Many times we have all discussed bloggers who use their children to earn money on their blogs.
Many bloggers have used illness or unfortunate circumstances as the catalyse for their blogs taking off. Before their accident or their child's illness they were just a regular mommy blogger. Once they realize their accident or illness is the reason they are making money, this is when the lying and unethical things begin to happen.
Now before anyone comes on and states blogger XYZ isn't like that, I'm not saying EVERY mommy blogger who has had an accident or illness does this. It just seems that the most popular ones are the ones who are doing it.
I agree 100% that Mckmama has used her son Stellan's illness to market her blog to the masses. In fact, before there was OHIH or MWOP I was questioning her. I asked questions on blogfrog and got called some very NASTY names by many of the current MWOP regulars. You see, they had not seen the light yet...they were her sheeple and defended her. I questioned WHY she needed all the hotel rooms, pay pal accounts, food delivered to her house by readers, gift cards etc. etc. It's not like she was the first mommy blogger with a sick kid. I questioned the cliff hangers and I questioned the ads that went up right about the time the cliff hangers began. I knew what she was up to and I called her on it.
Now the reason I am bringing all this up is to say...there are many who are doing exactly what she is doing and has done.
I get it...many LOVE Kelle Hampton and NieNie and even Angie Smith. I get that, but let's be honest here. Each of the above bloggers has gotten famous because of illness or accident. Each of the above bloggers have written books because of their situation. They pimp the books out on their blogs. Angie Smith actually asked her readers of her blog to go and give reviews on Amazon about her book just recently and offered them a signed book jacket if they would. Now I call that paying for a review and I happen to think it is unethical. A review someone writes should not come with a gift attached. So to me that makes Angie Smith seem to be unethical.
I believe people have a hard time seeing the truth about people that they view as an idol. We saw this time and time again with Mckmama. When you feel a connection to someone you sometimes look the other way with their faults because it is painful to feel the disappointment in someone we look up to. If you have read for any length of time at MWOP, the majority of the ladies were at one time sheeple themselves and they tell their stories of how they looked up to Mckmama and defended her. Finally, Mckmama angered them and they find their way to MWOP and the rest is history.
The moral to this blog post is MANY popular bloggers are doing the very same thing as Mckmama. Maybe try looking at things more objectively. Try reading these blogs and forget how much you adore them, forget what great mothers and Christians you think they are. Block out their picture perfect lives that you only WISHED you had. When you can do this, you will see what I am talking about.
Now I'm not saying you can't still idol and adore these bloggers. No, not at all...in fact that is your choice if you do. What I am saying is at least read knowing that YOU ARE being lied to, used and these bloggers are not your friend. They have a purpose, it is to make money and pimp vendors wares so they can get free stuff. Just don't allow these bloggers to fool you the way Mckmama did...if you do, as soon as they do something like Mckmama did that makes you change your mind about them, you will be feeling duped like you do now about them. Without faithful readers books will not sell and sponsors will not pay for ad space.
Lastly, here is a PERFECT example of a mommy blogger using her children to make money on her blog. NieNie wrote this on her most recent blog post:
My children wrote their Christmas lists.
Here is what they want:
I know you elves need some help this time of year-
I know where you can go to get some help:
Blinkenstaffs (IN ALL CAPS AND IN COLOR FONT WITH A LINK ATTACHED)
to make it easy for you, all you have to do is click on the image
to see exactly what their little hearts desire
Next it is filled with link after link of boxes with each child's name and pics of what they would like. All from this VERY VERY EXPENSIVE toy store, who just happens to have a link on her sidebar and who she has been pimping out for a few months now on her blog. Bottom line, Blinkenstaffs is a paying sponsor on her blog.
What this proves is even a Christian Mommy Blogger will pimp out her kids for the sake of money!
55 comments:
Great post!
Shelby:
Thanks.
I'm really not bitter about the disclaimer stuff. I am bitter about peole who hold one blogger to one standard and another blogger to a different standard.
I feel strongly about being fair. I use Kelle Hampton, NieNie and Angie Smith as examples because many who follow Mckmama and post on MWOP are followers of these blogs. Believe me there are MANY MANY bloggers who are doing this.
I know at one time I did the same thing many are doing now, I disliked Mckmama and her antics so much I overlooked the mommy bloggers who did the same thing she does. I realize I was wrong and I was being blinded by the truth. Since I now look at the blogs objectively and I put aside my love of the blogger, I see they are doing many of the same things Mckmama is doing.
On a personal level I love Kelle Hampton's pictures and many of her party ideas. I love that Angie Smith is not afraid to speak about her love of the Lord. NieNie, well let's just say I can't find anything I really like about her and I have tried..I really have. NieNie is just not my cup of tea and I think she is phony. I'm sorry she got burned just like I am sorry my best friend lost her husband is a terrible accident. The accident doesn't give her a free pass to post nude pics of her kids, ignore the seatbelt and lifejacket laws and certainly doesn't give her the right to take advantage of crafty mom's trying to support their children by selling them on the internet.
