New to SITS? Welcome!! Go read this to get started.
So, we interrupt our regularly scheduled feature today to talk about something.
Today is NOT about roll call, but it is about support.
For those of you who haven’t heard or read, the New York Times ran a piece this Sunday about mommy bloggers.
And, about Bloggy Boot Camp.
It’s titled Honey, Don’t Bother Mommy, I am too Busy Building My Brand {we thought long and hard about even linking to it, as even though Tiffany is referred to AND quoted, SITS has no link, plus, the last thing we want to do is give them page views. BUT, you deserve to form an opinion with all the info.}
Below we have linked up some of the responses to the article.
We encourage you to take the time and read the posts and comment. Become part of the conversation.
Tiffany Honey, I Just Want to Connect Women.
Heather It’s Heather-speak, for “I’m a little miffed.”
Jessica Gottlieb Don’t Bother Mommy, She’s Rabid Right Now.
Liz, Mom 101 Honey, Don’t Bother Mommy, I am writing a Mildly Annoyed Letter to the NY Times.
Kelby Carr Newspaper Bias Against Mom Bloggers
Mama Kat Honey, Don’t Bother with the NY Times. They Are Too Busy Slamming Your Mommy.
Angela England Blogging and Motherhood- Success is Not Limited to One or the Other.
Francesca, Mayhem & Moxie And Then There Was the Time I Sounded Like an Ass in the New York Times.
We know there are even more well-written responses out there – in fact, there is an entire facebook group dedicated to this topic.
So there you have it.
Of course, tomorrow, we return to our regularly scheduled Featured Blogger!
We adore you all.
Big Time.
xoxo
As a recent convert to Buddhism, I have learned that happiness is wanting what you have. So don’t focus on the fact that you don’t have the approval of one clearly unhappy journalist out there. Focus on the fact that you have thousands of moms, writers and women out there who think you have done something amazing for each and every one of us. Thanks! And be happy in all that you have done.
Today’s post: Easter Buckets at http://www.bylittlehands.com
Have a wonderful evening SITS friends!
Come by and check out my new plates for the wall.
REad the article and I couldn’t even handle it!!! I told my husband and he wanted to know if the journalist even looked at the blogs that are written…UGH
.-= Morgan´s last post: Easy Chicken Tostadas and two mistakes…I’m learning..UGH =-.
Twitter: star4Laughs
says:
Just got home from work. I’ve been reading everyone’s tweets about this article all day. I’m anxious to read it for myself!
Baby must have known it was monday- craaaaabby!
.-= Better Than We Could Pray For´s last post: I Saw the Sign =-.
As a member of SITS, and a veteran of the 1st SITScation in Vegas – I whole heartedly support every single one of you bloggers out there …mom’s or not!
We (bloggers) are the new black!!
although the original article was a crappy title, a little notoriety is better than none at all! I bet you {sic} all had oodles of new page views and hits on your sites!
.-= Swirl Girl´s last post: An Open Letter to the Maker of Her Ruby Slippers =-.
HI ya gals!!! Go SITS! Come see my giveaway! It’s the last day to enter (well tomorrow is really). It’s SO cute–from Twigglebox!
.-= Shaunell´s last post: Little Girl’s Hairstyles — Twiggle Box Giveaway! =-.
Sounds like the NY times is a bit upset that they are losing readers to what they see as women less educated, less experienced and less elite than they.
It’s easy to ask other people to share their wealth, but when it’s required of the liberal media to share theirs….What out, they’re not goin’ down without a fight!
They make it sound like its a bad thing to stay home with your kids and be a mom. Wow. I think its amazing what you ladies with babies/kids do, I love reading your stories.
.-= Juliana’s PCOS Journey´s last post: Weigh In Wars =-.
It is STILL raining!!
I read that article and I thought it was a real slap in the face. I have “met” an amazing bunch of women in this crazy world of blogging, many right here from this amazing site. Continue to do what you do….we can’t ALL be wrong in thinking you are pretty amazing….so screw her and continue right on being you.
grrrrr – this one gets me going! I need to write a post on it! (Today I did a giveaway though so come check it out!)
http://iheartbowheads.blogspot.com
Cannot get used to the time change yet – I’m getting to old for this!!
