• Provide professional training such as business advice on things like setting up a company, registering for a trademark, etc.
• Have a group health plan to make insurance more affordable and accessible to WAHMs who blog.
• Have sample contracts as well as a lawyer who can review contracts for members (certainly some lawyer would consider doing it pro bono in exchange for massive mom blogger buzz).
• Establish minimum rates for paying bloggers for content, spokesperson roles, advertising, etc. (I am thinking an extensive survey of members could produce great information for that)
• Establish some basic standards and ethics (again, community-driven).
• Have job listings to match bloggers with paying gigs.
• Perhaps some day have a lobbyist in Washington to represent the blogger perspective when issues such as the FTC regulations surface.

I think it’s very important to have people both on the corporate side who work with bloggers as well as bloggers involved. I am even thinking there could be two types of memberships with different benefits for bloggers and companies.

Bottom line: there needs to be a voice for mom bloggers.

Of course, it is very important that the guild be representative of the community and that some of the brightest minds involved in the mom blogosphere help guide the guild. I am forming an advisory board. I have some wonderful inquiries already but want to be sure as many people hear about this as possible before the board is selected. If you are interested, please fill out the form below. Yes, company representatives who work heavily with mom bloggers are welcome to apply (and yes, men too).

_{Graphic of women copyright Hilde Vanstraelen.}

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• There is the need for influential mom bloggers to, like, make money or something
• Companies want to work with mom bloggers because they have authenticity and their followers/readers listen to them

I came up with something that some companies and bloggers are doing already, but this would be a way to simplify the process.

Here is the description of Momtent:

Companies want to connect with mom bloggers to have authentic voices in an ethical manner. Mom bloggers are struggling for a way to earn the money they deserve for their hard work. Momtent is designed to overcome the hurdles facing both sides, creating a fair way for both sides to win. Companies get quality content, and mom bloggers get paid for their writing.

Momtent works like this:

• A company seeks a mom blogger to write content for the company’s site. They set their budget,  and the topics to be covered. They state their desired Twitter followers, experience level, and whether they require that the blogger include a badge or widget in their sidebar, tweet about their posts, and so on. This allows a company to get high quality, search-engine optimized content for their own blog or site, and to leverage the reach and readership of the blogger.
• Momtent turns to our pool of quality writers to find the best match (or matches for companies seeking a team of bloggers). The writers get paid to create quality content for the company.
• Momtent will also edit the content so it arrives clean and error-free, and we deliver it in the format requested (Word, coded html, etc.).

It’s as simple as that. Companies get real mom voices, and moms get paid for their work.

I’d love to hear what you think…. also, if you are a company or a mom blogger, be sure to submit the forms for either to get more information (as a company) or to get into the mom blogger database to get assignments.

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The single best thing about Twitter is the interaction, the fact that it is a conversation (on crack).

When it has disintegrated to the point of being a stream of retweets and blog post links or, worse yet, secrets to getting more Twitter followers, it becomes useless.

It used to be, I could tweet and get replies. And even retweets sometimes. But now everyone, myself certainly included, is finding tweets that @ them, mention them or via Twitter search for terms. That means we are missing the conversation, and the conversation is falling apart without us.

It seems to bode very well for Facebook. I find that my tweets automatically pulled into Facebook tend to get far more feedback. If I were Twitter, I would be very concerned.

As a perfect example, I tweeted a question about the lack of engagement on Twitter. While I got a few responses, the more active conversation about conversation on Twitter happened on Facebook:

Kelby Carr Is anyone engaging on Twitter anymore? Seems like stream is so full of promotions lately. May need to unfollow some who only broadcast.

BargainBriana Carter, Karla VanBibber Porter, Barbara Jones and 2 others like this.

Crafty GAgal

I try to engage but seems it is rare that I see the old peeps I used to talk to.

Mon at 12:03pm · Delete

Kristie Sawicki

It has gotten a bit out of control.. Not nearly as much connection as when it first started out =(

Mon at 12:05pm · Delete

Claire Evans

I am rarely on Twitter because no one replies back to me and it is all advertisements.