If Mckmama would have done the Christmas Craft thing with her readers and then shafted her readers who sent in crafts by not even promoting them on her blog and didn't return the item..the law would have been called and Mckmama would be called a THIEF!
We cannot continue to call Mckmama out and turn the other cheek for these other bloggers proclaiming how great they are and how horrible they are. They are all wrong when they are lying, cheating and selling their children's childhood to make a buck on their blogs.
That is all I am trying to show people is that it is about treating any and every blogger equal and holding them accountable for their actions.
Tina, I agree it's a good post...I do still see somewhat of a difference, though, in JM and the others you've named, at least based on what little I know of the others. For example, I'd far rather see NieNie's upfront approach of basically saying, "Hey, if you're wanting to send my kids a gift, here's what they'd love:" over JM's tactic of dropping oh-poor-me/us hints. Not that she's hinted about Christmas gifts for her kids, but I'm speaking in generalities here. At least NieNie is being pretty honest about it all, you know? Tacky-assed, but honest. And frankly, I find it a tad refreshing to see a mommy blogger who isn't saying how her little darlings just told her all they want for Christmas is to give their old toys/money/firstborn to the poor kids who don't have anything. Sorry, I don't buy that those said that in many cases and even if they did, they're usually saying to because it's what Mom wants to hear. Those kids *really want Legos and Barbies and game systems. And, imo, a little kid all worried about other kids having no toys or anything else to the point they *truly want to do without is carrying too much weight on his little shoulders. There's time enough for that in the future. So, while NieNie's recent blog post is tacky, I do applaud her honesty in owning her kids want things for Christmas. Annnnnnd, I got sidetracked there, but I just don't get the feeling from these other bloggers that they are inherent liars. Do they stretch, spin a tale, not tell the bad stuff, trying to put their most perfect face forward? Sure. But do I feel like, based on my admittedly limited knowledge, they connive and plan in a sneaky manner for monetary gain? No. Do I think they outright lie to people's faces? No. Do I think most every damn post they make is geared at making money? No, not that I've seen...but Jennifer McKinney most certainly does.
Damn, that was too long. Sorry.
"I'm really not bitter about the disclaimer stuff. I am bitter about peole who hold one blogger to one standard and another blogger to a different standard."
I honestly don't care about the disclaimer stuff from any of them. In Jennifer's case, I only care because it appears to be one more nail in her grifter-coffin...otherwise, big deal. I'd have never even noticed it. As for NieNie's Christmas Craft thing last year, did she *say she'd be returning everything? If not, I'd have assumed anything I sent would be kept unless I specified I wanted it returned and sent return postage. I mean, seriously, imagine the postage to send all that back.
It's "catalyst" Lauren. Not catalyse.
Let me repeat: C A T A L Y S T
Please proofread and spellcheck your posts before hitting publish. You'll seem a lot smarter than you really are if you do.
I agree with the post, Lauren. I've had to do that with every Christian mommy blogger I used to read: really examine how they got where they did and what my presence provides them.
The only one that does NOT fit this bill because her blog is successful without any tragic/down on her luck story -- it's just a wonderfully, authentic blog written by a dear, sweet Christian young lady is Ashley Lancaster at ourhappilyeverafters.com. I've been reading her for the last two plus years and each time I read, I'm uplifted.
As for Angie Smith, her whole story post-Baby Audrey Caroline has disappointed me immensely. She's become a tool and now holds on to her readers by gracing them with her presence on the rarest of occasions. She's now part of the machine, and as much as I enjoyed her most recent book about fear, after I read it, I realized that it probably wouldn't have come about had her baby not died. I don't begrudge anyone the opportunities that life situations present; I do take great issue with her recent shenanigans. She is a grade A butt kisser, name dropper and cling on. A lot of that has to do with the fact that Todd, her husband, is a Christian Dove Award winner/singer so she's around artists like Natalie Grant on a regular basis. But she's become much of what is ugly in the superficial I-Buy-My-Friends world. She's got the Christianese lingo down and uses it to hold on to the readers she has left. And even they seem to be disappearing as of late.
Great post!
I'd also like to add to my post above re: Angie Smith and the other bloggers...
Jennifer Mckinney is in a league all her own. She scams. She lies. She steals. She plagiarizes. She manipulates. She exploits. She deceives. Her and her husband's legal records/accounts/run-ins with the law and the way they run from those they owe also makes them boldfaced unethical scoundrels. You don't have a list a mile long of various lawsuits, tickets and debtors chasing you down by living a life with standards and values. And if she's not careful, she's going to find herself explaining to CPS why she puts her innocent small children in the laps of pedophiles. She's playing with fire and she's going to get burned.
