Event-ful Blogging
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.
5 Things I Loved About the Type-A Mom Conference
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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Walking the streets of Asheville with a big group of moms I had just met and having a blast.
- Meeting their kids. Mom bloggers grow THE most adorable children.
More on the Type-A Mom Conference coming soon.
Doin’ It for the Dads
Daddy Power!
Much as moms might like to think that they’ve cornered the market on blogging, especially when it comes to their kids, the fact is that dad bloggers are out in force — so much so that, more than a year ago, Child’s Play Communications launched a Digital Dads program to complement our Team Mom and Web Mom blogger networks.
As an extension of that focus, from today through Saturday Child’s Play is participating in the Modern Media Man (M3) Summit in Atlanta, a new conference designed specifically for men — especially dads — who blog.
According to the conference Web site “This is the best opportunity of the year for men and daddy bloggers, whether they’re stay at home dads, work at home dads, business professionals, the lone entrepreneur, marketer, advertiser and public relations professional to gather in one spot and plot a new course toward progress.”
Child’s Play is sponsoring the event for two of our clients: Toy State, which makes great ”lights and sounds” licensed cars, trucks and other vehicles, including Road Rippers remote control models, for kids, and Shred Sled, manufacturer of the Shox Scooter and the Shred Sled caster board — all products we thought were particularly great for dads and kids to enjoy together.
Why are today’s dads blogging about family life? The current unemployment level is one factor, as we’ve noted in other posts: More dads are at home because they are out of work, and as a result they are getting more hands-on in day-to-day parenting. Others simply take a more involved role in parenting than did men of other generations. In any case, many of them are blogging about it, in part as a way to network with other dads in similar scenarios.
Marketers, are you interested in reaching dads this holiday season? Let us know, and we’ll put you in touch with our network.
Moms, does your husband/significant other blog about being a dad? Why — and how do you feel about it?
Dinner’s On Us/Bloganthropy Awards Thank 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!
First Bloganthropy Awards Winner Announced
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.
Child’s Play Announces 2010 Bloganthropy Award Finalists
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.