Mon at 12:07pm · Delete

Deanna Adams Perrin

I try to engage, but it gets hard with so many people on there now. I find myself on Facebook more and more these days.

Mon at 12:11pm · Delete

Jennifer Fortwengler

That’s exactly why I stopped using twitter months ago.

Mon at 12:20pm · Delete

Christa M Miller

I unfollowed a bunch of broadcasters a few months ago, along with people who were not following me back. I like my stream a lot better now, though I do find it more difficult to scale than I’d like.

Mon at 12:24pm · Delete

Sarah Sabin Tudor

I use tweetdeck to sift out the ads and crap that clogs up the feed.

Mon at 12:41pm · Delete

Amy Lupold Bair

I’ve been trying to figure out how to use the new twitter lists to find everyone I used to tweet with, but having fun conversations with friends is still how I check in and connect a few times a day, recharge my batteries. I often just ditch my twitterstream, start conversations, then use only my replies button.

Mon at 1:55pm · Delete

Susan Carraretto

I admit I tend to like Facebook more and more these days for staying really connected. I need to remind myself to go use Twitter more as I tend to turn to facebook first.

Mon at 4:43pm · Delete

Zipporah Lubin-Sandler

I’m also facebooking more and tweeting less - a LOT less

Mon at 5:01pm · Delete

Colleen Padilla

yes I’ve been using FB more and more too.

Mon at 5:55pm · Delete

Tammy Hodson

Hey! We are still engaging!

Mon at 8:32pm · Delete

Audrey Couto McClelland

Couldn’t agree more!

Mon at 9:08pm · Delete

Janice Croze

I am engaging - I hope! LOL Been sick with the flu this week so I have been off of everything though.

Mon at 9:12pm · Delete

Maria Bailey

I totally agree. Companies think that’s how you develop a relationship. Problem is they are using new media with old strategy.

Mon at 10:02pm · Delete

Mary Davis

Hi Kelby. Let me tell you about this new project I’m working on…

Mon at 11:05pm · Delete

Erin Pyle

I agree!

Tue at 1:05am · Delete

Toni Patton

I am one who just talks away LOL but I agree when tweets turn to just promotions of this or that and there is no real “content” even if just talking it’s maddening

Tue at 8:27am · Delete

Karla VanBibber Porter

I’ve noticed this… I try to engage but no one ever replies to me. It’s not just the companies who aren’t engaging.

Tue at 9:06am · Delete

Jenn Fowler

I talk to people! I think the big change was when they changed teh way the @’s work-I seem to have lost track of lots of folks since that happened.

Tue at 9:16am · Delete

Kelly Winkel Russell

I agree with Jenn. When they changed that, it seemed that my stream became nothing but promotions. Don’t know why or how. I am working on hard on cutting back those not following me.

Tue at 11:08am · Delete

Lucretia Madden Pruitt

I don’t have promotions… but yeah, considering filtering out some of the noise lately

Tue at 11:50am · Delete

_{Photo of ear, copyright Andrea Kratzenberg}

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The reason I can offer tips? I spent 15 years in newspapers. Writer’s block was not a luxury that could be afforded when you have multiple stories some days that have to be written or they are no longer timely. In that business, you have to feed the beast. And it is hungry.

Here are a few ways to break past it:

