Conferences

Recently, I spoke with Liz Gumbinner of Cool Mom Picks, Mom 101 and now, Cool Mom Tech as we prepped for an audioconference on best practices  for marketing to moms in social media. In response to our moderator’s query, I commented that one growing social media trend I saw was moms taking it offline –  actively looking for opportunities to connect with moms and marketers live and in person. I had just come back from the Type-A Mom Conference in Asheville, NC and thought that the turnout — and the level of enthusiasm among the moms, many of whom were meeting each other in person for the first time — was impressive. At the BlogHer conference in New York City in August, there were something like, I believe, 1000 more bloggers than the previous year.

Liz, however, commented that the trend was really the opposite — that bloggers were less likely to want to go to events today because there were so many of them — perhaps too many of them.  I think  the distinction in our points of view may have been between blogger conferences and company-sponsored events –  is that right, Liz? — but in either case, it raises some interesting questions: Who is going to live events,  who has stopped going, and in both cases,  why?

As Child’s Play Communications prepares to host our fifth major blogger event, in Chicago on Nov. 20th, we’d especially like to know: How do you choose which events to attend these days?  

By the way, if you’re interested in joining Liz, other leading mom bloggers, and myself for the audioconference I mentioned above, please click here for additional information.

Just got back from the Type-A Mom Conference in Asheville, North Carolina, where I and my colleague, Team Mom Director Marie Baker, had the best of times. Following are five things I loved about the conference:

1. Seeing so many members of our Team Mom network of review bloggers and of our Parkbench Panel, including Debbie from Mamanista and Bloganthropy, Connie from Brain Foggles, Beth from Plus Size Mommy, Kim from Crafty Mama of 4, Jill from Musings from Me, Jen from One Moms World, Sarah from Real Life and Stacey from Tree, Root and Twig. Some of these wonderful folks I’ve spent much time with at past Child’s Play Bloggers Brunches and client-sponsored trips, others I had the opportunity to (finally!) meet for the first time.
2. Reconnecting with other terrific ladies we’ve worked with in the past including  Jennifer of The Vacation Gals,  Carol of NY City Mama, Katherine of Postpartum Progress–winner of the 2010 Bloganthropy Award, Kimberly of Mom in the City and Leticia from Tech Savvy Mama.
3. Meeting some blogger rock stars for the first time, including Katja of Skimbaco Lifestyle, Jennifer of The Mom Bloggers Club, Janice of 5 Minutes for Mom   and Kim of Hormone Colored Days.
4. Walking the streets of Asheville with a big group of moms I had just met and having a blast.
5. Meeting their kids. Mom bloggers grow THE most adorable children.

More on the Type-A Mom Conference coming soon.

I love blogger events. I look forward to reconnecting with bloggers I’ve worked with through our Team Mom network, met at events we’ve hosted ourselves or through trips we’ve arranged. I enjoy meeting other bloggers and forming new connections. I love finding out what’s new, hearing about bloggers’ experiences — good and bad — with other brands, picking up tips on the dos and don’ts of effectively connecting our clients with the mom blogger community.

Right now, I’m in Asheville, NC for the Type-A Mom Conference and have already bumped into many old friends from the blogger world. I was drawn to this event because of its good buzz from last year, its East Coast location and its relatively small size, meaning more opportunities to chat with guests.

If any readers are attending, please let me know — I’d love to meet you!

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!

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.

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!