As many of you know, Child’s Play Communications had the pleasure of hosting Dinner’s On Us and the first Bloganthropy Awards as a lead-in to this year’s BlogHer, held in our hometown, NYC. I’d like to take the opportunity here to thank all who participated:
First, a thank you to all the nominees and finalists for the Bloganthropy Awards. The Awards are designed to recognize bloggers who use social media to make a difference in the world by supporting a worthy cause. Some perceive women’s blogs as all about diets and diapers, or in the case of moms, all about getting free products for review. At Dinner’s On Us on August 5, I think we helped show that there is a whole community of women, including moms, who are actively using social media to benefit others. At Child’s Play, we were amazed at what many of these women have accomplished and were thrilled to have the opportunity to recognize and support their efforts, via visibility at Dinner’s On Us and through a monetary award, provided by P&G’s Give Health. Congratulations to all the nominees, to the finalists, and especially to the winner, Katherine Stone of Postpartum Progress, for all your good work.
Next, a thank you to our sponsors — we could not have done it without you! In alphabetical order:
- Baby Boom, which chose Dinner’s On Us for the national debut of its Baby Brezza One-Step Baby Food Maker and Clic-It Smart Diaper Bag System
- The California Strawberry Commission, which sampled mouthwatering chocolate-covered strawberries to guests
- Cold Stone Creamery, which offered everyone a taste of its latest flavor, the very popular Kate’s Creation
- Cusinart, which demonstrated fabulous blenders, teakettles, coffeemakers and juice extractors
- Giddy Up, which debuted its Fuzzoodles toy line to social media at Dinner’s On Us and demonstrated its latest Scientific Explorer products
- Hershey’s, which in partnership with Kraft treated guests to everyone’s campfire favorite, classic s’mores
- K’NEX, which displayed a broad assortment of its hit construction toys, including its famous Ferris wheels
- Nickelodeon, which highlighted the wonderful Dora the Explorer collection of toys and DVDs
- Summit Toy, which showed its Backyard Safari Outfitters toys and chose Dinner’s On Us to launch its Zillionz kids’ money management line
- Toyota, which provided bloggers with product information and a very useful vehicle emergency kit
- e.l.f., which offered moms makeovers and cosmetic gift bags
These sponsors also contributed to an end-of-evening raffle, with prizes ranging in value from $40 to more than $500. Thank you all!
Also, thanks to celebrated violinist David Garrett, for his performance and for providing autographed CDs for guests.
Last, but certainly not least, a huge thank you to all our guests. As I said in my presentation, we know that there were many other BlogHer-related events going on that evening. We want you to know how much we appreciate your spending time at ours. We are truly grateful. It was, as always, wonderful to see those of you with whom we’ve worked over time, and great to meet the rest of you. I sincerely hope that you had a wonderful evening with us and that we will see you again next year!
 Tweet This Post
I am so pleased to share the following news:
Tonight, at the Child’s Play Communications Dinner’s On Us event for mom bloggers in New York City, Katherine Stone, publisher of the popular blog, Postpartum Progress, was named the winner of the first annual Bloganthropy Awards. The event coincided with BlogHer, the largest annual conference of women in social media.
The Bloganthropy Awards recognize bloggers who have made a difference by using social media effectively to promote a good cause. Stone became an advocate for women with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders after experiencing a severe bout of postpartum depression herself in 2001. Her feelings of fear and isolation inspired her to create Postpartum Progress, now the most widely read blog in the United States on postpartum depression (PPD), postpartum anxiety, postpartum psychosis and other mental illnesses related to pregnancy and childbirth. Stone received an honorary plaque, and a cash prize; a $1,000 monetary donation will be made directly to her cause.
The first annual award event was sponsored by Child’s Play Communications, specialists in connecting companies with moms, and Bloganthropy.org, a non-profit organization that aims to empower bloggers to become philanthropic leaders in their communities. Give Health, one of Procter & Gamble’s social sustainability programs, signed on as the inaugural Bloganthropy Awards corporate sponsor.
