“No, the world is not blogging…the world is listening to bloggers.”
-Tina Sharkey, Chairman and Global President, BabyCenter LLC.
I think Camp Baby was an overall success from both the standpoint of the attendees and the Johnson & Johnson representatives. I was impressed with all the extra details, from GM providing transportation during the event to the bag of Neutrogena products we received upon arrival at the Heldrich, which was a fabulous place to stay. There was a feedback session Thursday and there seemed to be genuine interest in our concerns about how products are made, the ingredients that are used, and what influences our purchasing decisions. I think an overriding message from the bloggers to J&J was, “do not underestimate the influence and intelligence of moms.”
I had the chance to meet great women like Erika from Plain Jane Mom, Stacy DeBroff from Mom Central (I joked with her about being her groupie as I love her book) Amy and Susan from Working Moms Without Guilt, Christine from Dates to Diapers, Jill from Silicon Valley Moms, Kari from Karianna Spectrum, Liz from This Full House, Carmen from Mom to the Screaming Masses, Socal Mom, Susan from Friday Playdate, Dawn from Because I Said So, Jenn from Jenn’s Journal, Devra and Aviva from Parentopia, Y from Joy Unexpected, and Sarah from Sarah and the Goon Squad, just to name a few. I ate breakfast on Thursday with Colleen from Classy Mommy, Amy from The Ladybug and Her Blogging Mama, and Amy from MomAdvice.
Lori Dolginoff, Global Director of Communications, oversaw the event and got a big round of applause from all of us. Everything went smoothly, although I had a meltdown at the airport in front of Belinda (God bless her soul) Friday when a Continental agent told me my return flight had been canceled and there wasn’t an available flight for another 24 hours. Thankfully a 6 a.m. flight opened up and J&J is reimbursing me for my hotel room.
The dinner at The Frog and the Peach was awesome and I had a foodgasm over the chocolate cake. Nintendo was the official gaming sponsor and we all left with DS game systems, which I am graciously hiding for Santa. Ahem.
Sleep expert Dr. Jodi Mindell opened the sessions on Thursday and told us the keys to sleep success are sleep schedule, bedtime routine, and teaching babies to fall asleep independently (she is a proponent of the paci/binki/foofie…as mother to a former paci addict, I silently shouted hurrah at that nugget of advice.)
We also heard from germ expert Dr. Charles Gerba, a professor of environmental microbiology at the University of Arizona. Dr. Germ won me over when he quipped, “To me the only good germs are the ones that make beer, wine, and alcohol.” Luckily Johnson & Johnson makes Purell and I grabbed a few bottles at the product expo Friday since I will never see hotel TV remotes or my kitchen sink quite the same way after this presentation.
The most “interesting” afternoon session was entitled, “What’s Happening Down There?” which was led by two women urogynecologists. Most memorable quote? “Imagine this room is a vagina” or something like that. Who knew the trauma the female bladder and other female parts must endure post-childbirth! I did leave with two small light up compact mirrors for the girls, although they are imprinted with “What’s Happening Down There?” so I’m not sure I want them toting them to school. I mean do I really want to flaunt the state of my pelvic floor?
Tina Sharkey, chairman and global president of BabyCenter, LLC, which is owned by Johnson & Johnson, gave a fabulous presentation. A pioneer in new media, she was a a founder of Village, served as group president of Sesame Workshop’s Online Services, and helped rebuild AIM.
Some highlights of her session:
- Blog readers and bloggers are part of the Mom 2.0 Tribe
- 86% of U.S. moms access the Internet regularly
- 88% of moms use a broadband connection
- 70% of moms participate in online communities
- Moms and moms-to-be have on average 109 conversations in a week that are marketing relevant.
Whether you get 50 hits or 500 hits or 5,000 hits on your blog or website, you are part of an online “conversation renaissance,” Sharkey said.
Camp Baby links and resources:
- Online sleep tool for parents
- Information about cosmetic product ingredients
- InfantSEE, which provides no-cost access to an optometrist
- Kilmer House (J&J’s corporate history blog)
- J&J blog (Hanging With the Mommy Bloggers)
- J&J blog (We’ve Come a Long Way – Camp Baby)
- Belinda/Ninja Poodles’ Arkansas Times post about J&J
- Sleep Deprived No More, by Dr. Jodi Mindell, giveaway at MomAdvice
This sounds like a really interesting event – makes me really excited for Blogher!
Don Mills Diva’s last blog post..Amazing grace
Thanks for the sum-up—glad you had a good time!
mayberry’s last blog post..Let’s just take five
That’s sounds awesome! How did you get invited to such an event?
