Company Holds Brunch for Mommy Bloggers

Marketing companies around the country are beginning to see the importance and value in mommy bloggers, as I've been demonstrating through my posts each week. Some, however, are taking it up a notch! Rather than surf the Web looking for a mommy blogger that might fit the bill of what they are trying to market, and then sending things to them for free, they are now reeling them in.

This week a communications company that specializes in reaching moms, Child's Play Communications, held a special mommy blogger brunch. A panel of mommy bloggers sat on the panel of the annual Bloggers Brunch, sharing their thoughts on the best way for companies to reach moms through social media.

There is no doubt that these mommy bloggers feel quite important. They are being flown around the country, invited to speak at events, and given a barrage of free goods. But what I wonder is if they feel used by these consumerist companies that likely do not care about them personally, because all they see is the potential sales these women may lead to.

There is no doubt that these moms are likely having fun. But at what and who's expense? Who benefits? And is pushing more sugary snacks on American's children (who are already battling obesity and diabetes) worth what the big corporations are giving them?

Here's a video clip from this year's Bloggers Brunch:

Who's Getting Social Online?

Know what segment of the population is making advertising and marketing executives sit up and take notice? You guessed it, moms! Especially those of young children. As it turns out, moms are one of the biggest users of some forms of new media, such as social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.

While most moms are traditionally believed to cut back on all forms of media once having a new baby, it turns out that they are not cutting back where social networking is concerned. They are actually using them a lot more! In fact, AdWeek recently reported that in a 2006 survey only 11 percent of moms said they use social media, whereas today that number is 63 percent.

The techies behind the curtain of these sites, as well as corporate advertising departments, realize the impact moms are making online. Which makes me wonder what influence they will have over how the future of how these new media outlets will be shaped.