We at Child’s Play are delighted to honor Katherine Stone and her blog, Postpartum Progress. Katherine has shown great dedication to illuminating important postpartum issues over many years and it is our pleasure to recognize and help support those efforts.
“Postpartum depression and perinatal mood disorders affect over 800,000 women annually in the United States alone. Increased awareness of PPD is critical to early diagnosis and treatment,” says Debbie Bookstaber, co-founder of Bloganthropy.org. “For six years, Katherine Stone solely supported Postpartum Progress, helping countless women through her efforts. She recently incorporated as a non-profit with the goal of expanding the organization’s reach and effectiveness. We hope that recognition as the first annual Bloganthropy Award Winner and the prize money donated by P & G GIVE HEALTH will help Katherine Stone to accomplish this worthy goal,”
Candace Lindemann, co-founder of Bloganthropy.org, added: “The Bloganthropy Awards enable us to applaud the work of these powerful women and to inspire others to express themselves using social media.”
In addition to Stone, four nominees were acknowledged for their unique contributions in the blogosphere. They are:
Kristine McCormick, Cora’s Story
Kristine touched audiences and developed a strong following by writing about the tragic 2009 death of her six-day-old daughter from an undetected congenital heart defect. This birth defect affects one in 100 newborns and can often be diagnosed in utero or at birth through simple, non-invasive tests. As a means of coping with her grief and educating parents-to-be, Kristine writes about her process, posts current information about congenital heart defects (CHDs), and advocates for universal screening for CHDs. (http://www.corasstory.org)
Maggie Ginsberg-Schutz, Violence Unsilenced
While researching and writing an article profiling seven survivors of domestic violence, Maggie, a freelance journalist, created Violence UnSilenced in February 2009, to shed light within the blogging community on domestic violence and sexual abuse/assault by giving survivors a voice. The site is supported by countless bloggers and also has been featured on iVillage, BlogHer, Momocrats, and mentioned in the Huffington Post, raising awareness of this very important issue. Alltop created a new domestic violence channel after learning about Violence UnSilenced.
(http://violenceunsilenced.com)
Debbie Dubrow, Michelle Duffy, Pam Mandel and Beth Whitman, Passports With Purpose
Passports with Purpose unites travel bloggers through an online fundraiser each December. Debbie Dubrow, Pam Mandel, Michelle Duffy and Beth Whitman, the bloggers behind Delicious Baby, Nerd’s Eye View, WanderMom, and Wanderlust and Lipstick, respectively, launched a travel-inspired fundraising initiative in 2008. Participating bloggers procure travel-related items for an online random drawing. Using Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and other social media channels, Passports with Purpose earned $7,500 for Heifer International in its inaugural year and nearly $30,000 in 2009 to build a school in Cambodia. The goal for 2010 is to raise $50,000 to build a village in Southern India. (http://www.passportswithpurpose.com)
Megan Jordan, Velveteen Mind
Megan Jordan, a blogger and Gulf Coast resident, draws upon her personal experience of the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina, her lyrical voice, and her highly-engaged audience at Velveteen Mind to help others in her region rebuild. Forming a partnership with Tide detergent and its “Loads of Hope” disaster relief program, Megan hosted a holiday “blogging carnival” about the meaning of hope. Megan and several other bloggers joined the “Tide Loads of Hope” truck in New Orleans, providing laundry services to residents in need during the holiday season. (http://www.velveteenmind.com/)
Thank you to everyone who joined us at Dinner’s On Us to celebrate the Bloganthropy Award finalists and winner.
Tweet This Post
FINALISTS FOR FIRST ANNUAL BLOGANTHROPY AWARDS ANNOUNCED
Procter & Gamble’s Give Health is Inaugural Sponsor
NEW YORK CITY, July 21, 2010 – Publishers of five outstanding blogs have won recognition as finalists in the first annual Bloganthropy Awards. Event sponsors — Bloganthropy.org, a non-profit organization that combines the power of social media with the resources of corporate giving, and Child’s Play Communications, specialists in connecting companies with moms – announced these finalists today. Give Health, one of Procter & Gamble’s social sustainability programs, is the inaugural Bloganthropy Awards corporate sponsor.
