogHer...
The swag-induced hysteria was disturbing. To be frank, if you're going to shell out upwards of $1000 or more to go to a conference just to get the swag... you're an idiot. Because that swag? I could have bought for a whole lot less than most people paid to go to BlogHer with the conference pass, flights, and hotel fees added up. I'm lucky in that BlogHer didn't cost me a penny, but I still wasn't cut-throat about the swag like some of the women I saw were.
Having attended BlogHer last year I too noticed a BIG difference. Watching women push/shove for swag bags was so sad.
Very interesting account, and I'm glad you weighed in with both the good & the bad.
This was my 1st BlogHer and I thought the amount of swag was astounding! I thought it was over the top in some cases, but I was happy to accept. I mean hey, a new pair of name brand flip flops is fantastic etc. I understand & appreciate the folks who don't accept such swag on a moral ground, but don't share their sentiments.
I have to say though that everyone's experience of the conference is so different. Other than some extremely rude lady who I saw actually snag two bags & RUN at the 704 party and some heavy duty pushing at same said party(which was set up in the lobby with no way for those poor ladies to man the swag table in a controlled manner) I didn't see a lot of rudeness.
I heard rumors of various and sundry drama, rudeness and such, but maybe I was just lucky enough to be in a circle where that wasn't as prevalent.
I am so sorry I missed that panel. I would have stood proudly with you as someone who thinks taking money for a review is wrong. Especially if that review isn't actually a balanced review at all, but a one-sided psa for your sponsor.
This is EXACTLY what the FCC has a problem with. I don't blame them one bit.
But seriously, who reads these blogs? Do you trust a review that's not actually a review? The whole world is bizarre to me.
I am SOOOO glad to read this post this morning! I had high hopes for my first BlogHer this year. And there were a lot of good things and I had fun. It wasn't what I expected though and some of the reasons are thx to issues much like you've described. I don't get all into the sponsored/not sponsored etc stuff, cause I'm not in blogging to make money. I do book reviews occasionally (and am very clear about what I get out of it) but I blog for ME. I went to BlogHer for ME. I wanted to make some blog friends IRL too, but I don't really feel like I got that out of it. Good thing I already have great real life friends, lol!
It was so great to meet you in person. And I'm glad we were able to sit and chat in quiet and with disinfected cell phones at the Method suite! It was definitely one of the few high points of the conference.
You're lovely.
I'm really sorry that I wasn't there to see you again. Of course, I'm not sure anything could top our afternoon chocolate break at Ethel's last year. ;)
I {heart} you and am so bummed we didn't meet. I was with Sara outside of the Twitter session you attended (saw the back of your head) but that is as close as I got. You were on my list of "must meets" and I failed!
So glad you wrote this post. I was certainly embarassed by some of the behaviors I saw this weekend and some of the sentiment expressed about blogging/reviews/etc.
Thank you so much for confirming what I feared while reading my Twitter feed. Happy I chose not to attend, sad I didn't go a couple years ago. The commodification of "mommy bloggers" has been so sad to watch. Again, thanks.
Hey there Marketing Mommy! Sorry I didn't get to meet you at Blogher. I too was dismayed by the sponsor overkill & swag-mania. This was my first Blogher and I had no idea what a crazy marketing-fest it would be. I wonder how we can help to bring balance back to Blogher?
I didn't attend this year, but if I'd been in that panel, I would have agreed with you. As a former editor-turned-FUNemployed, I think taking payment for writing about a product/service without saying so is wrong.
Alma,
I've never gone to BlogHer but, know lots of women who have in past years. I had a bad suspicion about this. I'm glad you posted this and also very surprised to see that you were the only one in the room who had that opinion.
It kind of sickens me that events like BlogHer which are supposed to help bring women together sharing their personal talents and experiences and be a great social and learning experience have to be tainted by corporate sponsorship.
I refuse to do product reviews. I state this on my site. I'm personally insulted that companies believe I would gab about their products for free in exchange for more stuff or nothing at all. That's advertising and you have to pay to place ads in nearly all publications, both online and in print. I like to keep things editorially independent for a reason.
I applaud local business innovators, but that's where I draw the line.
Good to see that you got some fun out of the conference, however.
Christine
Wow, I've not seen so much attention paid to bloggers by brands.
Wish I was a mommy blogger. :0)
Hi Alma,
Like you, I was dismayed by the swag-related dynamics, and like you wrote about it on my own blog, AuthenticOrganizations.com.
One issue I didn't mention in my post but plan to write about in the next week or two is how the commercial dynamics around linking advertisers to mombloggers (mostly) left those of us who blog about other/non-mom things and/or for different purposes out in the cold.
The wasn't anyone offering me free Stuff to write about the quality of leadership in their organization-- not that I'd have taken their stuff... (grin).
But the swag dynamics were/remain distressing on many levels. thanks for your views from the marketing side. cv
Bummed I didn't get to meet you.
