I have always been a Mommy Blogger.
I have never been a Mommy Blogger.
Do I contradict myself? Very well then, I contradict myself. I am large. I contain multitudes. — Walt Whitman
I spend a lot of time attempting to reconcile these contradictory truths. That is why I love this quote.
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On The I AM Side
- I am a blogger. I am a Mommy.
- I once, long ago, wrote, a lot, about being a mom.
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On The I AM NOT Side
- I was a political and activist blogger when the Mommy Blogging phase of online writing really took off approximately 6 to 8 years ago.
- I tend to write about culture, tech, info theory, graphics, politics, not diapers or my days as a Girl Scout Troop Leader.
My Mommy Writing started out on local newsprint format parenting publications here in Tucson and several other major cities. It didn’t pay much but it validated and got me started as a parenting writer.
Ahead of the curve, behind the curve, it doesn’t really matter. But some of us have been very active as bloggers while living our lives as women and for some of us as moms. A bit ahead of the curve, our kids are grown. We are done nesting. And many of us are heading out into the new world of publishing as leaders. Grown and Flown and Generation Fabulous are just two of the sites that are for and by women in midlife. Professional blogs, polished blogs, and informative blogs that are the new model for integration of social media, video blogging, hangouts, and damn fine writing and editing.
I am struck by the intelligence and strategic acumen evidenced in these blogs and businesses by and for women of a certain age. Collaboration is queen if content is king.
I recommend listening to Coffee with Chloe as one of the women behind Generation Fabulous video interviews the women behind Grown and Flown. What they say about partnerships, community, and the new structures of business and family is at the cutting edge of the connected world that we are just learning to navigate. I watched this Gen Fab TV production this morning.
And women’s communities are not the only ones growing up. I attended a meetup for bloggers based in Tucson last night and I am very impressed with the site that Third Party Media is launching for Tucson Bloggers! Cooperation rather than competition is being built into the new paradigm of whatever it is that our world is maturing into.
How wonderfully kind of you, thank you for your words. I think Mary Dell and Chloe were right when they said cooperation is the new competition. So glad to have found you.
Those two ladies are right on track! Women have always, I suspect, known that cooperation is the most powerful tool in our kit. Cooperation was around way before competition, and it is due for a come back in a big way!
Found you here…I meant to say.
Hey Nancy! Thanks for this marvelous article. Mommy blogging is indeed growing up. There are just too many of us out here now to be ignored. How we comport ourselves now will say a lot about our maturity level. Seeing the world as a limited piece of pie instead of an ocean of opportunity limits everyone, but mostly ourselves from enjoying the abundance of generosity and giving.
I am woman, hear me roar! That is what I see and feel in your words, Chloe, and you are so right… at least in my book! I am so excited that we collectively, and you in particular, are being taken seriously.