The Bloganthropy Awards recognize bloggers who have made a difference by using social media effectively to promote a good cause. “We are thrilled to partner with Bloganthropy to recognize bloggers who have channeled their passion and commitment to worthy causes through social media,” says Stephanie Azzarone, president, Child’s Play Communications. “It is inspirational to see their dedication and influence.”
“Bloganthropy.org’s goal is to encourage bloggers to use their social media influence to make the world a better place. We seek to amplify their efforts by promoting their projects and connecting them with corporate sponsors,” says Debbie Bookstaber, co-founder of Bloganthropy.org.
Candace Lindemann, co-founder of Bloganthropy.org, added: “The Bloganthropy Awards enable us to recognize these strong voices and to empower others to join and lead this growing movement.”
The winner of the first annual Bloganthropy Awards will be announced at Dinner’s On Us, a special event exclusively for mom bloggers, to be held in New York City on August 5th. The event is scheduled to coincide with BlogHer, the largest annual conference of women in social media, which begins the following day.
2010 Finalists
The five 2010 Bloganthropy Award finalists are:
Kristine McCormick, Cora’s Story
Kristine touched audiences and developed a strong following by writing about the tragic 2009 death of her six-day-old daughter from an undetected congenital heart defect. This birth defect affects one in 100 newborns and can often be diagnosed in utero or at birth through simple, non-invasive tests. As a means of coping with her grief and educating parents-to-be, Kristine writes about her process, posts current information about congenital heart defects (CHDs), and advocates for universal screening for CHDs. (http://www.corasstory.org)
Katherine Stone, Postpartum Progress
After experiencing a severe bout of postpartum depression in 2001, Katherine became an advocate for women with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. Her own feelings of fear and isolation inspired her to take action to help others. In 2004 she created the blog Postpartum Progress, now the most widely-read blog in the United States on postpartum depression (PPD), postpartum anxiety, postpartum psychosis and other mental illnesses related to pregnancy and childbirth. (http://postpartumprogress.typepad.com)
Maggie Ginsberg-Schutz, Violence Unsilenced
While researching and writing an article profiling seven survivors of domestic violence, Maggie, a freelance journalist, created Violence UnSilenced in February 2009, to shed light within the blogging community on domestic violence and sexual abuse/assault by giving survivors a voice. The site is supported by countless bloggers and also has been featured on iVillage, BlogHer, Momocrats, and mentioned in the Huffington Post, raising awareness of this very important issue. Alltop created a new domestic violence channel after learning about Violence UnSilenced.
(http://violenceunsilenced.com)
Debbie Dubrow, Michelle Duffy, Pam Mandel and Beth Whitman, Passports With Purpose
Passports with Purpose unites travel bloggers through an online fundraiser each December. Debbie Dubrow, Pam Mandel, Michelle Duffy and Beth Whitman, the bloggers behind Delicious Baby, Nerd’s Eye View, WanderMom, and Wanderlust and Lipstick, respectively, launched a travel-inspired fundraising initiative in 2008. Participating bloggers procure travel-related items for an online random drawing. Using Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and other social media channels, Passports with Purpose earned $7,500 for Heifer International in its inaugural year and nearly $30,000 in 2009 to build a school in Cambodia. The goal for 2010 is to raise $50,000 to build a village in Southern India. (http://www.passportswithpurpose.com)
Megan Jordan, Velveteen Mind
Megan Jordan, a blogger and Gulf Coast resident, draws upon her personal experience of the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina, her lyrical voice, and her highly-engaged audience at Velveteen Mind to help others in her region rebuild. Forming a partnership with Tide detergent and its “Loads of Hope” disaster relief program, Megan hosted a holiday “blogging carnival” about the meaning of hope. Megan and several other bloggers joined the “Tide Loads of Hope” truck in New Orleans, providing laundry services to residents in need during the holiday season. (http://www.velveteenmind.com/)
About Bloganthropy.org
Bloganthropy.org is dedicated to connecting social media users with corporate giving and PR departments, to encourage and facilitate charitable donations. The organization also empowers bloggers to become philanthropic leaders in their communities.