Great account of events, and I'm so glad we got to hang out!
Alma, I'm glad you stood up for what you believed. There's room for different opinions and different ways to blog. I don't always agree with Lucretia, but support her 200% because she puts a lot of thought and soul into what she says.
Like we talked about in the session, it's your blog to do with what you want. Blog with integrity, listen to your gut reaction when asked to do X or Y, think about what you believe in and how your blog represents your values. And understand what worked for you awhile back, may not be the way to go - we can change our minds.
Also, I believed we all thought transparency was important, no matter what. And that some bloggers need the money from sponsored posting because they desparately need the funds and the freebies to make ends meet for their families.
It's about having respect for other's opinions and being professional, too. You're a great example of that and I'm glad you were able to come to the panel and write about it here.
Very good post. I loved the D List stickers.
I wish there was a way I could have been two places at once last weekend...goodness knows I tried! Thanks for the recap...and it was fun to party with you. :)
I did not attend Blogher, and I don't do product reviews, so this is purely an outside view...
Doesn't the Blogher organization hold some accountability for the newly prevalent brand focus? I keep reading all the blame lumped on "the new people" and "the greedy bloggers."
Haven't previous years' attendees created an insider culture of parties and swag--one that many more bloggers than ever were able to buy tickets to?
What about the design of the session topics? Who profits from the sale of booth space and luncheon sponsorship?
Something tells me it's not the mommies coming home with keychains.
The controversy about marketing to/through mommy bloggers got picked up by NPR's All Things Considered last night. I'd read your post earlier in the day and hoped that you'd be quoted in the story. Too bad you weren't.
The NPR story is at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111083779
In any event, I very much agree with you. Indeed, I'm surprised people seem so conflicted about such things.
Christine,
In fairness to Blogher, I don't think this experience was so much "tainted by corporate sponsorship" - which has always been present at the conference - but tainted by people's interaction with it.
One awesome thing about BlogHer is that they take feedback to heart. No doubt next year there will be some changes on this front.
At first I thought the "Blog with Integrity" movement (http://www.blogwithintegrity.com/) was unnecessary overkill - doesn't everyone strive for integrity - or at least think they do? Then I read this post and was floored by the roomful of writers who had no qualms about trying to disguise that they are in the ad business. Disturbing.
Sister, I was in that session with you and I didn't understand the question. I think it was phrased, "who thinks its ok to make money for writing?"
But I agree with you fully. Can we still be friends? IRL?
Hey! I met you and SelfMadeMom at SocialLuxe (her comment on my blog eventually led me over here!). Just so you know, so you don;t feel totally alone, you were actually NOT the only one who raised your hand, but my hand was attached to my body, which was in the back of the room, on the floor. That session was REEDONKULOUS. I could not believe some of the BS that was being spewed. Loved YOUR comments.
oh, and I also agree with you on the atrocious amounts of swag AND the Ragu glop. Wow, that was nasty.
great post!
Hi Alma,
I really wish we had met in Chicago. I couldn't agree more about disclosure and transparency for reviews or giveaways.
I'm glad you thought there was good stuff too :) The challenge Elisa, Jory and I are facing is how to manage the parts of the BlogHer experience that are actually under our control -- and to clarify what we don't. In addition to recommending this post to the team, which I will do, I would really love it if you could take a few minutes to share your advice here: BlogHer '09: We're Listening and Here's What We're Mulling Over.
And that invitation goes to everyone in this conversation!
Thanks -
Lisa Stone
Thanks for this Alma. I'm still digesting what I experienced at my first BlogHer. It was thoroughly overwhelming.
I had many of the same concerns and highlights. I felt like Lisa Stone had the new FTC Rules explanation down pat by the end of the conference, but that it still wasn't getting through to many who didn't understand why it was OK to accept freebies or compensation and NOT disclose.
Next year, let's have some ethics courses and/or some sessions on rights and responsibilities. I personally heard a bunch of panelists either dodge or give wrong answers to questions about use of photos, permissions, etc. Scary actually.
Of course, I'm biased, but I'd also like to see some SPJ-ish session on citizen journalism, because many of these women would be formidable citizen reporters with just a little nurturing. Talk about some powerful writers.
That Community Keynote and the amazing creativity I was exposed to during the conference were my highlights.
I agree I think paying a blogger to write a review is advertising. As a reader I generally don't read those reviews because chances are if the blogger was paid to write the review they are automatically going to love the product and more than likely the company paying her is going to stipulate that she say specific things about the product...just like writing ad copy.
I don't get this writing and reviewing products is harder and more work than other blog writing. I write a lot of tutorials on my blog and those posts aren't any different writing wise than testing and writing a review. Actually, I when I test and review products I think it's a little easier than my tipster and tutorial. I suppose the "hard part" may come into play when a blogger feels that they must write a positive post about a lackluster product, because lying is hard work.
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