Parenting Advice From Joy Berry: The Mommy Bloggers Brunch

When one attends as many conventions as I’ve attended during the last 30 years, they all start to blend together into one huge blur. But such was not the case with the Child’s Play Communications’ 2nd Annual Bloggers Brunch put together by a group of premier mommy bloggers.

The event began with a panel of six mommy bloggers who shared the basics of what they do and what they don’t do. All six women were intelligent and savvy on so many levels—first as businesswomen, but more important, as mommies. In fact, it was their role as mothers that catapulted them into blogging and a burgeoning industry that impacts the lives of moms all over the world.

I learned a great deal during the panel discussion (i.e. the difference between a journalist and a blogger—which is the fact that a journalist is required to be objective while a blogger is expected to write from personal opinion and experience). However, the part of the convention that I liked best was the time after the panel discussion during which I was able to interact one on one with the mommy bloggers. The subjects of the blog sites ran the gamut from the benefits of nursing for a longer rather than shorter period of time to raising children in an Orthodox Jewish family.

Interestingly enough, no matter how narrowly defined the focus of an individual site, there always seemed to be an audience that was hungry for the information that it provided. And this is why I came away with a whole new appreciation for the media age.

There was a time when I went kicking and screaming into the media age, but quite frankly, the mommy bloggers brunch reminded me why I finally got on board. Since, for a variety of reasons, moms no longer talk over the back fence, what better way is for them to communicate with each other than through the Internet?

This is why I want to say to mommy bloggers everywhere, “You go, girl!” Smile.