om nom nom nom….you hear that?  It’s the sound of moms eating moms.

Like the vulture I saw on the side of the rode.  Eating poor Bambi that didn’t have the vertical leap needed to clear the car.  ::sad vom face::

I’m not talking your typical “Mommy Wars.”  I’m so not talking boob versus bottle, staying home versus working, or girls playing with trucks & boys playing with lipstick.  That is SO NOT where I am going on this.

I’m talking about Mommy Bloggers versus Mommy Bloggers.

& despite what most men are wont to think, it’s not sexy & cute & we’re not flinging pillows topless in boxers.  It’s much, much uglier.  When I first started working with Jockey, my buddy there & I were talking about the “mommy-blogosphere.”  Where we think it’s going, what sponsors are doing, & relationships between bloggers.  I naively replied that as cheesy as it sounds, there was this whole huge universe of internet that allowed everyone to fit.  & all I had come across was warm reception, advice, & support from other mom-bloggers.

Apparently, I just had not met the cranky ones.

I’d look up links at this point but I’m not into naming names for the hell of it.  & I’m also really lazy today.  It’s not really relevant to the story even though they’re main characters for the point I WILL EVENTUALLY GET TO.  geez.

Long story short – you have two bloggers.  With similar names to their blogs, which also happen to be snippets of a lyric from a very popular song.  One blog is obviously for personal use – a few giveaways, but mostly to chronicle family life.  Maybe ads in the future, & a small but loyal following.  The other blog is…bigger.   It ha it’s own .com & is a member of an advertising whatever-it-is-that-you-earn-money-from-clicks.

& out of the clear blue sky falls a DM into the lap of the “smaller” blogger from the “bigger” blogger, telling her to change her blog name because it’s the “bigger” blog’s brand & trademark.

::unladylike snort::

The smaller blogger ignores the request.  Because the whole thing is silly.  & is then bullied over Tweets & Direct Messages by the bigger blogger’s Twitter pals & “marketing team” to change her blog name OR ELSE.

I’m sorry.  ::more muffled giggles:: Really, I’m sorry.  I just can’t stop laughing.

I’ve talked about “brand” before.  I’m going to talk even MORE about it tomorrow.  But when I say “brand,” I mean the style of writing.  A style of relating with your readers, sponsors, & cohorts.  The type of followers.  The purpose of writing.  Not a blog title, or trademark, or a copyright or a “team” of pimps marketers friends hounding direct messages over Twitter.

(p.s.  Twitter = fun for random thoughts, passive-aggressive immaturity, & general attention-whoring.  it is not an appropriate business venue)

The smaller blogger was attacked for having a similar Twitter name, blog name, & OH MY GOD, DARING to have red in her custom blog design as well.   I do believe there was even a comment about how both blogger’s names started with the same letter.   THE HORROR!!  THE INFRINGEMENT!

THE RIDICULOUSNESS.  Because what followed was a Cease & Desist order over email with a deadline regarding a PENDING trademark.  Pending.  With the threat of involving attorneys should the smaller blogger not change her blog name.

Does everyone have the chuckles now?  Because I still do.

Infringement?  Hardly.  Two separate blogs.  Two separate purposes.  Two different designs.  What they have in common is that they claim to like Jesus & are both mothers, although in this instance, it seems to me that the smaller blogger was the only one sporting her WWJD? bracelet that day.  After many tears, the smaller blogger threw in the towel to get the bigger blogger & her Twitter friends off her back, changed her url, name, & Twitter identity.  What a pain in the rear, right?

So here’s my question:  If the “bigger” blogger was so brand-conscious, why did she not promote & protect her brand with grace & class?  Was an over-the-top ninja chop to the url-throat necessary?  Why did she not simply email the “smaller” blogger with a casual email – “Hey!  Guess what, it looks like we have way similar taste.  HOW TOTALLY COOL, I bet we would be friends in real life.  Just a heads up that I have a pending trademark, so you may want to think about changing your url & stuff over the next few months, just to make sure everything is kosher.”

See?  That’s a nice, sweet email.  That says “hey, we’re all in this together.”  Rather than I AM MOMMY BLOGGER, HEAR ME ROAR.

Because it screams insecurity.  It screams “I FEEL THREATENED.”  Why not grow?  If you feel that someone is starting to cramp into your style unintentionally, then it probably means that you’re stale & needing to branch out.  Grow yourself.  Do something new that the other one can’t offer.  Take off the thong stuck up your rear  & stay interesting.

There is a time to roar.  That time is when we are attacked by non-mommy bloggers for being lazy, selfish, & exploitative.  & there is a time to brush each others hair, tell ourselves that Oreos do not contain calories, & support our individual endeavors.  & remember that “brand” isn’t always about the color of your web page & how many hits your garner.

_______________________

because I know it’s coming….

If it were me, what would I do?  In the scenario listed above, nothing.

If it was a scenario where I stumbled across “Blair’s Heirs” where the author was also under the pen name of Blair with a Harrison, a Nate, with bluebirds & cupcakes.  Let’s say she had the same layout design, & that a few days after each post, she came up with one eerily similar more than 50% of the time.   Or copied my posts.  Yes, I would contact her.  But still be polite.  & not involve Twitter.