I Lost You!

I hate it when I lose you! When I check Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, LinkedIn, etc., and I don't see the avatar of my favorite contributors, I get a little panicky!

First rule of writing, blogging, social media chatting...DON'T CHANGE YOUR AVATAR ONCE YOU'VE ESTABLISHED AN AUDIENCE! It makes me a little crazy, and since I'm a functioning member of society with only a few neurotic peccadillos, I don't think it's just me. One of my favorite tweeters and Google+'ers has recently changed his avatar...an avatar that was very eye-catching, and now I can't find him with a quick review of my Twitter Stream. It only took me about a week to stop looking for him, and since my email is already the equivalent of the Autobahn, I'm not going back to his website, and signing up for email notifications of his posts! (No, I don't use lists...I use the Twitter Lottery - whoever is posting when I check Twitter won the 'MKJ saw your post' Lottery!)

I've Lost Him.

More importantly, He Lost Me! Just think of your favorite soda (okay, I'm showing my California accent...pop, if you will). What would you do if you were looking for a Pepsi, and couldn't find that familiar blue can anywhere, and your 2 yo was screaming in your ear, while pulling a clump of hair out right above that ringing ear? You'd just choose something else, or leave screaming yourself, right?!

One of my favorite Dad Bloggers recently asked his audience if they thought he should change his avatar since his daughter is now three (probably going on thirteen, because she told him to shave his beard), and the baby feet in his picture aren't current. I said very clearly, and as loudly as my ALL CAPS could get...NOOOOOOO!

Thank Goodness Michael Schmid of A Daddy Blog heard the outcry, and kept his baby and daddy feet avatar. He added some new pic's of his little girl (darling btw) to his homepage logo, google+ bar, and the like, but when I look for his Tweets, I find him, and feel safe and secure that the world is still orbiting the sun, and the dinosaurs are still extinct.

When you are first starting out, change away. Before you become more successful in your online presence, however, find the avatar that works for you, and stick with it until it no longer represents your brand at all - in other words...until your current brand dies, and a new brand rises from the ashes like a phoenix.

(Ladies who dye their hair, listen up...this also goes for suddenly going brunette when your avatar picture has always been blond!)

Anyone else feel strongly about their favorite people changing their brand image? Please share!

MommyLoves . . . everything you send me, apparently.

Many companies have now found the very effective, inexpensive, targeted advertising programs on the internet . . . bloggers. MommyLoves has received countless requests for product submissions from, specifically, Mommy Bloggers. The request usually goes something like this:

"Hi, I'm . . . and I have a blog called . . . and have been blogging for . . . I have . . . followers, and I found your site, and love your products, and feel they would be perfect for my followers. I would love to do a review of your products if you will send me a . . . design in size . . . and I can do a review about how wonderful your products are."

Now, I love flattery like the next gal, but I know a pitch for free stuff even when it's coated with honey and dropped in my inbox. I have sent lots of free merchandise to blog requests, and enjoyed the benefits of increased traffic and even a few orders. I am careful, however to review the blogs beforehand, and ensure that they are not simply "review mills" that turn out reviews like breeders turn out puppies. A MommyLoves product would just become one more tree in the forest of reviews on those sites, so I look for blogs that actually have content and discussions other than reviews. I am still sending free stuff, but I ensure that the content and tone of the blog reflects that of MommyLoves. Hopefully, by doing this, I am also supporting bloggers and their followers who can think for themselves. I haven't had a bad review yet for MommyLoves products, and I will continue to tell myself that this is because we have such wonderful products, not simply because the reviewer got free stuff. This article in The New York Times says it all.

I remember well my shock when I first started MommyLoves in 2003, and interviewed a self-employed Marketing person intent on becoming a MommyLoves vendor who suggested that I hire Stay At Home Moms (SAHM's) to just visit chat rooms and tout my products without ever having worn one. Did the light bulb just go on over some of your heads? Say it isn't so?! This Marketing person also told me that all the "big" companies do this all the time when they want to promote a new product. I'm glad I can truthfully say that size does not matter to me that much.

In essence, we can go back to the good old rule of "don't believe everything you read." I still trust the friends, family and neighbors whose facial expressions I see regularly much more than some witty, trendy cyber-typer who drops into my computer daily with supposed reviews and recommendations. I can "x-out" of one, and only wish sometimes that I could "x-out" of the other.