Notes from the Underwire

I was excited when I received an email from Author and Mom,  Quinn Cummings – author of Notes from the Underwire: Adventures from My Awkward and Lovely Life.

She asked if I’d like to host her for her book tour and, well, you’re reading this so you can figure out for yourself what my answer was.  I sent her a few questions and her answers…oh, just read.  You’ll be glad you did!

H: Quinn, my readers are crafty, creative and smart women. Yet many of us (myself included) have a hard time letting go of the guilt we feel if we aren’t spending 100% of our time with our kids and family. Did you feel that guilt too? What did you do about it and how did it play in the writing of your book “Notes from the Underwire?”

Q: It always exists; I’m feeling raging guilt right now because I’m doing book blog business and letting my daughter watch “Sponge Bob.” I’m acutely aware that for my daughter the computer has become the unwanted and needy younger child. The only thing I can think is that it matters that my child–no, my GIRL child– see her mother doing something creative and saying in firm and loving tones, “I’m going into the office now, you need to find something to do which isn’t in the office.” Of course, she’s in the office within minutes, wanting to discuss that day’s game of dodge-ball, but I hope that somewhere in her subconscious it registers that women can love their family dearly and still rightfully demand a little room to think.

Q: I wish I did. Candidly, were I not a former child actor, I’m pretty certain I wouldn’t have gotten a deal. It’s not fair, but there it is. There are quite a few really talented bloggers I follow who should have gotten deals before me. Having said all that, I do think passion draws the eye. I’ll happily read about beekeeping, or manpris, or the history of salt, if you think that topic is worthy of time and attention. Your love of something draws my eye. I can’t help but think it would draw the eye of an editor and an agent as well.

Thanks so much for coming by Quinn!  It was a pleasure getting to know you

There was this post, and this one and this one.  A lot of people got upset and many more had opinions on these thoughts that mom bloggers are just here for the free stuff or that *gasp* they might accept money in exchange for promoting a product or that they might do it without flat-out telling their readers how the post was sponsored.

You see, the business of mom blogs is getting a bit serious.  Companies like General Mills, Wal-Mart, Frigidaire and Ford all have their toes in the pool in an effort to tap into the marketing power of blogs.  They might not all be getting it right. They might not all be doing the best for their brands, but they are aware and they are trying.  So, let’s all get in the sandbox, share our cookies and have a nice afternoon.

The bloggers want to play, the brands want to play and everyone is trying to buck up and get the hang of this.  We’re figuring it out as we go and we’re being open about it.  Right?

Wrong.

We have Nielsen, an authoritative voice on media, publishing a “report.” I received the news release in my email from their PR company.  Go have a read.  They share some data about how many moms shop online, where they spend their time and what activities they partake in.

And then there is a silly list written by their online research director Jessica Hogue about the Power Mom 50.

Now I know there are people who will read this and think ‘she’s just jealous that she’s not in the top 50.’ And I want to put a stop to that right now.  I know Maternal Spark isn’t in the top 50.  I know that my readership is small (but I love you guys) and I’m cool with that.  I’m not here to ravage  the blogosphere with my voice.  I am however, very interested in marketing, data and this new media economy that seems to be taking over and making traditional media companies like Nielsen act like idiots.

So if I’m not jealous then what’s my problem?

My problem is, this list appears to be based on numbers.  The Nielsen BuzzMetrics.  They say they measured things like posting frequency, twitter followers and comments to gauge the ‘comprehensive sphere of authority and influence.‘  But they’ve missed out on powerhouses like Kelby Carr, Kailani and Megan.

It leaves me wondering how accurate their metrics really are?  I mean, any blogger worth their salt knows of these women.  How is it possible that they weren’t included…or even interviewed as possibles?

Then there’s the issue of having graphs…with no numbers attached to them. Useless.

Then there’s Jessica Hogue tweeting after the report was released that the list was initial and intended to be revised. I don’t see that marked anywhere on the report. It says they are refining their methodology but what does that mean? Does that mean they just published something to sound like they know what’s going on with this subsection of the media when in reality – they have no idea what’s going on either….how could they?  It’s so new and it changes on a daily basis and a blog that is new today, might be an old pro in two months time. Hell, the bloggers in the midst of it can barely keep up and they’re getting raked over the coals for it. But this is Nielsen right?  They need to get on this whole social media thing right?

So why then did my email to their PR firm go unanswered?  I expressed my concern to the nice rep who emailed the release to me and I told her I’d be happy to elaborate…guess I’m doing that now eh?  Ya know, I mentioned my concerns on twitter too – as did several other moms.  How’s that for monitoring social media?

I’m kind of getting ranty here and I want to make sure I speak to my true concern.  Nielsen was an authority on media ratings.  Large companies like the ones I mentioned earlier look to Nielsen for information on where to spend their advertising dollars.  If they use this report for decision making they are basing their decisions on false information.

I find it sad that an authority would abuse the trust of the public in this manner just to make it seem like they’re the cool kid with the biggest marbles when in reality – they’ve lost them altogether.

Edited 05-12-09  to add – MomDot just published their list of 50 influential moms online. Go take a look

via flicker user Sikachu!'s photostream under cc useage

As you can see I’ve been quite busy around here! This new template has taken me hours and hours and according to my hubby….more hours. But I’m quite happy with how it’s looking – although there are still a few tweeks to be made here and there. I’ll work on them as I go as none of them are critical. I bet you see where I’m going with this post -today’s muse for me is New Beginnings. Maternal Spark has a new look and some new goals as well. One of which is to showcase more Creative Moms. So, send me your profiles, your flash fiction and your thoughts. I want to see you all shine here at Maternal Spark!

What’s inspriring you this week? If you’ve written about it, share your link below.