Comments on: It’s about more than artificial sweetner

By: Heather

Heather — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 22:05:31 +0000

@SAHM-Nope, I accepted. I guess I don’t have THAT much integrity

What I gathered, from talking to another contest winner, is that they paired us with a J&J brand based on our survey responses. The woman I talked to hates Splenda and thus was paired with Carefree. I don’t hate Splenda so there you go.

And honestly, I do like Splenda. If sugar had no calories I’d be putting that in my morning coffee. It’s the lesser of two evils, I guess. I struggle with my weight and try to use lower-calorie alternatives, but sometimes those alternatives have chemicals that could potentially kill whatever part of me isn’t destroyed by obesity. It’s really kind of depressing.

Thanks for your comments!

By: SAHM: Surviving Assorted Home Mayhem

SAHM: Surviving Assorted Home Mayhem — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 21:23:47 +0000

I have to say when I read the title to your post and began reading about your being asked to sponsor Splenda, I honestly thought I was going to read about how you turned them down (you know, since it's a chemical sweetener and all). Don't get me wrong though, it was a great post and I completely get what you are saying about the commercialism in blogging. .-= SAHM: Surviving Assorted Home Mayhem´s last blog ..It was the flux capacitor =-.

By: Heather

Heather — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 20:13:48 +0000

@Amelia-You’re right, we don’t have to write the reviews or read them. I like the internet for the same reason I like my TiVo-I can cut out the commercial crap and get right to the good stuff (and I swear that’s not a paid insertion by TiVo-I really do like my TiVo). I think what some people are seeing and complaining about is that marketers put more value in the review blog bloggers and not the good writer bloggers.

I’ve actually thought about going back to my review blog to write about a few things I’ve bought and really liked, and I also like your idea about reviewing local businesses. The thing that has really held me back is time. I just don’t have enough to do it all!

By: Heather

Heather — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:55:18 +0000

@Lindsay-I have to admit to nearly being sucked by the desire for the “stuff.” I saw all these women getting wooed by PR people and wanted a piece of the action. I have received a few pitches, mostly from small sites that have nothing in common with my blog, and I’ve turned them down simply because I can’t bring myself to post about car rentals or custom sneakers when I have no use for either. I usually tell them how little traffic I get and they don’t pursue me further

That being said, I did just sign up to be a reviewer for BlogHer. I don’t know if they’ll throw anything my way, but I’m more comfortable with the idea of someone else facilitating the pitches so that I don’t have to deal with the PR people directly. That’s a good boundary for me and allows me time to write about what I really love-my family.

Thanks for adding your comments and I look forward to meeting you this weekend!

By: Amelia Sprout

Amelia Sprout — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:25:37 +0000

Congrats on the sponsorship!

I certainly haven’t had a problem finding genuine voices out there. I may like getting free stuff, but being small, I don’t have to worry about being asked to pitch it very often. I just enter the giveaway without the same care that I enter contests for door prizes at the holiday party at work.

That doesn’t mean I don’t have a review blog, “just in case” or that I haven’t really enjoyed writing about the local businesses in my area that I think should be given kudos. For the most part I fail to see what the big deal is. If you don’t like it either don’t do it, or don’t read it.
.-= Amelia Sprout´s last blog ..Owning my girly =-.

By: Lindsay

Lindsay — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 15:40:25 +0000

This is a great post. The more I’ve thought about it, the more I believe that in a perfect world, reviews/giveaways can exist, but they are the LAST priority of the blogger, not the first.

These moms who are complaining about how PR stuff is too much for them have their priorities out of whack, in my opinion. I do reviews and giveaways, but I spend no more than an hour or two per weekend on them, and I take “breaks” all the time, in which I do no reviews at all. I’m waaaay more concerned with the quality of my writing on my main blog than I am with getting my reviews done in a “timely fashion.”

To see moms who are obviously primarily concerned with the “stuff” and the “traffic” that comes from blogging is just hard to take.

Can’t wait to see you at BlogHer! Big congratulations on the sponsorship. That’s awesome!
.-= Lindsay´s last blog ..The DivaDON’T =-.