I think someone was predisposed to envy and malice here, and saw what they wanted to see. It seems to me the children's christmas lists were intended to help people find age and perhaps gender appropriate toys, especially grandparents and aunts and uncles. A conversation about what a child likes or doesn't like is standard fair in a mommy blog at Christmas. Stephanie's message is that her children are central, she is not going to exclude them from the site, and she is trying to live as normal a life as possible, a new life, a life about more than what has happened, and she has a certain style and ambience that is enchanting. You simply need to have a soul to have been deeply moved by her response to life. That she moves on from that unimaginable experience and does not make it the center of her blog is a message to move forward to many many people who cannot seem to do that (find something positive to do) they are stuck. Her blog is popular because it is darling, and while it inexplicably offends some, people do buy gifts for children at christmas and some creative advice is helpful. I do not begrudge her an income, in payment or in kind, she has found something she is very good at, designing web pages, something others have no gift for, and it is time to grow up and wish her well.
You need to add "The Pioneer Woman" blog to your list, it makes "My Charming Kids' look like small potatoes in comparison. Ree Drummond is the Queen and I literally laugh out loud each and every time someone over at mwop gushes about how "real" she is.
Laughing
I have a serious question for the readers here, if anyone is inclined to chime in. I don't claim to be an expert on the keyword usage thing, but I am learning more each day. Do you think JM is putting her children at risk with her keyword usage, or just getting additional clicks? Is there a tangible risk in her actions? Is that something that can be measured or proven, or does anyone even care about such cyber issues, or only issues that translate into real life? -L
I admit I don't read any of the blogs that are listed in this post but my question is, do those bloggers flat out lie to get hits? Are they frauds in real life and online?
That's the major difference for me. I think people are more than fine with anyone using their life to make money, even if it's a sick child, they aren't okay with someone making stuff up and so forth.
That's why PW may fall into the category of the likes of MckMama. I don't read her either, but I read the anti-PW blogs sometimes and she's apparently just as much of a liar as MckMama (except without all the in real life legal drama).
So to me it's as simple as that, don't lie to people to make money. Don't make up medical drama, issues, etc to get hits. If you are who you are and you just pimp your situation you are okay in my book.
And yes I think MckMama is putting her kids in danger by using the keywords she does. I don't think she understands the types of people she's inviting willing into her world.
In reference to some comments on the other post, don't underestimate the power of SEO. Her keyword usage is very real and works very well. Just because you type these words into google and it doesn't pop up right away means nothing. It's about putting as many of the keywords on your site, building your rake on google and hopefully coming in as the top listing in as many searches as possible. It takes time though which is why I never got into it. But if you want to build your blog and increase your hits you have to become an expert in it.
When I use some of the keywords MWOP posts, I've never saw Mckmama's page in the results. From what I've seen and read, it is not as easily done as what they claim.
Anne
You forgot to add Matt Logelin to your list of bloggers who use tragedy and children for profit.
Best,
J
Pamala - There is real life legal drama with Pioneer Woman.
I don't know about the key words, I'm not searching for anything with those types of words. I do think that mwop puts MckMama's kids in just as much danger as they claim she does by endless talking about anything/everything to do with the kids, posting her address and by looking at each photo in the nth detail with the purpose of finding something.
Mwop looks at MckMama's site with malice on a constant basis, it's really scary sometimes the level of hatred, anger and judgement that is posted on a daily basis.
Laughing
I don't follow any Mommy Bloggers enough to really know much about them. I go to Dooce often just to look at her pictures, and MckMama as well to look at her photos, because *gasp* I actually think they are quite good.
Laughing,
I completely agree. MWOP brings just as much harm to the kids as JM does. They are just as bad but justify their actions by....... not sure really? Holding her accountable, "protecting the kids"? It is what it is, they promote JM as much as JM promotes herself. It is scary the way they pick apart everything! Did you know they even have Latin experts commenting at MWOP?!?! No really, one's husband is even a professor. Gawd they are ridiculous.
Darcy
BTW - Don't read Kelle Hampton, don't dislike her per se, but can't digest her writing either. But yes, she does pimp out her kids.
LOL, omg, haha, I can't believe that a reader of MWOP dare to have a husband who happens to be a Latin professor. haha, how dare they?!
Really, really?
I just think it is funny how they can go on and on about the Latin stuff. The MWOPers are always fussing how Mckmama is constantly tweeting, facebooking and posting. Did some of them ever stop to think they do far more commenting in a day then she does on all three, twitter, facebook and blog?? Hilarious!
Anne
It has always been interesting to me how often people are one.
They'll say it doesn't take long to respond, maybe a minute or so, which I fully believe is true. Add in reading time, maybe five minutes total to respond through out the day.
