Ok, better not know… I like it better in my world – peace and quiet. This is the second time I’ve commented in this blog. I don’t know how I got pointed to it from link to link…but it is always about some controversy. Last one was the PR people J&J kinda deal. I may just come here directly next time so I can cut the chase on knowing what’s going on…hehe

I missed out on all the hubbub but I’m glad it has since been resolved because as mothers we’ve got enough shit to deal with without kiddie crap online as well.

I’ve been mommy blogging for awhile but I’m a small timer and only recently have begun to start blogging seriously. But I’ve always appreciated the support of my fellow mommy bloggers. I think it would be a shame if as we monetize our blogs, we start thinking that’s more important than the community aspect of it.

I missed a huge opportunity to just open up a discussion about what the best way is to address concerns over “copying”, or how to go about critiquing a blog without offending someone. I make a big fuss on my blog about how I follow a “Golden Rule of Blogging”, and how I only use my blog for good, never for evil, and then I broke my own rule.

Commenters keep asking me why it’s “okay” for someone to hurt someone else just because they are my friend-it’s not okay. But it also wasn’t any of my business, either. And by writing those posts, I threw a big bunch of fuel on the fire and then it literally blew up in my face.

All I can do is hope that I don’t lose too many more readers (I’ve had some people unsubscribe from my feed), and that I can continue to SUPPORT and ENCOURAGE and ENRICH the Mommyblogging community the way I have been for three years. Thanks for writing this post, Erin. You truly are the Queen.

It’s clear that some up and coming mommybloggers are more interesting, more creative and are getting attention – and that’s great. I really DO believe there is room for everyone and no need to attack each other.

I’ve never felt like a true part of the mommyblogging community, simply because I don’t blog about my kids consistently.

It took a while to get over some of last year’s backstabbing and drama (I’m only human after all and some of it was well-deserved karma). I’m more guarded about who I let in now, that’s for sure.

I’m happy in my smaller circle of true friends than I ever was back in the day. I don’t need popularity, PR companies on my case or validation of any kind. I don’t care about stats, ad dollars or getting traffic. It’s what works for me.

All I hope is that every blogger in every community finds that kind of peace and gets joy from writing and sharing as we all do.

and, really? not that my compliment means much, but i have REALLY been enjoying reading you lately.
you’ve been resonating, i think with a lot of people lately.
that must feel just great.

Last year, I took over a magazine called TopBlogMag. I immediately tore it apart, broke it down, made a public plan to rebuild it as something else, and then appeared to have buried it when I went offline for four months.

I come back and there are other sites popping up that sort of look like what I had in mind but never finished. But not quite. So I move forward with what will be Blog Nosh Magazine, but then realize, “Crap, will these people think I am hacking their idea? Even though I started this last year?”

So I emailed one of those people. Let’s call her Schmoocksy. Her new site sounds like Three Star Thursday. I contacted her and said, “Hey, I’m finally doing this magazine, I know you haven’t noticed me until recently, so I expect you don’t know that I am not, in fact, copying your idea. Actually, our ideas are not the same, but you know how people talk. No toes stepped on? Cool. Now get out of my way because I’m going to burn this mutha down.”

Okay, I may not have said all that. But I knew how tongues wag and how no one does their research before they start talking smack, so I wanted to touch base. Her response?

There is room on this internet for all of us. Of course our ideas are going to overlap. We’re cool.

Suck on that, mutha suckas. We are a community. Our interests will overlap. Let’s give each other the benefit of the doubt, huh?

Seriously, suck it.

Or, um, nosh on it.
http://www.blognosh.com