• Step away from the computer. Grab a notebook or journal, head outside on your deck or porch with a cup of coffee, and try blogging old school. Sometimes a simple change of scenery is all you need. Our brain needs new stimulus to be, well, stimulated.
• Read blogs. Spend a day in which you vow to do nothing but poke around fellow bloggers’ feeds. Vow there will be no chatting, no Twitter (OK, limited Twitter…), just consuming blogs. You are bound to be inspired or get a few ideas sparked. Grab that same notebook and write down any blog headlines you think up. There’s no need to get fancy, just make a list of potential post ideas.
• Brainstorm ideas. The SEO on me loves a way to break blogger’s block and do some site optimization at the same time. Yes, SEO can be creative. (I keep saying that and people look at me like I am crazy). Here’s how: go into your stats program. See which keyword phrases are sending you the most traffic. See which posts get the most clicks from Twitter. Now start from there, and brainstorm ideas for similar posts or posts that expand on your original one. Don’t fret over whether the ideas are excellent, just freewrite. You don’t have to do them all. You just want a list of ideas to consult when you are blocked. The great part? When you write them, you can link to your original post and go to your original post to link to the new content. That will make your blog stickier.
• Walk away. Sometimes what our brain needs is a break. Get outside. Do something fun. Visit a local attraction. Hey, you have to do something to have material for the blog anyway, right? Your mind might just need a reboot.
• Forget the distractions. Blogging is so much more than writing. That can be good, and that can be bad. The bad side is that it can become easy getting so caught up in the tasks of being a publisher (that is really what bloggers are) that we forget the reason we are doing this to begin with: we enjoy it! Don’t look at your stats. Don’t worry about what your readers like. Write for you and just for the joy of it. And odds are? You’ll get the traffic and your readers will love it.

I hope some of this is helpful. I would love to hear what works for you when your brain just won’t blog. How do you break blogger’s block?

Photo of frustrated blogger, copyright channah at sxc.hu

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In a nutshell, I have this to say about the conference: it was so much more than I ever could have hoped! It was inspiring, moving, I dare say cathartic!

Whether we like it or not, whether we planned it or not, mom blogging is a new industry and we are its pioneers. To be in a room full of 250-300 pioneers, laying it all on the line, was unbelievable. To engage with the brands and marketers who get it, who want to be immersed in our community, was stunning.

My main takeaways from Type-A Mom Conference:

• We moms who blog are wildly diverse, as beautifully, splendidly different from one another as (to be painfully cliche) snowflakes. Yet we are all part of the same community. We can debate civilly. We can support one another. We can laugh and cry together (OK, much more than I would have preferred since I hate crying in public). We can join together to make a difference.
• There is something intangible and valuable beyond a pricetag about bringing us together in the same room. The relationships we form online, on blogs, on Twitter, on Facebook, those allow us to seek out people with much more in common than geography ever would. Meeting face to face creates an evolved relationship, something forged with stronger bonds than friends we have solely online or solely in real life can.
• Many of us are rich in influence and cash poor, and something needs to be done about that. For some, blogging is done purely for the joy of it. That is wonderful! For many moms, blogging is a business. It’s time we command respect and begin to earn real revenue for our knowledge, reach and hard work.

I have so much more to say about the conference. This is just the slightest summary. I have so many people, both companies and moms, to thank. There are so many people who, without their support, effort and investment, Type-A Mom Conference would not have been possible. I will devote an entire post to thanking people because I am afraid (being quite tired and sick right now) that I will forget someone important.

Just know that I am in awe of our community, of our minds, or our abilities, of our creativity and our hearts. There is nothing we can’t accomplish. That was my lesson from Type-A Mom.

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Are you coming? Be sure to help those of us doing Type-A Mom Conference see which friends (and people we just love to read and look up to) will be there. Post it on your blog too, won’t you?

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Believe me, there are things I could complain about (U.S. Airways and Sheraton, brace thyselves!). But I choose not to in this first post. It can wait.

Bottom line: BlogHer was one of the single coolest experiences of my lifetime because of the people there.

I got to meet @prairiemama for the first time in person. I met her online SEVEN years ago before I even became a mom when I was expecting my first. (KIM?? Are you out there? I know someone took a picture of us together. Have you SEEN it???).

I met @littletechgirl in person for the first time. Chatting with her FOUR years ago while stuck in a bed during my pregnancy with my twins was one of the only things that kept me sane. And now she is a Type-A Mom editor and speaking at my conference. Here we are (and no I am not stoned):

I have been writing for About.com since 2002, and for the second time ever got to meet other guides.