Imagine this can probably be done on a bathroom break, when kids are taking a nap, inbetween activities, etc.
I've never found MckMama's tweeting/facebook/blogging to be excessive at all. It's probably no different time wise than those constantly commenting on MWOP.
Anon,
Sorry you misunderstood :) My point being, at least one person is a "professional" of one profession or another when it comes to diagnosing, teaching or mothering at MWOP. They even had judges & lawyers commenting there @ one point, and if you believe than you're more naive than the sheeple :)
Darcy
"and she has a certain style and ambience that is enchanting. You simply need to have a soul to have been deeply moved by her response to life."
Oh, bullshit. Sorry, Tina. I most certainly have a soul and am touched by many, many things. A blog that touches me? Someone who is enchanting and lovely, *imo? kissesfromkatie(dot)blogspot(dot)com
NieNie may be those things to you, but to others she's simply boring, whiny and spoiled-acting. *shrugs*
I don't like PW and she will absolutely mislead people about certain things, but I've never felt she outright scammed about anything. Maybe someone else knows differently, though.
anon 11:49
"I think someone was predisposed to envy and malice here, and saw what they wanted to see."
**No, not any envy here. Maybe I am looking at what she is doing without blinders on..EYES WIDE OPEN. No malice here, just calling it for what it is.
Honestly you are going to say you don't see the product placement behind her post about Blinkenstaffs?
You really think it was an innocent post of a mothering saying these are great ideas for Christmas?
Surely you are kidding.
It is so obvious what she was doing she may as well have just said it..I Am getting compensated by Blinkenstaffs so this is another way for me to market them on my blog and I am using my children as a cover to make it all seem so sweet and innocent.
If you would like to believe NieNie is so innocent and isn't greedy and self-absorbed, you go right ahead. I on the other hand will continue to call her out with the hope that others will know they aren't alone and someone else sees NieNie for who she is!
"You simply need to have a soul to have been deeply moved by her response to life."
Well I believe you only need a brain to figure out NieNie has figured out how to market her accident to her advantage. NieNie and her respnse to life is THE WORLD OWES ME! NieNie has been riding the pity train and anytime someone has questioned her motives..THE REAL NIENIE comes out. The arrogant NieNie who slips and makes nasty comments in her posts to people who DARE to question her.
At least Mckmama has comments open, NieNie doesn't and according to Blogher and their contract that is a violation. So why does NieNie and her sister cjane get to have Blogher ads and not have comments open on their blogs? It really surprises me that people aren't writing Blogher to ask them about this? Now if it was Mckmama, 1000's of emails would have already been sent.
NieNie lost her soul when she started taking advantage of the kind hearts of her readers and the kindness of all the Etsy sellers who sent their wares to her. Even if it was not possible to send them all back...she should have done a post listing all the company names and a link back to the Etsy seller. Instead, if NieNie didn't choose your Esty item as one of her favorites, you got nothing for sending in your item. NieNie gained and many innocent moms trying to make a living lost! I call that stealing and selfish..NieNie sure has time to write about things that benefit her..yet no simple post acknowledging these Esty sellers.
Lisa:
I believe much of the unhappiness bloggers have with Pioneer Woman has to do with her recipe books. I did some research after I kept seeing all the discussions about her and it appears many of her recipes she takes credit for were stolen from local church and organizations cookbooks in her area. Word for word they are copied and at some point she may say stirred instead of wisked, or she may say 1t of salt instead of 1/2t of salt.
Myself, I have never been interested in Pioneer Woman because I think she is full of herself.
I agree with you about the disclaimer stuff..for me it is about principle. The same ladies who find fault with Mckmama for not doing it correctly are the same ladies who state Kelle Hampton, NieNie and many others hung the moon. The point being..they should all be following the rules.
Darcy:
I agree about the professions coming out of MWOP. ::shaking head::
It appears to be the WHO'S WHO...
I don't believe half of what I read on that site! ::giggles::
Pamala:
I agree about the amount of time spent on MWOP vs the time Mckmama spends online.
I was traveling and we had to be in the car for 8 hours...I was so bored I actually was curious about how much time some of them spend online, I tracked it. I can't believe I am even saying this..but I was bored! I was going to do a post about it but decided it was really petty and was no different than the way they say she is always online so I didn't.
If you click on the profile on disquis you can review every single comment that profile has made on MWOP and it is shocking to see some with 1000's and 1000's of comments linked to their profile names. I even noticed many who were commenting all day long and if you went under their profile you could see they had at one time told something about their job. So I guess they are on the job commenting all day on MWOP???
It is very interesting what you can find out about some of these commentors by reading their past comments...even catch some in lies themselves. Really pretty funny...
Anne:
I agree...it really is funny sometimes to read the stuff they post.