About Child’s Play Communications
Child’s Play Communications specializes exclusively in public relations, social media and word-of-mouth communications for products and services targeted to moms. Based in New York City, the agency has launched an exciting array of proprietary services to engage this influential market through traditional media, online and in-person. Recent company awards have included Social Media Innovator of the Year (2010) and PR Innovation of the Year (2009). When it comes to marketing to moms, Child’s Play Communications is the agency to call. For more, visit www.childsplaypr.com.
About Give Health
P&G is committed to improving the lives of people around the globe. Through P&G’s GIVE HEALTH program, the Company provides clean water, vaccines and education to children in need. At BlogHer 2010, P&G’s GIVE HEALTH is showcasing the power of female “change agents” to help provide clean drinking water to children in developing countries. Partnering with P&G’s Children’s Safe Drinking Water program, GIVE HEALTH and female bloggers are using the power of online communities to touch lives and give water. To learn more and get involved, visit www.GiveHealthBlogivation.com on July 23.
Tweet This Post
Helicopter parenting may be just as unhealthy for parents as for kids.
Critics of the get-involved-with-every-aspect-of-my-child’s-life approach to parenting maintain that the children of parents who are too involved in their children’s lives will lack maturity, self-reliance and self-esteem. A recent study of 300 college freshmen found that students with helicopter parents were more dependent, more neurotic and less open than other students. Another report found a connection between how frequently college students communicate with their parents and how dependent they are on their parents.
Helicopter parenting consumes more time than other parenting styles. According to Margaret K. Nelson, professor of sociology at Middlebury College and the author of Parenting Out of Control: Anxious Parents in Uncertain Times, the intense focus on overseeing children’s TV and computer habits, friendships, extracurricular activities and more is not only exhausting, but takes time from parents’ other relationships and can even weaken those relationships. ”Working a demanding job while paying painstaking attention to one’s children leaves little time for maintaining a marriage,” she notes. According to sociologists Suzanne Bianchi, John Robinson and Melissa Milkie, adults in 2000 spent less time with their spouses than adults did in 1975, as they spent more time at work and more time with their children. The time married parents spend visiting with friends and relatives has also declined dramatically: Married mothers spent almost a third less time socializing in 2000 than they did in 1965.
Are you a helicopter parent? Why? Does it impact your relationships with your spouse and friends?
Tweet This Post
Once upon a time, having a child in New York City was synonymous with making plans to leave. It was unthinkable to raise a child in this dirty, crime-ridden town. But that sentiment changed over the last generation or so as the city itself did — as crime and dirt decreased dramatically and the public school system improved significantly, through gifted and talented programs, charter schools and other options that offered a better quality of life.
Still — for many here as for numerous families elsewhere, there remains the same pull: house, yard, and commuter train vs. little space but convenient access to work and activities. This weekend, a New York Times article pointed out (I suspect to most readers’ surprise) that while buying a home in the nearby suburbs costs less, actually living in the suburbs is more expensive than living in New York City — 18% more costly, to be specific, once one calculates the dollars involved in maintaining a home vs. an apartment, and commuting, or the expense of buying a car and paying the insurance. This comparison excluded major but unpredictable suburban vs. city costs such as replacing roofs and furnaces.
Personally, I’m one of the diehards — a city girl born and bred, who never seriously considered moving out when my son was born, even though my husband’s job was in the suburbs and everyone we knew expected us to pull up stakes and find a place there. Instead, we went to one sports game after another in city parks, took our son to art classes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, introduced him to sushi at 4 (he hates McDonald’s) and spent time together at the theater, among other pursuits. For our family, city life was the right choice.
