August 7, 2012

There’s a slightly patronizing term (in my opinion) doing the rounds in blog-land and it is Mummy Blogger or should I say Mommy Blogger? I’m Australian, so Mummy Blogger it is! I hadn’t given it much thought, until recently an old school mate sent me a link to an interview opportunity on Mummy Bloggers and I replied – do you think I’m one? It hadn’t entered my consciousness until that point, but upon further reflection, well of course I probably do fit within the genre. Let’s face it, I blog about my kids, family life and motherhood on a regular basis, but it’s not all I blog about. So even though I blog about a very broad spectrum of stuff, yes, I have to admit, I probably do fit within the Mummy Blogger camp too. So how do I feel about that? I honestly don’t know. I wrote a blog recently about being introduced in an article as a “Mother of two” – something I definitely was not keen on, because I believe I am more than a Mother. It definitely stirred something righteous within me – thus the reason for that blog post. But I AM a Mother of two, and a wife, and a professional communicator, and a lot of other things, so my derision came from seeing the words up in lights for the first time. It’s kind of like hearing yourself referred to as someone’s wife after you get married – I wasn’t so keen on that either. If you’ve read any of my previous blogs, especially about my son Lex, you’ll know I have definitely never been a fan of labels in any context – more so when it comes to my kids. Anyway, I joined the BlogHer Network a while ago, and apart from advertising on my page – you can see the adverts to the right of this blog – it’s given me lots of exposure, taking my readership from about 800 per month, to nearly 4,000/month and growing – that’s been nice. But then, my anal bleaching blog has also contributed to that – I seem to be at the top of SEO on that topic. But BlogHer does celebrate Women bloggers, with over 40 million in the community – that’s a lot of chicks writing on whatever is of interest to them, which is powerful stuff right? (Unfortunately I haven’t been able to attend the BlogHer conference going on in NYC right now. Next year I’m going to go that’s for sure.) But you’ve got to ask the question – is the rise of Mummy Bloggers frightening some folk in the halls of power and is that why this demeaning term was created – to try and take away that power? I’d have to say it probably is a frightening development for some, because blogging is a channel where women can effectively influence women – an audience they trust. Marketers are certainly getting on the band wagon, sending families on holidays and to film premieres, or getting bloggers to write about their products, because they have understood the value of this community. This new opportunity for marketing is also getting more regulated; a sure sign its influence is being taken seriously. Unfortunately (or fortunately) I am yet to get invited to Hollywood for a movie premiere, nor have I had an all expenses paid holiday for the family offered, but who knows? If I build my profile enough, anything can happen it seems. But that’s not why I’m blogging. I started blogging because when I was living in Australia, I had no time on my hands to work effectively, and getting an hour to blog was something I could do. To really write what I want to write, I need TIME – lots and lots of it. I need to get absorbed in it for days and days – but that just can’t happen with two mini-loves. It’s a frustrating part of motherhood for me, but my boys need me now, so I have accepted that. When I fully appreciated I couldn’t do what I wanted to do with my writing, I started blogging. It quickly became the most rewarding part of my day, because it gave me a sense of achievement within the mix of running a house, managing the boys, shopping, cleaning, cooking, etc, etc, etc. That’s why I started blogging. There’s been no benefit beyond my own personal satisfaction, I haven’t sought to grow it into a monster blog like others do and I’ve probably earned about $20 from the advertising in total – because the truth is, I’ve got other things I need to do, so I can’t put any more focus on it. Not forgetting of course, that apart from working (and family-life), I have two other blogs as well… Now I’m back in Singapore – where I have been able to outsource all house wife duties, except the kids – so I have more time for work and this makes me happy, really happy. I need to work. However, this blog remains my true joy, because it gives me a chance to capture all of the crazy shite that constantly goes on in my head and put some order to it. By default, I get to share that with my community, and they in turn share their thoughts with me – sometimes giving me a kick in the arse when needed. Blogging helps me to stay connected with all of the remarkable people I’ve met in my life around the world, and that’s the main reason I do it. It’s also meant I’ve been able to “meet” other people who can relate to what I write about, and that’s been a real bonus too. So yes, I’m probably a Mummy Blogger, but I’m a lot of other things too. However, out of curiosity – would you classify me as a Mummy Blogger?   Yours, without the bollocks Andrea