I've had to stop myself many times from writing a post about some of it..because really it would be mean spirited. The stories are so fairytale it is not funny. Some of the things they tell about themselves I'm like REALLY...I can't believe you are putting this on the internet. ::shaking head::
J:
I didn't add Matt Logelin because he is not doing the reviews for freebies. I know he is a tool himself..but at least he has taken his situation and done some good with it. The foundation he formed.
I have never felt he was being dishonest..he tells it like it is. He told his readers he quit his job to write his book. He traveled while doing that..he never was hiding what he was doing. I don't like his writing and I think he is odd..but actually he probably was odd before his wife died. I believe he is just not someone I would have been interested in his life had it not been the sad story of his wife.
I spend a lot of the day at my job commenting on various sites. I don't hold it against them, but I don't go around bitching about people commenting too much either. LOL!
I love how y'all are so superior to everyone else. And, just because someone shares something on the internet, doesn't mean they're actually like that in real life. Anyone can lie, anyone can exaggerate, anyone can be whoever they'd like to be online. So go ahead and be all high and mighty. I'm sure your glass houses are safe.
Laughing
Laughing,
That's funny, how is your glass house today?
Pioneer Woman is guilty of everything that upsets mwop about MckMama and I think Kellie Hampton is about 90%guilty.
And no, I'm not talking to myself, really laughing out loud now.
Laughing
One thing I have wondered about with all of this stuff. Has anyone ever dug up dirt on these other bloggers? I mean we know all kinds of stuff about JM and know that there is a lot in her real life that she either glosses over or omits all together.
IDK really about a lot of mommy bloggers because generally I just kind of read them and then move on without really following them but they in general seem to be a lot alike. At least the ones that get attention do.
Lauren, you wrote:
"So why does NieNie and her sister cjane get to have Blogher ads and not have comments open on their blogs? It really surprises me that people aren't writing Blogher to ask them about this?"
You are assuming that people aren't writing to Blogher, when in fact you don't know if they are or not.
You are also assuming that every blogger for BlogHer has the same contract, and I know for a fact that isn't true. BlogHer can make any type of deal they want with whomever they want. They are a business, and they make special concessions when they really want someone on their network.
You also wrote "The same ladies who find fault with Mckmama for not doing it correctly are the same ladies who state Kelle Hampton, NieNie and many others hung the moon."
Could you be more specific here? I read MWoP, and it seems to me that for every person that loves (insert blogger name here) there's one who dislikes them.
I get your points about some bloggers being dishonest, but aren't you making a lot of assumptions here? If I were to make a comment on MWoP, the comment would most likely be about MckMama, not about other bloggers. That doesn't mean I think MckMama is pure evil and all other bloggers are wonderful - it means I'm discussing MckMama on a site that's intended to be a place to discuss MckMama. Yes, other bloggers routinely get mentioned, but obviously not in the same way - because the site is about MckMama.
I think you're making lots of assumptions, and reading between the lines, and "saying it like it is" - I hate this saying, by the way, because what it often means is "saying it like I see it."
Ella Menopee
Shannon:
I believe many have dug up so dirt on Pioneer Woman. I remember when I did some research after hearing so much about her (good and bad) I found someone who had lots of info about the Drummond family and the way they have made lots of their money. It had to do with gov. grants for raising horses on their land. Also read some interesting info about water rights. It appears they are not well liked in their community because they are not very kind to their fellow neighbors. Now with the amount of money the Drummond family has (it is LOTS of money) I would think they can hide any small thing that could be viewed in a negative light.
NieNie, there is some negative stuff about how they are suing the supposed friend who died and was flying the plane. that is his family. Also I read some interesting stuff about how on Oprah she said her husband pulled her from the plane but in the original accident reports it states her husband Mr Nielson like she calls him, left her in the plane. So which is it? Liar, liar...what your husband leaving you in the burning plane doesn't sell your story book image does it? I also read the amount raised from bloggers donating money and having online auctions was over $265,000 dollars and they had GOOD insurance, the Nielson's own words, that payed almost everything and what they didn't pay they had the amounts reduced. So I guess this is how they could afford a sailboat and expensive car and motorcycle since the accident. I also read an article by a newspaper in their hometown that said that were filing a lawsuit against the town that owns the airport that took off from claiming the crash was their(the towns)fault yet Mr Nielson is rumored to have been flying the plane when the problems started and the other pilot took over to try to save the plane. Mr Nielson was a pilot in training but didn't have the required hours to fly the plane alone. Some interesting stuff...
Kelle Hampton..haven't read any news worthy stuff about her. I just KNOW no one has the life she talks about..NO ONE! OK maybe she leaves out the bad, but I believe some mommy bloggers read her and think...WOW she is perfect and her like is all sunshine and unicorns. No, she just doesn't tell the whole story...so I don't think what she tells on her blog is real. I believe it is like reality television. Scripted to market her blog and make money. As long as you know that and are reading it with open eyes..it's all good.