So I wonder, how many moms out there had to make a choice between city and suburbia/country when your kids were born? Why did you make the choice that you did? And how do you feel about it now?
For the complete New York Times article, click here.
Tweet This Post
On August 5th, Child’s Play Communications is hosting Dinner’s On Us. Like our past social media events, the dinner, scheduled to take place in NYC the evening before BlogHer, is designed to be an intimate gathering of leading bloggers and a select list of top sponsors, which this year include Nickelodeon, Cuisinart, Baby Boom, Cold Stone Creamery, K’NEX, Hershey’s/Kraft, Giddy Up, Backyard Safari Outfitters/Zillionz, California Strawberry Commission and Toyota.
Most importantly, at Dinner’s On Us we are presenting the first annual Bloganthropy Awards, to recognize those who have used social media to help a worthy cause. The event will also feature drinks on the rooftop at a location convenient to BlogHer as well as a lovely meal.
SPACE IS LIMITED. If you have received an invitation and have not yet RSVPd, please do so now. If you have not received an invitation and would like to be on our waiting list, please send your name, the name of your blog and your contact information to childsplay@childsplaypr.com.
Dinner’s On Us will be a very special event, and we look forward to seeing you there!
Tweet This Post
Yesterday, I posted the highlights of an intriguing study just out from BabyCenter. Today, some more details…
The study maintains that there are five unique segments of social moms and that these five are broken down into two categories
Influencers: Field Experts, Lifecasters and Pros
Influenced: Butterflies and the Audience
According to the study, these Influencers make up only 18% of social moms, but account for 78% of the influence. The research defined influence based on how often moms post or comment on social networks, along with the size of their networks. The study defined those networks as including “e.g., BabyCenter, Twitter, Facebook or blogs.”
Following is a summary of how BabyCenter breaks down its categories:
Field Expert. A young stay at home mom who uses social media to share parenting advice, typically focused on a specific topic (e.g., raising twins, breastfeeding issues), with a large network of moms who seek her out for advice. She is defined as being most active in “parenting-focused social media environments.” According to the study, Field Experts make up 8% of social moms and have a 33% share of influence overall.
Lifecaster. A Millennial mom of young children who is very active in social media. She has a strong need to stay connected and enjoys being recognized as the person to go to on many topics, not just parenting. She has a large number of connections in social media. Lifecasters make up 8% of social moms and 34% percent of influence overall.
Pros. Gen X mom bloggers who have turned their passion for social media into a profession. “She posts opinions and advice on a wide variety of topics including parenting tips and product reviews and giveaways.” Often, she has been compensated in some way for writing about brands on her blog. Pros represent 2% of moms in social media and have an 11% share of influence overall. BabyCenter explains: “While they are incredibly influential individually, they account for a lower proportion of the influence overall due to their small size.” Pros are most influential on blogs, where they have an 89% share of influence and on Twitter with 68%.
And who are the Influenced?
Butterflies. Young professionals expecting their first child. She has a lot of friends online and off, but little time, so she tends to only post important updates and primarily uses platforms such as Facebook. She also seeks advice about her pregnancy on parenting-focused social media networks. She tends to be more on the receiving end of advice and recommendations rather than a dispenser of such information. Butterflies represent 16% of moms in social media but only wield 7% of the influence overall because of their low level of activity.
The Audience. This, the largest group of social moms, is listening to the other moms. This group ranges from expectant moms to moms of older children. They have fewer online friends and comment less frequently in social media, but are highly influenced by the other segments. “Moms in this group use parenting-focused social media environments…to find useful information, ask questions, get product recommendations or receive support. They use mainstream social sites to keep in touch with friends and for consuming entertainment. They are there to observe and obtain information – not to comment.” At 66% percent of moms who use social media, the audience makes up the largest group but wields little influence relative to their size at 15% overall.