Hey, come check out my jewelry giveaway -
http://lynetteslam.blogspot.com/2010/03/touch-of-glass-giveaway.html
What I have been impressed with is all the blog posts in support of SITS today. You ladies are amazing and an inspiration to those of us at the beginning of our blogging journeys. I am even more excited for the Phoenix bootcamp now!!
Yeah SITS!! I wish you would come to OKC for a Bootcamp!
I am not a mommy…just a wanna be right now! I am a blogger. I intend to keep blogging after I am a mommy…so future me is offended by that article. Future me is also very proud of all of those well written responses! You go Mommies!!
Eye ye eye, this is one crazy world. Can’t we just blog and everyone else just get over it.
.-= Philippa´s last post: Pass the Butter Please … =-.
what a day in the heat! New blogger! Check me out!
God forbid that a mom who happens to write would want to make a little money off something she enjoys. I’ve had it with people trashing “Mommy Bloggers”. We could be like the generations before us and not have a voice. Thank God we have SITS and each other. The journalist who wrote this article is a traitor.
I love you Heather and Tiffany…at least people are talking about us!
Proud to be a SITStah,
Leigh
Wow! How did I miss this? I am now heading to check out that article and the responses.
.-= Joy´s last post: WAT-AAH Review & Giveaway =-.
I have read some of the blogs about this article. I am sorry that it had to take away from a fun time for those of us who could make it there. Well, that’s all I have time for. I have to go stuff a Twinkie in my kids mouth for dinner so I can keep on blogging.
Okay, I can see why you are upset, but don’t forget the absolutely minor point that they alluded to in the article. $700 million spent on advertising last year. Fast growing niche. They also forgot to mention that mothers in households spend an astounding % of the family’s disposable income. And if women can figure out how to reach women (remember, those that spend a household’s money and decide what to buy) Proctor and Gamble and Tide and every other brand had better pay attention. Because if they don’t, their competitors will.
You both are on to something big. The numbers speak for themselves.
Keep up the good work.
Sarah Baron
Heading off to read this now!
.-= Jeannie´s last post: Let’s talk about muffins =-.
Monday again huh?
And jeeze should I not go to Bloggy Boot Camp in SF? Will that make me a bad mommy? HAHA NOT! I’m going and the hubs confirmed it now! He wants me to go even more now! Just to show how wrong that article is!!
.-= Erin´s last post: Nothing a few flats won’t cure =-.
Okay, now I understand what all the uproar was about. Let me just tell you that being a mommy blogger has made me a FAR better wife, mother and person. As a professional (lawyer, ick) turned SAHM, I felt so alone, depressed and disconnected from the world until I started blogging. Now I have a voice, friends (when I never thought I could LOVE so many women without the cattiness, etc.), support and a new career that gives me so much fulfillment and joy. My priorities are this: 1) God, 2) family, 3) reality TV, er career (aka blogging).
I think despite the negative press, you ladies and all the ladies on this board are doing something tremendous for yourselves and each other, and our families and children ARE benefiting from that.
So I say, “Blog on!!!”
This article was definitely thought provoking for me….I definitely would not want to be her right now, for sure. Especially if she is that miserable….for me, blogging and motherhood go hand in hand. It’s almost like a journal for me, an outlet, but at the same time, I’m trying to forge a legacy for my children….my children are the reason I blog, my family is the reason I blog. Maybe we are somewhat of a threat? Maybe she just doesn’t “get it?” Maybe it’s not such a passion for her, this whole job of motherhood, along with blogging. I feel sorry for people like that; they madden me, but at the same time, I’m so glad I’m not that person, ya know?
.-= Mel´s last post: Birthday Plans via Flip Cam =-.
I haven’t read the article yet but, from what I’ve seen here, it sounds a bit condescending. I would expect more from such an ‘institution.’ Maybe that’s the problem, though. They’ve become an institution, staid & old fashioned, stuck in another time…
.-= Shelley´s last post: ArtFire Pro Account Discount codes =-.
You know, I read that article and I didn’t take away anything very negative about it. In fact that’s how I learned about SITS and feel more empowered than ever to continue. I mean, yes, the author could take it a little more seriously instead of using such a trite tone but hello, almost a billion dollar industry is no mere fluff. I love blogging and I do it because I want to help people live a healthy lifestyle. It takes a tremendous amount of energy to make sure the nutrition, fitness and wellness tips I post are relevant and well researched. Time is money so I’m not against being offered any ( anybody listening?). If there was a wave of daddy or just male bloggers it would be referred to as no less than an economic boom worthy of huge buyouts etc. I get that everyone has different motivations for blogging and believe there’s room for all of us. But for the people that underestimate the power for real community action and collaboration in blogging, well,let them write us off while we quietly take over the world.