I believe some view these bloggers like Santa Claus, they don't care to hear about the bloggers not so perfect image. They would rather believe it is all perfect and make believe. Someone said Kelle Hampton was like June Cleaver and I agree. Kelle is the June CLeaver of bloggers..
Ella:
I have seen time and time again (sorry I don't have the exact comments to refer to)MWOP ladies say "Mckmama does XYZ and although Kelle Hampton (or insert any other name here)does XYZ she has a good heart, or she is being honest, or she is a good mother etc. etc.
These are things that have been documented in comments over and over. I'm not just making this up.
About Blogher...I speak from experience. I have a personal blog and I HAD Blogher ads. I know many bloggers who also have Blogher Ads. We all have the same ad contract. We have discussed and compared our contracts with each other. I believe you are correct..NieNie and cjane have there "SPECIAL" contract but they are the only blogs with Blogher Ads who have no comments. Check it out and if you find another pleae share it with me..cause my group of blogging friends, we sure haven't found any others. I disagreed with this so much I had Blogher take my ads down...I could not participate in something I felt was not honest and fair. I only read blogs with Blogher Ads through my reader or via proxify I feel so strongly about this. My choice...this I can speak about from experience and facts.
During the height of Mckmama I advocated to Blogher about her not using a review blog for her giveaways. Blogher contract states you must do this...before her contract with Blogher was taken away she finally started using a review blog. I felt I had a right to question since I was binded by the same contract as her..I had Blogher Ads and I had to have a review blog so it was my business.
I don't know if people are writing to Blogher? Yes I figure they must not be because I do know from past experience aka Mckmama, when woman write to businesses about practices they feel aren't right..things change. Since NieNie and cjane still have no comments allowed..I think it makes sense that Blogher has not received the pressure from readers to make Blogher make them start following the rules. Just like with Mckmama..when Blogher received enough pressure about their CASH COW aka Mckmama not having a review blog..they made her start following the rules. Of course it wasn't long after she lost the contract anyway.
Blogher is making LOTS and LOTS of money from contracts by showing the volume of hits NieNie's blog gets and I believe(my opinion) that is why they alloow her to do as she pleases. Even some have said it is because of the plane crash and comments would be hard for NieNie..what is cjane's excuse???
"Even if it was not possible to send them all back...she should have done a post listing all the company names and a link back to the Etsy seller."
I agree completely with this. I don't think her intention was to steal things, though, although I'm not sure why I feel this way. I think that, once again, NieNie was just tacky-assed and self-absorbed and so she just didn't bother acknowledging the items. I will say, too, that she (and others) need to realize that NieNie isn't the only person to have had something horrific happen to them...many, many people. NieNie's scars show a bit more than many initially, but that's about it. She's no different to millions of other people.
"So go ahead and be all high and mighty. I'm sure your glass houses are safe."
I don't feel superior to these bloggers...I don't know them personally and that would be a stretch. That said, my glass house is perfectly safe as I don't lie, embellish, exaggerate or anything else. It makes me boring and painfully average, but I can live with that.
"One thing I have wondered about with all of this stuff. Has anyone ever dug up dirt on these other bloggers?"
I did on PW once, years back and before it all became somewhat public knowledge. A certain friend of ours from Montana was a huge PW fan and, in discussing her one day, I basically internet-stalked the shit out of her to see if there was anything to dig up. Found all the info on the wild horses, the failed restaurants, the traffic tickets, the pharmaceutical stuff, and traced the Drummonds back into close ties with some shady oil dealings before I got bored. There's definitely dirt there and a lot of it. The thing is, PW doesn't lie about it...she simply refuses to address it and while I may not like that, I can respect it more than someone telling bold-faced lies about their situation. Also, too, it doesn't appear that she or Ladd played any part in any of it and I won't hold her accountable for the actions of anyone else in the family...the worst I saw *she did was to insinuate they care for those mustangs out of the goodness of their hearts, when, in fact, they receive enormous amounts of federal funds for doing so. But the family itself has a lot of dirt, yep.
Neither PW or KH address dirt, they don't allow any negative comments on their posts and I know PW has banned people from commenting on her blog in the past.
What bothers me most about PW is the treatment of animals under her care, I feel for their horses and the very young children who ride them. I believe if you read any of the anti PW sites you can find details about where she lied but you are right, she just doesn't address ANY negative comments. Is that better or worse than JM who does allow many negative comment through and tries to address the many questions that people really have no business knowing? I have read many comments on mwop and other places that loudly protest that lack of answers from JM, but it's okay from PW and you respect that? What a crock.
And what bothers me about all three of them, yes ALL three of them (JM, PW, & KH) is the naked pictures of their children on their blogs.
