ATTENTION BUSINESSES AND PR COMPANIES:

I am a “Mummy Blogger”. Well, actually I prefer to call myself a blogger. I am a Mum who blogs, but I reserve the word mummy for my kids as I find other people calling me that a little creepy. And anyway I don’t just blog about my kids, I sometimes blog about my husband, boobs, my belly and any other topic which pops randomly into my head after a bottle of wine.

I blog about a lot of different topics. I live an interesting, eclectic life. I work, I socialise, I clean, I mother, I watch tv, I know about politics and business and shit. I DID NOT HAVE A LOBOTOMY.

See the picture above of the skinny, hot woman standing beside her abnormally large, sparkling clean oven – that is not me. So, why oh why do women who blog automatically get categorised as women who live to clean their house, buy their husband’s polo neck shirts, talk only about their children incessantly, get excited about picking the perfect My Family sticker for their station wagon and whose idea of fun is scurrying around the supermarket searching out the latest healthy snack options for the whole family. You know, give a mum who blogs a block of chocolate and the latest Parenting magazine and she’ll be so excited she might even give her husband a blowie to celebrate. WRONG. We all know blowies are strictly for Christmas and birthdays.

Here’s the thing, on the weekend I went to a national blogging conference, the Digital Parent’s conference. There were stands there promoting their products and everyone got a goodie bag. The companies which chose to get involved were very clever because us women we like to buy stuff. The only thing that troubled me is that it was pretty clear the only companies who truly knew the value of this emerging force in communication – bloggers – were cleaning companies and other products deemed “motherly”.  I shit you not, there was even a three-part instructional video on how to clean. I cleaned that straight into bin, without even having to watch it.

I am not having a go at those businesses, there’s definitely a place for those products. They’re the smart businesses. They’ve recognised the reach of bloggers and are harnessing it. There’s just so many that are not. They are lagging behind eating homemade pie and drinking Milo with their patronising stereotypes.

C’mon businesses out there get with the program – women are no longer stuck in the 1950s model of being the perfect housewife. We are a varied bunch. Parents are a varied bunch. You know there were actually men at this conference too (insert sarcasm here). And there were women who work in high-powered industries, women who like adventure sports, women who read books (other than just ones with pictures in them), women who drink vodka, women who craft, women who travel, women who do not know how to cook and women who hire cleaners. You know there are women who clean a lot – I’m one of them, but I also like sitting on the couch in my knickers, drinking gin and tonics while watching the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, while flicking to the Sky News Business Channel in the ad breaks. Businesses with their gingham blinkers on are missing out on some very viable business propositions. Us bloggers are a loud bunch, we talk, we communicate directly with consumers and we are business savvy. It’s about time businesses start taking notice.

Community Service Announcement over.

Thanks,
bigwords x