PAN Communications prSPEAK

Mommy blogger community site Momdot.com got exactly what it was after when it announced a P.R. Blackout Challenge to its community of mommy bloggers: more publicity.  Smart.  But it’s a red herring: something done to wave you off the scent; a diversion for reasons other than what’s been stated, and the entity that stands to gain the most from Momdot’s appeal to moms to forego working with PR people for a week, is Momdot itself.

I’m in PR; I’ll get that out right up front so there’s no misunderstanding about which side of this debate interests me more.  But, I also don’t presently represent any companies that have a stake in the audiences mommy bloggers’ attract, so I’m not part of the problem which has led to Momdot’s call it quits on posting reviews, give-aways, recommending something, etc. (unless I’m guilty by industry association).   I’m just fascinated by what does and doesn’t make good PR, and this PR Blackout business makes for good PR.

The Momdot appeal is not misguided; I think it was made with the best of intentions.  But what strikes me is the rationale:

Truthfully, I am waiting for the shit storm of social media suicide to hit. Meaning that women are so incredibly stressed with caring for their families, their friendships, and now their online reputations, blogs, companies and obligations, that they are at the edge, the brink, of a real disaster.

Hyperbole?  I find it hard to believe that successful (successful in any definition that suits your particular situation) women would be “on the edge of disaster” if they continue down some road dictated to them–which is the implication–by obligations they’ve made to people interested in getting in front of their blogs’ audiences.

Where’s the free will?  This sort of leaves you thinking these women aren’t in control of what goes up on their own blogs.  If you read through the comments as to who is and isn’t participating in the self-imposed blackout you’ll see some great, measured responses but also a fair amount of piling-on.  I’d be remiss, however, if I didn’t make a special note to say just about all of the comments about PR folks are positive (with the exception of not wanting to talk to us for a week) .  The relationship can’t be so bad, can it?

It’s easy to say no to PR; it happens to us every…day…all…day.  Believe it.  Don’t get the impression there is a ton of pressure on you to do something nice for a company that would like to speak with your audience–it’s YOUR audience.  They read you because when you decided to put your thoughts down on a blog you struck a nerve and created a connection with the person on the other side of your monitor.  That’s your connection, mommy blogger, and you’re the gatekeeper.

If it makes sense for you to take a week and not answer any come-ons from PR people, great. But if, as a result of working with PR you’ve been offering things to your readers that they like and you feel rewarded by doing so, why would you stop?  That doesn’t benefit you – but all this talk about a blackout does benefit Momdot.  Will they take down the PR Contact link at the top of their homepage during the blackout?  I’ll be interested to see.  Momdot also hosts a lot of ads (probably not for free) which presumably pays some bills–will those disappear too?

Update: blogher.com weighs in and does a better job than us of articulating how weird and unnecessary this PR blackout thing is.