I'd be the "certain friend in Montana" that Lisa just referenced, and while being a person who finds her representation of "real ranch life" to be irritating as hell, I'm curious what you (Anon 12/7/11 7:13 a.m.) find to be bothersome about PW's horses/kids riding said horses? For sure, that is not an uncommon things amongst ranchers (rich or poor) that kids learn to ride and are kind of left to their own devices early on.
I have no feelings one way or the other about JM and have never read any of those other blogs to any extent. I figure if any of those people are making money being deceitful or pimping out their kids, it's as much on the people (and I'd be one who tosses coins in Ree's bank) who go to their site and read. I dunno. Just don't see how *any of it is interesting enough to generate so many blogs and so much conversation, I guess.
You are the big fan of PW? Can I ask why, especially given your negative comments about her representation of "real ranch life".
You claim it's common among ranchers to allow their 4 year old children to ride horses, being left to their own devices on those horses (with known riding issues) while they are sobbing and their mother takes pictures because the horse is freaking out? And then to ride that horse hard to show them that a 4 year old is in charge of the horse?
It's common among ranchers to not follow the terms of the contracts (ones that are paying $$$) on the care for wild mustangs?
When you finish riding your horse for the day to you just take the saddle off and let it go roll around and clean itself?
Do you tie your horse to barb wire fences?
I guess it's interesting enough for you to come here and join the conversation.
That right there's the gist of every horse book I've read growing up:
"You claim it's common among ranchers to allow their 4 year old children to ride horses, being left to their own devices on those horses (with known riding issues) while they are sobbing and their mother takes pictures because the horse is freaking out? And then to ride that horse hard to show them that a 4 year old is in charge of the horse?"
Without the mother part. Mothers were in the kitchen or otherwise supportive.
I have very little respect for monetized mommy bloggers period! They all seem to quickly turn into a way to use their family and their private business to make a buck and get as much attention as they can. If they want to put their name, face and business out there for public scrutiny, it's their business. BUT...they also put those kids in the same spotlight and it will never disappear.
Imagine if you there were embarrassing pictures, video and family stories out there for anyone with internet access to find. You never consented for that info to be publicised but 15 years ago your mother made your life public record for attention and/or money.
And I've never understood PW fans. Her food is not original, not healthy, and not that great considering how much fat and calories a person is inhaling when eating it.
She's a woman who married into a wealthy family and found a way to use that to make even more money. Woop de doo.
I am so sad right now...
OT sorta...
A blog I have always enjoyed following has been taken in by the reality television bug. The Steese's Pieces blog about a family raising quads just released the info they are filming a reality show on WEtelevision and the first show airs Dec 27th.
I really thought this couple was smart..now not so much. Need I say Kate Gosselin or the Mache sextuplets?? Why why why let cameras follow your family around and invade your life? A show just starting out they aren't even getting that much money??? I am very sad and thought this couple had more respect for their children than this. I guess childhood really does have a PRICE for some parents!
Nope. As Lisa said, I *was a fan of PW. Way back in the early days, because I did love the pictures of ranch work and the horses, etc. I am not a fan now. My only comment was that it *is common for ranch people to have their kids riding horses at a very early age. How Ree chooses to parent (i.e. taking pictures while the horse runs off) is on Ree. I couldn't comment on BLM mustang contracts because by sheer logistics it's not a common thing for "most ranchers."
Oh. I *have tied my horse to a barbed wire fence. Not a lot of options when you're out in a pasture. They're smart, they're not going to jump into it and roll around.
I do get a lot of the judgement that is passed on almost any of the monetized "big" bloggers, and I agree they earn that judgement by putting their lives out there for inspection of the general public, and that some of that general public may spend more time hunkered down over their keyboard frantically searching for any little morsel of dirt they can find and then hashing and re-hashing it all over the 'net. I get all that. But I also think that sometimes a lot of judgement and hysteria happens over topics that people just don't really *get or understand because it's not their life or their way of living, you know?
Anyway, busy weekend ahead, so I'm out. Have fun!
Lauren on 12/6 @5:07,
It doesn't matter what you and your friends have or had in your BlogHer contracts. My point was that you have no way of knowing what is in NieNie's contract. You also have no way of knowing who is or isn't contacting BlogHer about NieNie, or any other BlogHer blogger, unless you are privy to what's going on inside the BlogHer offices.
My point still stands - you're making a lot of assumptions. Assumptions are fine, as long as you aren't calling them facts.
Ella Menopee
Ella:
Do you have Blogher Ads or have you ever had Blogher Ads?
Just like you claim I don't know what NieNie contract states, you don't know there are contracts that are different.
Blogher promotes themselves as an ad network to bloggers and in no way do they list different blog contracts as an option. No where will you find Blogher talking about tier levels.
