[su_heading size=”18″]I am a Mommy Blogger and I am proud, hear me roar![/su_heading]
After my most recent post I was filled with a renewed energy from all of your comments. I was holding on to the criticism that I received from this women thinking that I could make use of it to improve my writing.
The fact is that I have never have dealt with negativity well and her words were taking me down. I couldnt move away from the criticism and I started to climb into my dark, little hole to stay for a while.
When I received all of your positive comments I slowly began to crawl out confirming that positive criticism is much more productive.
Please make sure that you go back to my website to see my replies. Your comments are my important feedback and I respond to every one, even the scathing ones.
Social Networking has proven to be an incredible phenomena for me. Admittedly, in the beginning I hated the entire concept. I wanted to write, not socialize. Who had time for that? But now I see that I was closed minded. Global Technology has opened up an amazing world of new friends and connections, it is my new travel.
When I started writing, I set sail on a spiritual, psychological, physical and emotional journey. To be honest, I had no idea what a blog was I just knew it provided a great vehicle for writing all that I had been storing in my head for so long.
I really hated when people would lump me in with all the other mommy bloggers. I wanted my own individuality with my writing.
No, I would explain, I am a new and aspiring writer trying to make a living as I raise my three boys. I am looking to build a platform and to connect with book and magazine publishers and agents.
My SEO/Renaissance man, sorry Eric I cant move away from that tag, tried to feed it to me lightly. Ok, if youre not a mommy blogger then how would you like to define yourself? I saw his point.
I read that sleeping and dreaming is a time where all of our thoughts from the day get organized in our brains. I find that mommy blogging is a similar process and it is no surprise to me that it has become the latest trend.
Successfully mastering being a mother and a wife is an enormous undertaking and we, as mothers and fathers, have needed to unite for a long time to combine efforts and help provide each other with invaluable information that you can’t get in text books.
I can speak for a large percentage of parents who are in shock at their responsibilities and we have discovered that writing about our issues helps us to analyze our progress as we observe our lives objectively.
When I was on Twitter the other day one of the Celebrity posts asked for some input in to who we would like to read about. I responded, “Move over Paris, Mommy Bloggers are the new Celebrities. We don’t focus on starving ourselves and plumping our lips. We are real and raw and ready to tell everyone a little more about life and many of us are naturally sexy without even trying!”
Jillian's Real Life 
As a “mom that blogs,” I definitely “get” what you’re saying. I don’t want to be lumped into the category as a blog that has a bunch of giveaways and whatnot…Nothing wrong with that kind of blog, but it’s just not the kind of blog that mine is, you know? So, maybe we’re looking at this all wrong. Maybe we need to take back the definition of a “Mommy blog.” Although, my kids are old enough now that they just call me “mom.” So, I could compromise with the title of this particular blog genre as “mom blog,” or how about, “family blog?” To tell you the truth, I believe that all blogs encompass more than one blog genre, and the “mom” aspect should be stressed for networking purposes mostly. You know, kind of like IRL [in real life]. We all have families, hobbies, jobs, etc., but the common denominator is “momhood.” We don’t all have to be alike.
Caroline
Family Stories
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Caroline, soo true and yet without that classification how could we get recognized?
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Hi Jillian!
gosh I hate that we humans must always label and classify everything! The hardest thing for me was to classify my blog with the given list for directories. Something in me just rebels at this! My content is eclectic but that’s not a category!
Your blog, while a lot about parenting issues, is certainly not like most of the “mommy blogs” out there who give daily diatribes of existence with whiney voices – good Lord, you are SO not like that! Just write, Jillian. You are a writer – a good one! BTW, have you read Blogging Without a Blog – by Barbara who comments on my blog a lot? She has asked some great questions about blogging that have really made me think about what the heck I’m doing in Blogland to begin with! Sounds like you had the same basic idea when you started as I did.
Having said all that, I feel, as a writer, it has helped me enormously in A) Discipline of writing on a schedule B)Confidence that my words/idea have resonated with people, and that they will actually comment! That’s huge to me. Writers write in the dark I think, because in the “old” days I would send out an article and wait so long before it was published I’d often forgotten about it! Then, too, you never get to “hear” what people thought about what you wrote. Did it make them think? Did it inspire them, motivate them, change something for them?
Recently I’ve had to “audit” my time spent in the blogosphere. I was reading, and commenting, on so many blogs I was on-line all day, every day, and my REAL life, my REAL writing projects were gone! Then I read Chris Brogan’s blog about being addicted to commenting – it hit home in many ways! To cut down now so I can actually get BACK to my book, I’m only reading the basics – the bloggers who follow me and leave comments. Beyond that I just had to disconnect the feeds. I counted 23 blogs I read faithfully and left comments on yet the blogger never even came to mine! Enough! I don’t have time, sorry. I have a life and a book to write.
I think it helps to look at what we are doing here. I’m glad I did! And I’m glad you received the deserved support from your followers about the nasty lady! Write on, girl!
Hugs,
suZen
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Hi Suzen,
I often wonder what I’m doing writing a blog. It is so time consuming and I am not getting paid for it. It is people like you who encourage me to continue and you’re right it is great training and practice.
It is so difficult to keep up with the social networking. Whatever you do, don’t drop me!! I need you!
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Blog on, Jillian. And all mommies. Be proud because you are doing the most difficult job in the world. When I chose (decades ago) to stay home with my boys, I was embarrassed when someone asked if I had a career. Eye rolls and shocked expressions often followed my answer. But one of the best parts of getting older, is you really don’t care about what other people think. May you find peace with your choices sooner than it took me.
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Yes, yes, yes!! I have NEVER identified with Paris Hilton or any of those girls. We need stronger role models for our daughters.
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Cheers for this post! I don’t like how “mommy blogs” are classified so narrowly. (I’m not big on the giveaway blogs either, but I love the MEME blogs.) I wanna read about real, hellish, chaotic, life. And not just from mothers either.
I’m more than a mom. I’m 19, so I read the blogs of young adults, too. I read the blogs of wives who have no children. I read the blogs of college students. I follow photographers. And I’d like to think (& hope) that all of them could relate enough to read my blog, too.
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I hear you, woman! We are all so different, yet so many of us are driven by the exact same things. If the term “Mommy Blogger” was meant to be belittling, let’s take it back! We’re here, we’re Mommy Bloggers and we’re proud of it!
I don’t consider myself to be a Mommy Blogger either, but by thinking that way am I just as bad as the people who shuffle us off to the “not to be taken seriously” category? I’m a Mommy. I blog. Sometimes about my children, my family. I guess I’m a Mommy Blogger.
But riddle me this: Chris Brogan is a Daddy. He talks about his kids from time to time. Why is he not considered a Daddy Blogger?
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Jillian – I love your blog. I am sorry I haven’t been by for awhile. Life “real” life has been very busy. I know I started my blog to share craft ideas with other moms. I had always looked for ideas on the web I thought I’d share them. I didn’t go in thinking I was a mommy blogger, but I found I loved the friendship and ideas I got by connecting with other moms. It is so nice to share our commonalites of being moms and women. We stand strong together and I value that. So I now say , I am a mommy blogger and I’m proud and thankful! Watch out Paris here we come!
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I love it! An you are absolutely right! Mom Bloggers are the new celebrity. I lost my mind the other day when I met one of my favorite mom bloggers in person!
I did feel the same way when I initially started blogging. But the friendships I have built are invaluable.
http://www.thewannabewahm.com
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nicely put.
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Very nice blog post I like your blog keep up the great blog posts
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