The myth of mummy blogging and why it’s bad for us
NS June 12th, 2009
Disclaimer: I know that this post will inadvertently get the backs up of some of my readers because it will come across as criticising something they are doing, or thinking of doing. For that, I apologise. My intention is not to offend and I will try to be as tactful as possible in explaining my thoughts on this sensitive subject. If you disagree that’s fine, let me know why in comments. I want this to be a discussion, not a one-sided rant.
I am not a mummy blogger. Not in the ‘traditional’ sense of the word anyway. I am a mother who blogs, certainly, but I don’t write solely about my children (in fact, they make up a relatively small percentage of my subject matter), nor do I try to monetize my site by putting ads up, writing product reviews and doing giveaways in the hopes of boosting my profile and bringing in a bit of revenue. Mummy blogging has become synonymous with both of these, even if it’s a bit of a myth that blogging mothers do either to the exclusion of other topics.
Let me be clear: I absolutely support a woman’s right to make some money from her blog and can completely understand the impulse to do so. Who doesn’t want to get paid for writing? The problem, though, is that we’re not. Companies who want to shower us with free gifts or, on the odd occasion, a trip, are not paying us for our content. They don’t give a toss how well we write or about the important topics we discuss or the communities we build. Well, they do, but only when it comes to reviews of their products or services. A free sample is not ‘getting paid.’ Would you take a job in which you wouldn’t receive any money but only the promise of a free massage, hoover or weekend at Butlins every now and again? Would you find it abhorrent if you opened the newspaper, read a great article, and then at the bottom a plea from the journalist to buy some of the stuff in the ads alongside, because otherwise she won’t get paid? What is it about mummy blogging that is so desirable to companies but at the same time so hard to make a proper income from?
Susanna at A Modern Mother put her finger on what’s been bothering me about this phenomenon and it is this: mothers don’t get paid for the work they do if it relates, in any way, to mothering. She says:
What really annoys me is that this perpetuates the stereotype that a mother’s job does not hold value. So you blog in your spare time. That’s nice. I’m executing a £5 million campaign for a new product and would like you to plaster my brand all over your blog and write about it. For free. OK?
This is precisely how it feels to me. Like a patronising pat on the head, as if blogging was just a housewife’s “hobby” and that she will be only too happy and flattered to hawk products for huge companies, without pay. She already does so much work for free (keeping house and raising children) that surely one more charitable act won’t hurt, right? Doing a review is essentially a strategically placed press release, written and distributed via social networking and new media, with only a free sample of the product as payment. People who do this for a living, in an office and on staff for these companies, make a comfortable salary doing exactly the same thing, and they usually get to keep the samples, too. So of course companies are falling over themselves to get to mummy bloggers — it’s practically free labour!
Now, I can understand that to many mummy bloggers, their blog *is* their hobby and they figure “Hey, if I can get a few free dvds, an all-expenses paid trip for my kids or some lovely new body scrub, why not? It’s not hurting anyone and I work hard, I shouldn’t feel bad about that.” And I agree, they shouldn’t feel bad. All I ask if that we exercise caution, prudence and a healthy dose of skepticism when performing a cost-benefit analysis of whether doing a review is actually worth our precious time. As I commented on Susanna’s post: “Is the amount of time it takes to send the email confirming your interest, receiving said product, using it and writing up the review really worth the value of the free sample? Does it enhance your life, blog or career prospects in some significant way? If not, don’t do it!”
Also, and this will be the unpopular bit of my post, I just get a sort of icky feeling when I see a bunch of reviews or product mentions on someone’s otherwise lovely and entertaining blog. It just turns me off. I wish it didn’t, but it does. The odd one here or there, fair enough. I like learning about great books, movies, products or places to go like anyone else. But when it becomes blog fodder for an entire week, or when they are ocurring on a regular basis, it does make me wonder if the blogger’s content is being affected by what they’re hawking. I’m sure most reviewers have given this considered thought and try their utmost to ensure that doesn’t happen but I can’t help but think that it must seep into the subconscious of their writing in some small way. And some giveaways leave me with an even worse taste in my mouth. Requiring others to write about the product in question in order to enter the draw is essentially snowballing the free PR and is yet another way in which our time and words are devalued. That combined with ads lurking around every corner of the site is enough to make me click away before I’ve even read the post. It doesn’t mean they will lose me as a reader or that I think less of them personally, only that I don’t want to be part of the consumerism they are promoting.
I started reading blogs because they were honest and real and in no way indebted to advertisers, like traditional media outlets too often are. The propensity now towards writing about what will draw the most readers and therefore increasing profile and revenue saddens me because it takes some of the lovely rose-coloured sheen off of blogging for me. Search engine optimization and keyword-planting reduces the power blogging had to feel like real voices from the real people, about the real issues. I’m not so cynical as to think that every review has been done with consumerist, self-promoting intentions. I know that these are people just doing the best they can with what they have and trying to get a bit of recognition for what they do.
Besides, I knew that it would happen eventually. I knew the companies wouldn’t be able to leave blogging alone in its safe little haven of social awareness and person-to-person networking and would turn it into a business opportunity. I just didn’t think that when it happened we would be doing it for free.