.-= Fabulously Healthy´s last post: Why Macho men need help too =-.
I read the article and it really rubbed me the wrong way. It is dismissive and trivializes female bloggers. I honestly believe that if the blogosphere was ruled by men instead of women, that male bloggers would not be demeaned the way women are.
Well, I oughta….. The noive of them…..
Hello to Unknown Mami,
She’s the Most Interesting Woman in the World! I love that about her. Tough article to deal with. I’m posting about it on Wednesday and will be sure to leave a comluv link so I can join my voice in with yours.
haha! Shawn slipped in with her Bowery Boy imitation…love it! Really, I have to go to sleep now.
.-= cheryl from thatgirlisfunny´s last post: Stay Young Tips so you can say “I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille” =-.
I, for one, cannot wait until Bloggy Boot Camp comes to Texas so that I can meet and connect with other like-minded mommies in person. I love that you are authentic, genuine, REAL. Keep it up mama!
.-= Tales of the Toot´s last post: Do New Tweeps Equal Connections Or Just Numbers? =-.
10 seconds until Monday is over. I am really late tonight.
Cheers
- CoconutPalmDesigns
.-= CoconutPalmDesigns´s last post: The Martini and The Sailboat =-.
Oh….I’m so TRYING to keep up with all you ladies….but I’m finding myself falling behind and late for everything! I wish I could sit home in my pj’s all day, eat truffles, watch the lifetime channel and write funny stories and keep myself informed about the world……But HAIRYMAN won’t let me quit my job….so now I’m off to try to “catch up” and read the ‘New York Times’….wish me luck!
when i read that article and saw that it was about your bootcamp as well as blogging, it pissed me off. big time. i’m so glad to know that, through this site with all your peeps, you got big virtual hugs. you both deserve it.
.-= melissa´s last post: I’m Not Going To Title This With Anything To Do With Honey, Don’t Bother Mommy. So There. =-.
While some people love to be critics, everyone deep down wants to be happy. Do what works for you!
.-= Alison´s last post: child’s play =-.
I. Am. Appalled!
(P.S. Please, oh please come to Australia!!!)
.-= Brea @ Brea’s Befuddled Brain´s last post: HELP! =-.
Even though I blog about my kids from time to time. I really don’t want to be considered a Mommy blogger. I blog for me time!
.-= Angelia´s last post: Death of an Icon =-.
Hey, we gestate, we lactate, we make the world go ’round. And now we write about it. There’s no stopping us, Ms. Mendelsohn, so wipe the ink stains off your fingers and wake up to the fact that HERE is where your readers have gone…
.-= Thankless Job´s last post: I’ve Been Reading, Part 2 =-.
Well….I’ve already commented once, but just couldn’t resist commenting again! I DID read the New York Times article and it IS quite the article, isn’t it?! Do these people even know what they are talking about?! We are who we are, right?! I don’t think any of us neglects our families ……Blogging is an outlet for many of us….a way to gain support and learn new things. We brag about our kids and our wonderful hubbies/boyfriends, we SHARE, we make new FRIENDS and relieve the stress in our lives! How anyone would not understand that, is beyond me and quite simply – not worth our time of day………it IS unfortunate that he percieves us in a negative way! Maybe if they read some of our blogs, they’d understand us better!
Read the article the other day. I’m sure there are those bloggers (both men and women!) who neglect their families in order to build their brand… but it’s nobody I enjoy following! I hope I’d pick up on that in their attitude and writing. And I never have. I read, respond, and blog during mealtimes (with the kids at the table beside me), nap times or after they’re in bed while waiting for my hubby to come home. Nobody has to be sacrificed for the joy of this blogging outlet! Her article painted with too many broad brushstrokes.
.-= Jesslyn´s last post: Sugar Doll Award! =-.
Yeah, the article made me twitch a little too, but it could have just been a knee-jerk response to the title, which was awful beyond belief and likely a poor attempt at a controversial “hook” of a opener. Once I read it from that perspective, it was easy to dismiss the article as fluff, and unworthy of the NYT.
