Comments on: Everything is Editorial. Unless It’s Not.

By: cpnielsen

cpnielsen — Wed, 19 May 2010 01:09:03 +0000

Hi Michelle! I think blogging and Web 2.0 is here to stay - users want to have a say in your web content and this is now a necessity in business. That said, when you mention “Commerce vs. Credibility,” I say it is commerce AND credibility, because if your bloggers are off the mark or unscrupulous, the weight of their words is lost and reflects poorly on the website in question. I also think that bloggers who try products know that the companies soliciting their input value constructive criticism even more than blowing smoke. So thank you for providing such an excellent website with great content and great bloggers. I value the honesty and won’t ever fault you for that!

By: Michelle

Michelle — Tue, 18 May 2010 19:52:09 +0000

@Duri - Absolutely and I thank you for sharing wonderful conversation about this to come to a place of answers.

Credibility is Everything!

By: Duri

Duri — Tue, 18 May 2010 19:17:49 +0000

Very few people have the courage to make such a statement, I applaud you for A-publicly debating it B- Making the right choice

We always tell our clients: If social media does not work for you, you should change your product.

Not every brand is sell-able through social media, this is a fact and brands need to live with it.

Social Media influencers like Eeverythingmom have a role to protect the entegrity of consumer influence and consumer choice.

And brands have a role to protect the consumer status of big bloggers, and never allow them to loose their credibility for a short lived win.

The social media consumer movement is bigger than me, you, brand A, brand B, Agency A and Agency B. We must respect it, because as I said in one of my blogs, in today’s world, consumers can bite back, and if they don’t like the taste, tell everyone they know

Your biggest asset in today’s media world is: CREDIBILITY

Protect it by being genuine and honest, and it will grow, give advise that benefit consumers not brands, unless brands work for the benefit of consumers (yes you can quote me )

Your above post is a clear indication that your credibility, and heart are in the right place

Good luck and keep up the good work

By: Michelle

Michelle — Tue, 18 May 2010 03:46:27 +0000

@Eden - thanks for taking the time to write the post! I value your opinions and was keen to hear your stance on it. Glad to know you…

@littlemissmocha - you are too sweet! I am so full of gratitude for what you call the “authentic, caring, generous spirits who dwell here” (like yourself!) - I love you all and thank you everyone for being part of Everything.

*sniff*

By: littlemissmocha

littlemissmocha — Tue, 18 May 2010 03:21:46 +0000

You have created a great resource here at Everything Mom, and I think you are doing a great job trying to balance the needs and wants of all parties involved. Kudos to you for trying to find a clear path through it all. All you can do is listen to what your community wants, and balance it against the values of what you are trying to build.

I love this site. I love the authentic, caring, generous spirits who dwell here. And I’ll second the comment above: Who wouldn’t want to read a column that is called “Everything Fabulous”?

Jen

By: Eden Spodek

Eden Spodek — Mon, 17 May 2010 23:25:44 +0000

Michelle, Thank you for encouraging me to write a post on this topic in the first place and thank you for your kind words.

You’ve done an excellent job of putting your stake in the ground, letting readers, writers and companies know where you and Everything Mom stands. Although you’ll probably still receive requests to review products from people who don’t read your policies first, the community including savvier people doing outreach will.

I’m interested in seeing how your new approach is going in about 3 months time.

Sorry you’ve had to take some unkind hits for the team.

Cheers,

Eden

By: Michelle

Michelle — Mon, 17 May 2010 22:23:37 +0000

@Sarah at SavvyMom — Thanks, Sarah. It is such a tough call because we were receiving so many requests (as do you) and our editor was reviewing many of the products (and she wasn’t paid for that). Now we have a column vs reviews, and our editor’s salary now includes time to write about products that she feels our readers need to know about.

Win all the way around.

By: Sarah at SavvyMom

Sarah at SavvyMom — Mon, 17 May 2010 21:40:26 +0000

Good for you Michelle. You’ve landed on pretty much the model we have always used at http://www.SavvyMom.ca and it’s definitely worked for us in terms of being able to be crystal clear about what is advertising/paid content and what is editorial/uninfluencable (pretty much most of it).

By: Michelle

Michelle — Mon, 17 May 2010 19:25:27 +0000

@David Jones - I know everyone has their opinion, but some tweets were a little unkind, or maybe I am too sensitive. Mostly everyone was wonderful, including yourself and I am so thankful for the community and you opening the space to have this conversation! For sure each blogger / property needs to be treated as an individual and thank you for spreading that message.

@coffee with julie - thank you, it is a work in progress!

@Mom101 - Fabulous!

Golly, I gotta get threaded comments here. ;P

By: David Jones

David Jones — Mon, 17 May 2010 19:07:06 +0000

Well said. It’s your site and you make the rules based on what you perceive your readership wants. I don’t feel good about people attacking you for your opinions. We’re grown-ups and we can disagree without resorting to personal attacks to get our points across.

What I told my PR colleagues today was that these discussions reinforce the fact that each blogger should be treated individually and not part of a homogeneous group. I hope some bloggers found out that us PR people aren’t all cut from the same cloth either.