Moms, do you feel these categories make sense? Into which group do you fall? Marketers, what is your reaction?
For more details on the “2010 Mom Social Influencer Report,” visit here.
Tweet This Post
BabyCenter just released the results of a fascinating new study that dug deep into the kinds of moms who are involved in social media, how and why they spend their time there, and — most importantly for marketers — their varying levels of influence. I’d like to share their findings, in two parts.
First, a summary of key messages:
- Motherhood is the #1 reason for social media usage. According to the research, pregnancy and birth motivated the vast majority of mothers in social media — 94% — to seek out information and share opinions with others online.
- Just 18% of social moms wield an astonishing 78% of the overall influence.
- Mom bloggers — as compared with all moms in social media — make up 16% of the audience but are responsible for a huge percentage — 67% — of the influence.
- Not surprisingly, moms use different social sites for different reasons, from socializing to gathering information.
Moms, what motivated you to get involved in social media? What do you use it for? Where do you like to go, and why? Marketers, how do these findings impact your plans for reaching moms through social media?
For more on the BabyCenter “2010 Mom Social Influencer Report” visit here. or check out tomorrow’s post for more on the subject.
Tweet This Post
On August 5th — the evening before BlogHer 2010 begins– Child’s Play Communications will host a more intimate gathering, Dinner’s On Us, where 100 leading mom bloggers and 10 sponsors can easily network and learn about what each has to offer the other. As an added attraction, the event will also feature the first annual Bloganthropy Awards, designed to recognize bloggers who have used social media to support good causes.
This will be Child’s Play Communications’ fourth major mom-blogger event. (Click here for information on our last one, the LA Bloggers Brunch.) The agency will treat blogger guests to an elegant and authentic NYC night out–drinks, with a view, on the terrace of a lovely location, followed by a great dinner buffet, the awards presentation and the opportunity to connect with fabulous sponsors interested in creating relationships. Sponsors to date include Nickelodeon, Toyota, Cuisinart, Giddy Up, K’NEX, Baby Boom, Hershey’s/Kraft, Backyard Safari Outfitters/Zillionz, The California Strawberry Commission and Cold Stone Creamery.
Companies: For additional information, contact Julie Livingston, (212) 488-2060 X 12, jl@childsplaypr.com.
Bloggers: We have a few spots left for guests. Because we want to give exposure to our sponsors, we are inviting moms who do product reviews to attend. If that describes you and you’re interested, please forward your name, blog name and contact information to childsplay@childsplaypr.com.
Dinner’s On Us will be a unique and exciting event. We look forward to seeing you there!
Tweet This Post
My son turned 21 today.
Yes, I know. This blog is supposed to be about the social and marketing trends that impact moms — and it has been since its start.
But not today. Today, my son turned 21 and for once, I’d like to blog as a mom rather than as a marketer.
Until I was in my early 30s, I had no interest in parenthood. None. I loved working: It challenged and motivated and excited me. There was no place in my head or in my heart for anything else.
And then.
And then, one day, a few years after I married a man who almost got away because he wanted children and I didn’t, my head began to swivel each time I passed a baby on the street. Linda Blair in The Exorcist had nothing on me. I wanted a child, and after one miscarriage, a bit of surgery, and a lot of pregnancy kits, (the child now known as ) CollegeBoy was born. And I became that most miraculous of beings, a mother.
And for that, I am grateful to God, my husband, the two doctors in the delivery room with me, healthy family genes, luck, and a well executed Cesarean.
It was in that delivery room that I fell completely, utterly, hopelessly in love.
My son turned 21 today, and this is what I wrote in his birthday card:
You are, and have always been, the light of our lives.
You are the best thing that ever happened to us.
We are so amazingly proud of you for the kind of man you are.
We wouldn’t change a thing.
Remember always that we are your best friends and greatest supporters through life.
Thank you for everything.
Love always, Mom and Dad
Tweet This Post
|
|