.-= vahnee´s last post: 3 Easy Pregnancy Exercises You Can Start Right Now =-.
another great blog. i love sits!
Twitter: raisingamazing
says:
Here’s the letter to the editor that I sent to the Times.
Is the NY Times Really Threatened by the Mother Bloggers?
The article began with a misogynistic, misleading headline and went down from there. The tone of the article is condescending and smacks of envy. As they say on SNL, Really, NYT?
Is the august New York Times so threatened by the success of this trend in online publishing that they would actually print this so obviously subjective article which sounds like it was written by one of the mean girls in high school?
How was it relevant that the organizer of the event wasnt wearing shoes? In one of the bibles of public speaking, presenters are told to imagine the audience naked in order to feel less nervous. Great public speakers find a way to relate to the audience and make them feel comfortable, too. Perhaps Ms. Romero knew that in her audience were many women who came to the conference alone and were perhaps feeling some trepidation. Perhaps she is the quintessential professional who knew that if she kicked off her shoes, her audience would immediately be put at ease and not feel so alone in a room full of strangers.
And, perhaps your article could have given her kudos for knowing so well how to reach her audience, instead of portraying her as a country bumpkin who just fell off a truck.
It seems absurd that the paper of record would be threatened by this tiny online niche, but how else does one explain the mean-spirited tone? The headline implies that mothers are so busy blogging that they are neglecting their children. Nowhere in the article is there a fact to back this up, nor is it mentioned again. I get it that headlines are supposed to grab readers but did you really intend to do that with a headline that is insulting and has nothing to do with the story?
The article does, in fact, present some of the facts about the reasons and results of blogging, but the headline and opening lead are insulting and dont match the remainder of the article.
Perhaps it is because these enterprising bloggers have succeeded where newspapers are failing. When newspapers are hemorrhaging readers and ad revenue, bloggers are giving audiences what they want and are gathering the eyeballs and the wallets that go with them.
.-= Debby Carroll´s last post: 6 Things I Shouldn’t Have Done? =-.
I’ve been reading so many of the responses and I am loving how everyone is coming together to express their opinions. Such a community feeling coming in the wake of the article.
I just read the article yesterday and thought it was very unfair. I’m sorry to all of us for that article…hopefully anyone who reads blogs knows that that article is not a true picture of what we are!
.-= Tiffany´s last post: Yes, my 4-year-old naps =-.
She posted a reply to the hoopla on her blog:
http://www.jenmen.com/2010/03/about-that-new-york-times-piece.html
I think I loved this comment best (even better than my own!):
Your article in the Times was not story-telling at it’s best, you seem to put cohesive sentences together here in trying to bail out of the mess you’ve found yourself in with a community of bloggers, moms, and women of which you claim to be one.
That printed piece (article would categorize it as journalism) consisted of snippets of interviews with nothing sewn together to magically enthrall and engage your audience. Not sure where your Pulitzer is… but this “bloggy” rebuttal of yours, if printed, would be next to the NYT article you wrote on Sunday and be lining the bottom of my bird cage.
I’m not a blogger, but I am a mother, and I have a career, and when I read this article, I had a hard time trying to comprehend the story you were trying to tell – which is why the headline made it that much more offensive. It was a hack job aimed at “mom bloggers” whom you should have respected for their community, creativity, and having and sharing a voice.
Isn’t that why you’re a writer?
BRAVO MS. MINGLE!!!!
.-= Jeannie´s last post: Great Tip Tuesday =-.
These all had pretty hooked me up. All i could say is that the more I read through all the comments, the more discovery i find of reallly interesting women – whether mommy blogger or not. And these alll show the vast wisdom support can really create. Cheers!
im no miss
http://andimnomiss.wordpress.com
.-= im no miss´s last post: his, mine, little his =-.
These all had pretty hooked me up. And the more i read through the comments and the followups, the more I discover the vast wisdom that support really creates and some really interesting women- whether mommy blogger or not.
Cheers!
im no miss
http://andimnomiss.wordpress.com
.-= im no miss´s last post: his, mine, little his =-.
All these had pretty hooked me up. And the more i read through the comments and the followups, the more I discover the vast wisdom that support really creates and some really interesting women- whether mommy blogger or not.
Cheers!
im no miss
http://andimnomiss.wordpress.com
.-= im no miss´s last post: his, mine, little his =-.