Jeeeeeezy Creezy, my post from yesterday seemed to upset a LOT of people, mostly for the wrong reasons, and some – well because a lot of bloggers like to bitch and moan about anyone who has an opinion different from their own. Some took to Twitter and the comments section to air their disdain, others hid behind the secrecy of closed Facebook groups to protest about it. Others ferociously searched through EVERY SINGLE REVIEW I’VE DONE to try and prove I am just as bad as those I’m talking about. Heck – even my ex-wife was dragged into the foray with a clearly illiterate ‘woman’ blogger leaving this gem of a comment on her wall..
“hey hun some man blogger as stole it baby scan photo thought it let u know x if u didn’t give him permission you can sue him”
This was, despite being told, several times that the header image was in fact that of our child and not stolen off the internet, this in itself shocked me in how riled up people can get to the point where they are reverse image searching and hunting down someone.
Wow.. Just wow!
So – to save me having to repeat myself, or indeed answering every single comment / tweet etc. I thought I’d compile them all into a handy FAQ.
Your post was just click bait? Wasn’t it?
The post is genuinely how I feel and see things, and the title has to grab attention – it’s a headline. I wouldn’t say I was being deliberately misleading or trying to upset people. I want people to read what I’ve written, I want to make people think. I’ve blogged for far too long now, and seen in change from diaries of people’s lives to the point where everyone seems keen to be a ‘celebrity’ – Bloggers aren’t celebrities, we’re idiots shouting into the internet.
You’ve just copied ‘The Hazel Keys’ post – haven’t you?
No – I was a aware Chelsea had written something similar, this is it – I think Chelsea and I write differently and have a slightly different angle on things – it’s interesting that two bloggers, who I think Chelsea would agree, don’t really interact, would have a slightly similar take on a different subject. Chelsea got hell for that post, I think I got similar, but nowhere near as bad. Thing is – there’s a LOT of repetition in the blogging world – how many Teletubbies reviews have you seen lately?
Do you think your post is insensitive to people who’ve suffered Baby Loss / Infertility ?
No – I don’t, I don’t write to shock or offend, and I would certainly never set out to upset anyone, especially in that situation – it didn’t cross my mind. I imagine anyone who’s struggled to conceive or lost a baby would find some aspects of parent blogging difficult – watching people’s excited birth announcements, and stories of their children growing up. I think I’d find it MORE offensive in that position if someone was using their child as a marketing tool, rather than me commenting that some bloggers doing it.
Bloggers don’t get sent anything for Free – we have to work for it – don’t we?
Free is perhaps the wrong word. But – if you’ve been sent goods, worth hundreds of pounds – your hourly rate would have to be pretty fucking astounding to feel like you’re hard done by in having to write a review and take some pictures of said product. This is why people don’t tend to review cheap stuff, it’s not worth the time. Don’t kid a kidder – I know that reviewing stuff isn’t so hard – and I like to think I write pretty fair reviews! So, you’re not getting it for ‘free’ but you’re getting it for ‘pretty much free’. 😉
He’s reviewed two Baby Monitors and Two Prams – Isn’t he a hypocrite?
No, not really, both those baby monitors were paid for, by me and J’s Mum – as I said in the original post. From memory the Cosatto buggy was done because they wanted a Dad to review it and the Nuna was because, at the time I wrote for Kiddicare and they wanted a review for their site as it was a new product. My point WASN’T that all bloggers who review stuff are dicks, because – we all do it, by point was more feeling like so many babies now are brand ambassadors for stuff before they are even born.
Said the man who hasn’t pushed a baby out of his vagina…. HA! Oh deary me, that’s all I can say!
This one isn’t really a question – I just found it hilarious my opinion wasn’t allowed because I can’t actually give birth. I’d happily push a baby out of my vagina, if I had one.
Don’t you think you’re being insensitive to Pregnant / New Mum Bloggers?
No.. Not at all – unless they are specifically planning to have a child to get free stuff? As I said above I don’t ever set out to upset people, my posts are opinion formulated over a long time watching our community and not aimed at any one person.
Blogging means I can get nice things for my baby that I can’t afford – where’s the harm?
There’s no harm in that – if your blog helps you get the things you want for your child – fab. In my opinion though it only matters to YOU what pram your child is in, what brand of clothes they wear and what toys they play with. Babies don’t really care about that jazz, so long as they are warm, fed, and cosy – they aren’t really bothered by ‘nice things’. The world won’t crumble if they aren’t in this years fashion.
So.. Seriously do Bloggers have Babies for free stuff ?
I hope not, but as I said sometimes it FEELS that way. I’m sure no one makes the decision to bring a baby into the world purely as blog fodder – my point was more that the ‘news’ of said pregnancy, birth, and later formative years can be treated as blog fodder to claim as many freebies as you can. To the point where it ‘feels’ like nothing is really sacred, and everything is being paid for a company in return for promotion of their products. It’s not about sharing your thoughts and feelings on how pregnancy and childbirth is affecting you, it’s just one long stream of adverts for a selection of products. Be authentic, don’t be adverts – and certainly don’t have a child wholly sponsored by brands from bump to baby.
Wait – is THIS click bait?
Not really.. But thank you for reading! 🙂
Thank you! And yes I do agree. It’s not something I’ve ever discussed with anyone but a close friend.
What blew me away was the support on private messages. I think that said a lot. That they couldn’t possibly agree publicly because others will throw abuse.
When did that become a thing!?
You totally hit the nail on the head at the end. They don’t have babies purely for blog fodder. But babies are seemingly fast becoming blog fodder.
I know bloggers who have over 24 actual pushchairs and one baby. Who needs that many?!
I get where you are coming from but can understand why some feathers may have been ruffled. Although I am a comper and first point of contact with blogs is often a competition I prefer blogs that are not full of reviews but give candid experiences of life. So I can hope to understand and relate to what having children is like in reality . And maybe convince myself that I am not the only one out there losing my mind :P. Although it is helpful to read reviews and get opinions, the ones that really get me hooked are those that talk about personal experience.