Dooce in DC

Flipping through the mommyblogger posts in Google Reader, I see that there was some drama over the weekend.

Last week, Heather Armstrong, aka Dooce, was invited to attend a Forum on Workplace Flexibility at the White House. Dooce is perhaps the most well-known mommyblogger. Her monthly readership is in the millions. Pioneer Woman's readership is larger, but she's more well-known as a food blogger rather than a mommyblogger. I've been reading Dooce for years and really like her. She's been able to translate her skills with photography and graphic arts into a successful business that supports her family. Quite cool.

It was somewhat surprising that the White House reached out to a mommyblogger to be involved in this conference. Most of the other attendees were owners of big businesses or public policy experts. Mommybloggers aren't known for their involvement in politics, although it is arguable that politics is very much of a subtext in their rants about getting their husbands to help out around the house and their struggles to make dinner after a long day of work.

It was, however, a very smart thing to invite a blogger to this forum, especially one with such a large following. She told her readers that she was there. She and her husband tweeted information to her followers, including information about her panel which was streamed live over the Internet. CNN and other mainstream newspapers picked up the story. It brought a lot of attention to a very ordinary one-day conference, which was simply aimed at providing networking opportunities and letting the First Lady give a nice speech. Heather brought sex appeal to an event that would have been totally ignored. Nice.

But some of the mommybloggers mocked the decision to invite Dooce. Dooce got ticked off. I guess there was some catfights in Twitter. Whatever.

You know that there are some blogs that are just aimed at rebuking other bloggers or columnists. That's it. They don't write anything original themselves. They just wait until their most hated person in the whole world writes something, and then they make fun of it. I came across a blog that is aimed at making fun of everything that Megan McArdle writes. I thought about running an intervention on the blogger, because it struck me as the saddest thing I had ever seen. /tangent

Bringing Dooce to the White House was also a good thing, because it helped to blur the stark line between politics and women. A majority of bloggers are women, but few blog about politics and instead deal with "lifestyle" topics, which is fine. I like reading about kids and shoes and new cushions for the sofa, but a lifestyle can go beyond those topics, too. Politics can be part of a lifestyle, too.

Comments

[Lisa V]

It's so weird to me that she is such a lightening rod for laptop critics. Nearly everything she does causes snark in some form or another. There have been times that I've seen her or her spouse overreact. However, I think that overreaction is probably triggered by layer upon layer of criticism. Nothing she does publicly goes without a negative comment somewhere.

I really wondered with this particular firestorm if those questioning her invitation questioned anyone else on that panel's invitation. I doubt they did. I doubt they even know who else was on the panel. If Dooce hadn't been there, most of us likely wouldn't have known the panel was happening.

It gets to be like a giant high school "she doesn't deserve to be class president" whenever something happens.

It's weird, but I suppose human nature.

[meg]

Although when the rebuke blogs are aimed at Food Network's more ridonkulous "talent," it's hard to be disapproving...

[bj]

I feel like people have a desire to pull down women who seem to have it "all" (i.e. family, successful career, on their own terms). Well, and frankly, to pull down women who are just successful. I do see this as a gendered thing, and have been wondering how much opprobrium male equivalents (in the sense of making money off something that others would like to make money off of) would get. I feel like the antagonism is different (to people like TPM, Yglesias, etc.). But, maybe I'm wrong -- and there are sites that have the same snarking antagonism to those guys.

I don't think Dooce had to defend herself by saying that she "works really hard for what she has." What if she didn't? What if she just had magic that attracting people and money? Should she apologize for that?

[JennG]

I know when I'm snarky about Dooce (as I have sometimes been offline) it's because I'm envious.

I think she has a great voice, an excellent work ethic, and she deserves her success. She and her husband did a brilliant job monetizing her blog at a time no one knew how to do that with the creation of FM and now they have their new community and I just think they are smart, hard-working people.

Go Dooce. No, she doesn't represent the cubicle dwellers - and hallelujah for that.

However I also think she lost her job due to her blog at exactly the right time and got profiled in exactly the right places. So there was an element of timing and luck. And I think a lot of writers, me included, spend some life energy wishing lightning would strike our little ventures. So that's where the green-eyed monster comes from.

[Amy P]

"And I think a lot of writers, me included, spend some life energy wishing lightning would strike our little ventures."

You'd have to get fired first, which would be a bummer.

[bj]

"So there was an element of timing and luck. "

Absolutely, as there are in many success stories that don't look like something we *don't* want to emulate.

But, I just don't see a value in begrudging the luck. I save my opprobrium for people who cheated, or destroyed, or stole, or damaged in their pursuit of success. I save my snark for people's whose work I actually don't like, but who somehow manage to be successful anyway. I think Dooce has a fairly readable voice (though not enough that I read regularly). I think that Pioneer Woman is actually a great photographer (can't judge her cooking, am not an expert on the writing, tough my standards aren't that high). Well, and now that I think of it, I guess I don't really read people who don't do work I like (rather than spending the time to be snarky about them. Dowd, maybe? occasionally, and is it Sullivan at the Atlantic Monthly.).

[Amy P]

I don't read Dooce, but I read thesimpledollar.com, and I wonder whether the same issues are at work. Trent is quite possibly the most boring person ever, but he works really hard and consistently at his blog, he has interesting comment threads, and I read his blog practically every day. I go through a couple personal finance blogrolls about once a week, and there are some issues with that corner of the blogosphere: pretty blogs with glossy web design and minimal content, dutiful daily sawdusty filler posts, hidden sponsorship by various financial entities, fake drama (there's fortunately only one perpetrator I have in mind), etc. The problem with a lot of personal finance blogs is that there isn't a recognizable human being behind them, and they are frequently too obviously created to help fix the author's financial problems. Against the background of the rest of the personal finance blogosphere, it makes sense that boring old Trent is able to make a living with his bread-and-butter Simple Dollar.

Speaking of inexplicably successful bloggers, let's not forget Penelope Trunk. Here's my most favorite recent quote from her: "I mean, I can't totally get married because at the beginning of Brazen Careerist, I funded the company by not paying my taxes, so I owe a ton of taxes, and if the farmer and I got married, the IRS would put a lien on his farm."

Someday, if I am very good, I will be rewarded by getting to see Penelope Trunk being grilled by Suze Orman on Trunk's financial strategy. I don't even really like Suze Orman, but I think she's the right person for the job.

[JennG]

AmyP - Yeah I'd prefer my genius to be recognized with no pain.

And bj - I know it's silly but I still do have the feelings and sometimes that has translated into snarky remarks. I guess it *is* the high school training. I know I tend to it when procrastinating or suffering rejection (err... gotta get back to work now.)

[Marya]

Those comments don't strike me as especially nasty.

[sasha]

I didn't find the comments to be particularly nasty either and I read the commenter's blog fairly regularly. She actually has quite a bit to say regarding the nuts and bolts of earning a living as a "mommy blogger". There are lots of blogs I have seen that exist to solely snark, but this isn't one of them. And she has blogged several times about how well Dooce has done in branding herself and her blogs.

The blog is abdpbt.com/personalfinance