Big Corporations Give Mommy Bloggers Perks

Much of what I've been writing about over the last few weeks has been about the clout that all the mommy bloggers have been gaining. This is particularly true when it comes to the way they are beginning to be wooed by big corporations. It was recently reported in an LA Times article that some mommy bloggers, like Andrea Deckard, who has the MommySnacks blog, are even being lured into all-expense paid travel by these corporations.

Deckard is just one of many who are getting perks in exchange for what the company hopes will be good blog reviews, which will then translate to an increase in sales. This year, for example, Frito-Lay flew her, all expenses paid, to Los Angeles, where they pitched their latest snack campaigns to her.

Similarly, Taco Bell wooed a group of bloggers this past spring, by footing the bill for them all to attend a California retreat, where they spent their time whipping up new burrito and taco ideas for the company.

While this may seem wonderful to the mommy bloggers, it does raise some ethical, and albeit legal, concerns and questions. As discussed before, the laws are now requiring that bloggers disclose in their reviews if they received free items from the company they are reviewing.

Will this diminish the effectiveness of their review? Will more mommy bloggers start touting products to gain the attention of corporate marketing departments? Time will tell.

Motherhood Movie Features Mommy Blogger

Actress Uma Thurman is starring in "Motherhood," a new movie that is now playing in theaters. In the movie, Thurman plays a fiction writer-turned-mommy blogger. Sharing her thoughts on being a mom through her blog, she joins a host of new media moms who do the same.

This makes me wonder if the movie will inspire other moms to begin blogging. Are we about to see the current explosion of mommy bloggers become that much bigger? Only time will tell.

Mommy bloggers are popping up everywhere. First in cyberspace and now in Hollywood movies. What's next?

Check out the movie trailer:

Mommy Blogger Ups the Ante

As we have been learning, the whole idea of "mommy bloggers" is something that people are increasingly noticing. Moms young and old are making waves and raising eyebrows by having blogs and sharing just about everything and anything on it. Now there is one mommy blogger who has upped the ante and is taking things one step further.

Lynsee, a 23-year old woman who is 37 weeks pregnant has been blogging about her entire pregnancy. She now has plans of having a live delivery via her blog, Watch Lynsee Grow. The birth will be streamed through the parent site, Moms Like Me.

Could this be the start of a new trend in moms using new media? While it will allow for any family members and friends not living near her to witness the birth, it also turns a private moment into a public one. This makes me wonder what could happen down the road in regard to profits and advertising? Could there be lawyers standing by, watching for something to go wrong and offer their services? How about product placement shots in the videos as she is delivering?

Who knows just yet how this will turn out and if others will follow suit. But for now it is interesting to see the way that mother's have embraced new media, and particularly blogging, and are helping to shape its course.

What is mom touting and why?

In October, the annual BlogWorld Expo was held in Las Vegas. A major focus there was mommy bloggers! People are realizing the number of moms that are blogging about everything from what they are cooking for dinner to what local pediatrician is worth their weight in gold.

Marketing companies are realizing how much influence these moms have in getting their followers to try products that they review. Moms have reported receiving everything from electronics to baking goods. You name it, corporations are using mommy bloggers to help spread the word about their products.

But there may be a downside. Or at least the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) seems to think so. Just as they care about truth in advertising, they also want to ensure that moms (and all bloggers) are being fair and truthful in their product reviews. Recently, they voted to require that bloggers receiving freebies from companies must disclose such information to the public.

It remains to be seen what type of impact the FTC and deep-pocketed corporations will have on the mommy bloggers of the world. But there is no doubt that moms are making waves.

Check out this short video of a few of the mommy bloggers that attended the Las Vegas conference.

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.