Richie Ann:
They told us that, among other things, they used Technorati and Google. I have really high Google rankings (see my sidebar) for different “mom blogs” search terms. Also, I’m registered on BlogHer’s site and they may have used that, too. It was a pretty diverse group geographically. Not all the moms were bloggers, some write for About.Com and BabyCenter.
There were 56 of us, I believe, so it was a pretty small group.
I definitely feel lucky, though, that I was invited!
Sounds like fun. I love all the free stuff. Of course nothing exciting ever happens here in small town Utah. But I would love to go to product handling out expo. I’ll have to check Vegas.
Glad you enjoyed it. I read somewhere that some of the invitees were disgruntled about not being allowed to bring nursing infants. Do you know anything about that?
Molly’s last blog post..College vs. Love
Molly:
Yes. The bottom line is I think the event was misnamed. I think it should have been called Camp Mom or something like that. Honestly, when I received the invitation via e-mail and looked it over it never even crossed my mind to bring my own children (yeah, I’m a good mother like that.) However, several of the mothers in attendance were nursing moms and they brought their breast pumps. I talked to one of the PR reps and they were trying to organize a nice “getaway/retreat” type event for moms (and of course have the opportunity to pick our brains.)
Lori at J&J personally addressed the mothers who felt they were left out and I think they have been very forthcoming about communicating with all of us and talking to us about things they could have done better.
It’s so fun to hear about your trip. Isn’t it great to put faces to names?
Hugs,
Holly
Oh thank you for sharing these! I’m glad it was a success and you had a good time. I like the quote you posted:
Whether you get 50 hits or 500 hits or 5,000 hits on your blog or website, you are part of an online
Awesome post, Jamie – one of the best recaps I’ve read, so far – it was such a pleasure meeting you (in person) but, so sorry to hear about the meltdown at the airport. Flying in and out of Newark can be, well, you know. Hope you’re fully recovered and looking forward to viewing some pics – especially, the ones that don’t have me in ‘em!
Liz’s last blog post..You know you’re from Jersey, if….
What a fun, get away event! I love it that you got to meet Ted Allen too!
And the germs, they scare me too. I use Clorox wipes on everything in our home, especially the remotes and the phones!
heather’s last blog post..Ten on Tuesday – Favorite Actors
I followed a lot of Camp Baby via Twitter but hadn’t read such a thorough description of everything until now. Thank you for the summary for those of us who weren’t there!
Deb – Mom of 3 Girls’s last blog post..Tackle It Tuesday #29 – Finishing Abby & Hannah
This event sounds like it was really cool…I wonder one gets involved in this kind of stuff???
Nap Warden’s last blog post..Updates, Updates, Updates…
Sounds exciting and I’m still jealous and pouting!
krissy’s last blog post..What if….......
Sounds like a great time was had by all
And I’m glad they treated you like the queen you are
Lisa’s last blog post..6 words and a baby
Super cool! I am so envious of all who got to go and are going to blogher!
What an amazing experience! Thanks for sharing honey.
rachel’s last blog post..Thithter Ow-side Fooball
Wow! I’ve really enjoyed reading your posts (and seeing that photo below…..!). You’re once busy and connected blogger, girl!
Jill’s last blog post..A Little Sidenote About Coach Self
Thanks for sharing – I’ve been curious how the trip was since hearing about it but I don’t “know” anyone who went. Sounds like you met some great folks!
Michelle’s last blog post..Doc Crazy fan club
I am so envious!! Sounds like you had a wonderful time! I don’t live in the US, so meeting other mom bloggers in a setup like this seems like a distant dream. sigh.
PreSchool Mama’s last blog post..A Reward Idea for Your PreSchooler
Great re-cap! And thanks for the links to all those resources at the bottom. It was so wonderful to meet you at Camp Baby. I am glad you didn’t have to wait 24 hours for another flight, and that J&J is reimbursing your hotel room for the extra night you had to stay over. Looking forward to keeping in touch and seeing you at more blogging events in the future!
Jane, Pinks & Blues
I love the blonde mom!
Stumbled the post.
Alli Mrs. Fussypants’s last blog post..Reply
I’d be jealous but I know you represented us well. oh, what’s that? US. As in me and you. We’re so totally a gay couple now. Duh.
Mrs. Flinger’s last blog post..Brutally Honest Monday #1
Thanks for the succinct recap! I’m so glad that J & J and other companies are beginning to tap into the power of intelligent and influential women in the blogosphere.
Stephanie’s last blog post..Working Mom Wednesday: Mommy Track
Thanks for the awesome recap! Moms rock and so do you.
Jen M’s last blog post..Philanthropy Thursday – Second Call For Entries!
Your post makes one think! Great article. Thanks for allowing me to comment!