You are making my point for me...YES, NieNie is treated different. NieNie is not held to the same requirements that other bloggers are. This is one of the reasons that Blogher is not the leader in blog ads. This is another reason why many refuse to place Blogher Ads on their blogs. Blogher doesn't have the leading blogs in their network.
I believe someone said it perfect about who Pioneer Woman is...
A woman who married into a wealthy family and because of his family wealth was able to market herself into a leading role as a blogger. Wealth can give you advantages that others with equal or greater talents don't get.
I've never been impressed with Pioneer Woman and actually was never able to relate to her writing. I was so turned off the way she referenced her brother..you know the retarded word. I know she has now removed that but the fact remains, I read it on her blog and she obviously thought that word was OK. Once she became famous she removed it. That in itself speaks volumes about her character.
The blogs I referenced are only a drop in the bucket as far as who is pimping their children out. There are many more and many you yourslef probably read that maybe I don't. The point was that it is happening and it is happening at an alarming rate.
I guess selling a childhood is the NEW thing for mommy bloggers to do. I still cannot wrap my arms around this and never will..how do you even put a money value on a childhood?
I predict in 20 years we will see large numbers of children suing their parents for selling their private moments, not to mention these children suing for their cut of the money that was made off their childhoods.
Lauren,
In the end, MckMama lost her contract with BlogHer due to her plagiarism. I was also told that inappropriate content had been considered as well.
"I was so turned off the way she referenced her brother..you know the retarded word. I know she has now removed that but the fact remains, I read it on her blog and she obviously thought that word was OK. Once she became famous she removed it. That in itself speaks volumes about her character."
I agree with the last part of what you said...personally, the word "retarded" doesn't bother me as long as it's used properly. To say "my uncle is retarded" when he *is retarded doesn't bother me. To say "my uncle is retarded" when he *isn't doesn't bother me, either, come to think of it. But don't call my retarded uncle a retard, or I'll get pissed because that's just ugly and mean. That said, when PW went and removed the word, I, too, thought that said a lot about her character. Own what you say and don't be untrue to yourself, especially not for profit.
As for reality shows, I dunno...I think it can be okay, as long as you're careful about your kids and what and said and done in reference to them. Are people even still interested in these shows about families with multiples, though? I'm tired of both them and shows about dwarfs.
While I know it's common for young children to ride and work a farm/ranch early in their lives, btdt but putting a young child on horse with known issues and lack of proper care is what bothers me, as I said before. You left out the part about the "treatment" of the animals in your judgement of my comments.
I also noticed that you didn't address all my points about the treatment of the animals in your judgement of my comments.
I'm sorry as well for your horses if you tie them to barb wire fences. I hope nothing ever happens to them, I've seen some nasty wounds from people who have stated exactly what you just wrote.
While I do agree to a certain extent that judgement of blogs comes from lack of understanding of a situation, some of it's just downright common sense.
Makes me wonder why PW hasn't lost her blogher contract for plagiarism and inappropriate content? Makes you wonder why it's not okay for one blog but okay for another?
"You are making my point for me...YES, NieNie is treated different."
"Just like you claim I don't know what NieNie contract states, you don't know there are contracts that are different."
Actually... you are making MY point for ME. Thanks! :)
You don't know if NieNie is being treated differently unless you know what's exactly in her contract.
Have you seen her contract? Have you seen every contract BlogHer has made with every blogger on their network? I haven't, which is why I can't assume to know if NieNie is receiving special treatment or not.
If you haven't seen NieNie's contract, then my "claim" is correct, and no longer an assumption, but a fact. If you HAVE seen her contract, then please let me know and I will retract my "claim".
Ella Menopee
Gosh, don't be so darn touchy. I'm not "judging" anything you said at all.
I recently sold my horse, but Lisa could tell you stories of the injuries he managed to inflict on himself in what appeared to be a perfectly safe environment (no barbed wire - wood fences.) He was ... my *retarded horse. No lie. :-)
In terms of nasty wounds, I've seen nasty wounds horses get from injuries in trailers, from being tied in trailers, from being stalled, from flipping while barrel racing, or jumping, or any number of things we use them for in work or play. They just do. No judgement or excusing, just saying.
I wasn't judging your comments at all. I asked what you didn't like, and you answered, and I gave my viewpoint. It's called a conversation, and people have them all the time, even stating differing viewpoints.
Growing up I saw my dad and grandpa turn horses out without brushing them down. I've not done that in my adult life, riding trails, but I can acknowledge that that's the way the old timers did it, and a fourth- (or whatever she always brags about) generation rancher might do the same.
Touchy? First you judge my comments now you are judging my moods, as I was saying before, common sense, lol.
I've tried, but I can't make heads or tails out of that last sentence. A little bit of properly placed punctuation would go a looonnnggg way. lol. And if I were to work up enough interest, and take up "judging" you, you'd know. :-D
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