Saturday 15 February 2014

The Evolution of the Mommy Blogger #WorththeRead #Blogging

The Evolution of the "Mommy Blogger"

Moms Taking Care of Business! 



Food for Thought...

I love reading interesting and informative posts and articles about business, social media, marketing and blogging. And since sharing is caring the goal of my Worth the Read posts is to share information, give you something to think about, and link a few related posts or resources I think are worth taking time to read. This week's theme is about "Mommy Bloggers",  and how their role, voice and influence has changed and evolved. 



Not all Moms that blog are "Mommy Bloggers" ...

The term Mommy bloggers refers to Moms who blog about motherhood, parenting and all that goes with that. Over time it seems to have somehow expanded to include all females bloggers who are mothers, rather than female bloggers who blog about motherhood. I'm a mother of two boys and although this clearly impacts my experiences and perspective I rarely write specifically about being a mom or parenting. 

Not inherently offensive ...

Neither the word Mommy or Blogger is offensive, but personally the combination of the two is not one of my favourites. Any label that portrays me as one dimensional, rather than a multi-faceted and dynamic woman who also happens to be a mom and a blogger is problematic. I don't want to be pigeon-holed by my occupation, gender, marital status or whether I'm a parent, since each of these are just one aspect of who I am. 

When Mommy and Blogger are paired to make a label two things seem to happen: 

1.) It paints all bloggers who are moms with the same brush. 
2.) The label takes on negative connotations, perpetuating assumptions about the blogger and their content, often portraying "mommy blogging" as a hobby, creating fluff content. Such beliefs and assumptions ignore writing quality or subject relevance and devalue blog content based on a single descriptor. 

Skills developed through motherhood and blogging ...

Through my roles as mom and blogger I've acquired and developed the very skills valued most in business; leadership, conflict resolution, team building, time management, writing and communication. All skills important and transferable to any "real job" I may hold in the future. 

You decide your label ...

The term is controversial. Not everyone is bothered by the term "Mommy Blogger", some are, some aren't, and still others are bothered by others being bothered by it. In my opinion first two are legitimate feelings we're entitled to (not so sure about the third) and it's a personal choice, just like using the title Mrs, Miss or Ms.
   

Fascinating and impressive ...

No matter what the label the evolution of, power, reach and influence of Mommy Bloggers is both fascinating and impressive. And with the buying power and the reach "mommy bloggers" have it's not surprising brands have started to take noticeEach of these posts and articles approach Mommy Blogging from a different perspective. I think they're worth the read and definitely give one Food for Thought.




Yep, just me Cathy thinking out loud about what I think is worth the read.

2 comments :

  1. Thanks, Cathy, for including MOMentumNation and thinking we're "worth the read."

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  2. Oh wow, thanks so much for including my post! I'm glad you liked it and I hope that your readers will too! Have a great weekend, Cathy :-)

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