Controversy in the Mom Blogging Community - What, NOT again?

My husband started his vacation this week and - although, he had to "pop" into work for a few hours this afternoon - the kids and I have him...all to ourselves...for the next 2 weeks!

I mean, working with a bunch of women, the man can SURE use a break.  Trust me, I'm a woman, I know and can barely stand it, mah-own-self.

Put a bunch of women together, in the same room, without any bean dip, Cheetos or soothing libations and...well...it won't take us very long to find out exactly whose hormones are, you know, the strongest.

Add a couple of bloggers (who, it just so happens, are moms) to the guest list and...well...there's a pretty good chance that someone's going to leave the party, crying.

And I'm NOT just talking about "in a bad way," either.

I haven't opened my laptop in 3 days (did I mention my husband's home?) so, since my husband, Garth (not his real name) was at the office, I kicked the kids outside (yes, ALL of them) to get some work done and learned from the Queen of Spain that there's been a bit of controversy in the mom blogging world.

What, again?

Yes, but this time - rather than fighting over semantics - a mom blogger is verbally under attack, over verbage.

Et tu Twitter?

I mean, to some people, we bloggers(who are moms, I mean) already have a reputation for being argumentative and perhaps they're right (damn you, LatteMan!) and, being born female, I would tend to agree.  On the other hand, because I am also a mom, I feel that it's only natural.

The mom blogging community is filled with sage advice from women who are more than willing to share what's on their minds, or in their hearts - most especially, if it helps a fellow mom -  and I guess it comes from having been predisposed to constantly meeting the needs of others.

However, motherhood is nothing new - heck, some of my best parenting moments come from taking a page from my Hungarian grandmother's views on raising children and then sharing with the rest of the Internets - and, as with most things in life, we each have to decide, for ourselves, exactly where to draw the proverbial line between support and good judgment, or the lack thereof.

Just like foodies, pundits and techies, we mom bloggers are passionate about what we say (and do) so, it shouldn't come as a surprise, to anyone, when accusations (such as, "You are copying me?") are made, and the question of intellectual property comes into play, or when tempers begin to fly and then, suddenly, all that hard work you put into your blog...well...it just sort of loses it's value.

Must we be so critical of each other?

We ALL have a very distinct and powerful voice - I mean, even marketers are starting to listen...sort of - rather than nit-picking each other's blogs into silence, perhaps we should consider ourselves lucky that we are indeed a part of a community where you can almost ALWAYS find someone who is ready to listen and perhaps learn a cool thing, or two.

"Momeeeeeeee, she (or, he) is STILL copying me!"

It's like I tell my kids, emulation is the sincerest form of flattery.

"STOP copying me!"

On the other hand, If you don't have anything nice to say, or add anything positive to the conversation, then it really doesn't matter, does it?

Whether we speak in UPPERCASE, or no.

Either way, don't worry, I'll still respect you in the morning...and my husband will probably think I'm wrong, anyway...but, I'm still pretty pissed that I may have just proved LatteMan right, for a change, dammit!

© 2008 This Full House - All Rights Reserved.

Comments

[Alli ~Mrs. Fussypants]

Just glad I'm not a jerk.

LOL!

xo, fuss

[Kate]

It's this very reason why I choose NOT to attend Blogher. I can't be bothered with all the clique-ishness (is that a real word?!). God bless you for going... I know you will have an awesome time cuz you ROCK! {{{hugs}}}

[dana]

I was surprised as well when I learned of the "tiff" in the momosphere. It was just a shock because I thought we Mommybloggers had gotten over ourselves already. ;)

[JayMonster]

You proving me right... like me being right, must have simply been an accident. ;)

Can I say I agree with dana without it looking like I am trying to copy her idea?

*No MommyBloggers were ripped off or copied in the making of this comment

[Busy Mom]

^*snort*

[prescott]

Liz, it's really parasitic of you to post your thoughts on the Internet® and then allow people to reply to said thoughts and then display the replies in chronological order.

QUIT RIPPING OFF MY BLOG.

Side note: a certain barretted person's trip to BlogHer just got a little bit AWK-ward!

[Amber]

One of the advantages of staying on the fringes is not having to deal with this kind of stuff. That's why BlogHer was and is a bit difficult for me. When there are large groups of women, there is inevitably cattiness...cliques.

Speaking of BlogHer, do you know of anyone who is setting up ride shares from the airport? I'm arriving at 3 p.m. and am looking to share a cab with someone. Supposing I actually arrive on time this year. :-)

[Liz]

FYI: BlogHer has a page dedicated to "ride-share" information:

http://www.blogher.com/forums/blogher-conference/08-ride-share-0

FYFI: I attended BlogHer for the first time last year and - though, I have to admit that I was as nervous as all get out and found myself feeling easily intimidated by bloggers who were, shall we say, less impressed by my being a big fan - the mom blogging community, in general, is HUGE and it didn't take very long for me to feel the love of like-minded individuals, who were more than happy to hang with me, even though, clearly, I was AND still am...you know...a total DORK!

[HRH]

Well said and AMEN. Ya, uppercase intended.