Why did you start blogging? My views on the New York Times article

Excuse me if this gets long!

As I browse around the web and join new mom sites sometimes the questionnaires ask “When did you get started blogging?” and “Why did you get started blogging?”. Well, it’s not so cut and dry for me to pinpoint when or why. You see, I had a site back when sites were html and you had to go through hell to update your content. Before I even had a site for me, I had a site dedicated to Prince! Yes, I was a huge fan. I had attended a few concerts, so my site had pics or scans of my memorabilia, talked about all the records (yes, vinyl!) that I had, and plenty of pics of the purple one himself!

Before I blogged about having kids, I was on iVillage sharing my struggles with other moms on there. No one around me in real life understood what I was going through with my miscarriage struggles and a conversation with a friend or family member usually ended in me feeling like crap because they just did not know what to say. But on the internet it was easy to find a targeted group of women that just got it. They had been there, done that, they understood my feelings, they had success stories, and overall they knew what to say to make me feel a little bit better. Many of these women are still friends today. So getting into blogging was a natural progression as the internet changed.

I did not really start writing on a “blog” until 2005 when I found out that I was pregnant with my 2nd set of twins. I didn’t post often, and I always forgot to check the site and make sure that it was running, and check comments! I posted plenty of pics of the babies when they were born, but still did not “blog” much. Eventually, I started blogging about my true addiction, computers and gadgets and i think I got carried away from there. I did not start blogging to make money.

Back then there was no big hype over mom bloggers, there was no PR type stuff, no giveaways, etc. There were just a bunch of moms sharing their whoas with other moms that understood.  And for the most part, that still happens. But enter the world of PR and mom blogging has become a whole different animal. And this of course causes critics to have something to say. There are of course haters, and there are those that think this is a good thing. I think it’s all about balance. I do some paid posts as you see, but I turn down a lot. I only except paid posts and pitches that fit in with my blog. I know that I have a hybrid blog here, 80% tech geek stuff, 20% mom stuff, so I try to keep that mix with paid posts too!  And if I read it and don’t like it, I will NOT post about it! And if I do choose to post about it, I am going to be honest.

There is an article causing a bunch of stink that was published by the New York Times a couple of days ago that made mom bloggers all over cringe. I cringed at just the title which is “Honey, Don’t Bother Mommy. I’m Too Busy Building My Brand”. Wow. Read that and you imagine starving, neglected kids running around suburban households all over because Mommy won’t pay attention to them. She actually wrote a fairly decent article that had a couple of good points, but overall the tone was very, very negative and that title… well you see it.

Is it really a terrible thing that tons of stay at home moms have found a way to make some money on the web while still balancing family? I’m not one of these folks. I work a full time job too! But I have to admit that do envy those that do! I don’t see that happening for me any time soon either. I blog for fun, I blog cause I like sharing useful info, and if I make some change here and there… good for me! And good for you if you do it too.

Danielle Wiley of Edelman Digital wrote a pretty good post that really sums it up in a nice way. “Mommy bloggers” are getting a bad name just because we are moms. The stereotype now is that we sit around conferences braiding each others hair and drinking while talking about the fastest way to make money. In reality, for most of these moms blogging IS their business, so they have every right to want to know how to be better at their business, don’t they?

When dads bring home work, they are committed and career driven, when a mom does it, she is neglecting her family. Hmm…

Can’t we all just get along?

LittleTechGirl

Kris Cain is mom to 2 sets of twins, photography nut, gadget addict, web designer, and blogger who has worked in IT for over 13 years. Twitter and Facebook. Kris figured out a while ago that she was destined to be really busy (hence the 2 sets of twins), and she has found peace with that. Read More

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