blogging moms wooed by food firms (link)
11.15.09 - l.a. times - by p.j. huffstutter & jerry hirsch

i have to admit. "food blogger" is a pretty sweet gig. since starting up eat!drink!snack! in the summer of 2008, the instant fame & celebrity that comes with being a food blogger has helped get me into countless hollywood premieres, backstage parties & supermodels' bedrooms. "oh yeah. eat!drink!snack! you're the guy who's obsessed with snacks, creates ridiculous themes around them & then writes about them all in lower-case letters. i read about you on the internet. come on in, sir. we've got a table with hookers & cristal waiting for you in the back." it's sort of like being a rock star, but with less coke-snorting talent required.

i thought i had it pretty sweet until i read about the l.a. times' article about all the perks that mommy bloggers receive. since moms are influential spenders & usually the target market for mommy bloggers, companies have been flying certain mommy bloggers around the country, introducing them to snacks & other mom-friendly products. in turn, they assume that the mommies will gush about their experiences on their blogs, essentially advertising for the companies. in response, the FTC recently set guidelines saying that starting on december 1st, bloggers have to disclose when companies give them free stuff or perks. thanks a lot, mommy bloggers. now i have to let the government know that doritos gave me a lifetime supply of cool ranch doritos in exchange for making them popular again via eat!drink!snack!

the times writes about one mommy blogger in particular, andrea deckard, who runs the mommy snacks blog. "earlier this year, frito-lay flew her to los angeles to meet celebrities such as model brooke burke and the spice girls' mel b, while pitching her on its latest snack ad campaign." on another occasion, nestle put her & a bunch of other mommy bloggers up in a sweet hotel in pasadena, wined & dined them & sent omaha steaks to their families. deckard notes that "people have accused (mommy bloggers) of being corporate shills," but added that "it's not like (she) sold (her) soul for a chocolate bar." that's true. you didn't sell your soul for a chocolate bar. you sold your integrity for a few trips to cali.