The coolest part was meeting the moms I work with directly. For the first time ever, if you can believe it, I met @mamikaze (the Type-A Mom chief managing editor) and @feelslikehome (the Foodie Mama chief managing editor). Here I am with Astacia, aka @mamikaze:

Both are dear, dear online friends, and it was just amazing to meet them in person finally. I got to room with Tara and another Type-A Mom/Foodie Mama editor, @highimpactmom, and I will always look back and smile when I think of our last night up giggling like schoolgirls. I finally met my chat BFF @slpowell so we could giggle and snark in person instead of miles apart.

I got to hang out with others I have met before, like @ilinap and I who “met” via Twitter while sitting in an Anil Dash session at ConvergeSouth. She eventually became a Foodie Mama, and I’m sure it’s because we met in real life last year and hit it off. She is just coolness, period. At BlogHer, we managed to Twitter-connect in the airport, ride into town together, do lots of complaining about Sheraton, and then later hit a wine bar with @highimpactmom, @mamikaze and @jenniferperillo. This outing was a highlight of the weekend. Don’t we look happy? Believe me when I say there were NO COMPLAINTS there:

Above all, it was amazing throwing a party with my favorite people at BlogHer! The #typeamomfluence party, hosted by Type-A Mom and the amazing concept of Momfluence that was created by Amy Lupold Bair, aka @resourcefulmom, and the uber-cool people of HP like @angelaathp. Here is the cool Whrrl story on the party.

So I don’t know. I have things to complain about. But really? All of these pictures and names I am throwing out? THAT was my BlogHer takeaway. And I’ll take that any day.

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Going also gave me a chance to hang out with some very cool mom bloggers: Stacie from Divine Miss Mommy (the Type-A Mom beauty and fashion editor), my special online chat-friend Allison from Blissfully Domestic, Miss Blondie, Trisha from Momdot, Nicole from Momfuse, Ali from Chip Chick, Niri from MommyNiri, and the totally fabulous Jo-Lynne from Musings of a Housewife.

Also, my longtime bloggy friend (who is now starting a new and exciting PR job with the agency who put this shindig together), Jessica Smith was there. The people with iRobot and Fleischman were also great. (Nancy Smith, their VP of marketing, has a special place in my heart for being almost as loud as me in a restaurant. Kudos, dahhlin’!).

The best part of all is that this getaway, an iNGENUITY expo of sorts, means I will have a chance to offer my readers hear and at Type-A Mom a chance to win a robot (oh yeah, is that cool or what?). Better yet, we will have a chance to win $10,000 to give to Donors Choose.

If you haven’t checked out the site, definitely do. I love the idea. Essentially, you can search for teachers who need funding for projects (you can search locally, by subject/topic, or even by neediest schools). You can donate small amounts or big amounts. It’s just such a clever idea. Keep an eye out on this site and Type-A Mom, and also watch for Twitter posts tagged #thatsingenious.

I also took some pictures while I was there, and learned some interesting things. For example, iRobot doesn’t just make vaccuums like the Roomba. They also make robots that save soldiers’ lives doing tasks like recon work to seek out bombs. You can even fan the PackBot on Facebook (how funny-cool is that?).

Here are some of the shots from my trip. I got a nice one of the plane ride to Boston:

And here is an actual robot that saved a whole bunch of lives in battle. The soldier named the robot Scooby Doo:

And closeup:

Here are the mom bloggers touring iRobot (from left, the foreground moms are Jessica Smith, Trisha of MomDot, Miss Blondie and ChipChick):

And here is a totally creepy baby. It was a prototype, and its face skin peels off. Its eyes also stare into your very soul. (Shudder with me, won’t you? Hahah.)

And of course, any mom seeing robots simply must get a makeover. I mean, duh! Here’s Stacie getting dolled up:

So it was very cool. I got to see robots, hang out with some cool moms, drink some wine (I only spilled a little). And soon, we’ll all be competing to see who gets to donate $10,000.

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- It’s a SiteWarming, so of course there are Door Prizes! Get ready to swoon…

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Here is part one:

Here is part two:

And I did a Whrrl story on my experience:

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