MomDot, a popular community for moms who blog, has proposed a PR Blackout to mitigate “bloggy burnout.” What does the moratorium say about mommy-marketer relationships?

Mom bloggers are widely believed to be one of the most influential groups online; they are active bloggers with a broad, collective reach and maintain an audience eager for their advice and recommendations. A Nielsen report from May notes that a full 20 percent of the active online population are moms aged 25-54, and brands like Walmart, Kraft, and even Motrin (through a widely publicized marketing disaster) have recognized how important it is to win their favor. One way brands and marketing agencies (including 360i) work with mom bloggers is by offering them products to review or give away to their readers.

But suddenly, mom bloggers are changing the game and looking towards a collaborative self regulation.

Just in time for the ever-important Back to School season, popular mom blog network MomDot has called for a PR Blackout – challenging bloggers to “not blog ANY giveaways, ANY reviews and Zero press releases. In fact, we don’t want you to talk to PR at ALL that whole week.”

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From David Berkowitz, Director of Emerging Media & Client Strategy, live from the heart of Texas

360i is out in Austin this week for South by Southwest Interactive (we did mention we’re everywhere). A few notes from the show as it gets underway:

The hottest spot: The TechSet / Windows Blogger Lounge. This is the see & be seen place for the bloggerati, the twitterati, and the vendorati. It’s where you’ll find everyone from the bald and balding blogging old-timers (read: over 30) to the 22-year-old blonde social media starlets. What you may not find is a seat, but once in awhile people actually do this conference stuff called going to sessions, and you’re able to sneak in at a table. Read the full article

Paying the hand that blogs (hpebley3via Flickr).

Forrester Research published a report discussing the value in paying bloggers to talk about your brand. According to the story, the time to use “sponsored conversations” is when the brand can’t interest bloggers without additional incentive. Marketers considering this approach may want to ask themselves: Would the blogger inherently write about it editorially because it provides value to the readership? If you can’t get your product on the radar with bloggers, it might be worthwhile to rethink your product strategy and pitch when approaching the blogger. Why should they discuss your brand and product? What would be of interest to their readers? Read the full article

Tropicana: Old and New by jlai321 via Flickr

Tropicana’s recent decision to revert to their classic packaging of 24 years was made after an uproar from consumers – largely in social media – against the new look. Granted, not everyone likes change, and with every change will come some negative feedback. But Tropicana realized something in retrospect: Each consumer’s opinion does not have equal weight. Despite all of their research – and I’m sure Arnell and the team at Tropicana did plenty of it – it’s hard to detect the few negative votes in a focus group who could be those who start an anti-Tropicana Facebook group, blog about their opinions, tweet to their thousands of followers, etc. Read the full article