Can't we all just get along?

 The New York Times visited the recent Bloggy Boot Camp in Baltimore, and published this snarky story on Sunday. The Mom Bloggers went crazy. CRAZY. They are writing letters to the editor and irate blog posts. The nerve! The patronizing tone! The gall to suggest that bloggers are blogging and trying to make money rather than play with their kids!

First of all, I agree with the bloggers that the tone was patronizing. No doubt. But as a longtime reporter and a fairly new blogger, I see both sides of the coin.

I think the reporter was trying to present that there is a whole world out there, where everyone has a voice, even if they do not have the training and experience to get paid for it in the traditional media world. That doesn't mean that some of them are not in demand by corporate sponsors and blogging sites. It's just a new model when it comes to new media, one that readers of the New York Times might not know about.

What readers of traditional media also often don't know is there is a difference between blogging and reporting. Traditional journalists would never (or aren't supposed to) take swag or sponsorship (although papers might want to consider it, given the financial state of affairs at most newspapers these days). The reporter was trying, I think, to point out that mom bloggers are embracing this new business model - particularly if it will pay off in making enough money to be with their kids and not return to a traditional office job. A traditional reporter would never be "sponsored" by Pampers, so I think it is news to some people out there that a blogger can be.

I have been reading a ton of  Mommy blogs for years, and between this gig and my own blog I guess you can say I am trying out being a Mommy blogger. While there are some great, funny, informative bloggers out there - many of them post right here at DC Metro Moms and its affiliated sites - there are some really boring ones.

There are writers who call themselves bloggers and want to - and sometimes do - have a large following. There are others who are missing the skill that it takes to effectively tell a story. That is both the blessing a curse of being a blogger - anyone can do it, but few people do it really well. Sorry, I know that is unkind, but when you cast a net as wide as the whole World Wide Web, that is the truth. For every blogger getting a book deal there are thousands of bloggers - myself included right now, and I am an award-winning writer who has been doing this for 25 years - who have an audience of a few dozen.

Time will tell whether mommy bloggers can stick with it for the long haul. Blogging about the wonder of a newborn or the stress that leads you to the three-martini playdate is fun at that moment in time...but what happens when your kids get older? They will grow up one day. Mine is 13 and prefers I not write about his thoughts, feelings, fears or bathroom habits online. The best bloggers will find ways to expand; the ones who can't move beyond the the cute thing Ian said in the car are, sadly, going to be moving on to something else eventually. New life events, new subject matter, new career? Who knows what the future holds.

In the meantime, old media and new media should call a truce, embrace the changes and respect one another. We can all share the sandbox.

This is an original D.C. Metro Moms post.

Karen Goldberg Goff writes about many subjects other than parenting at Snarkshelf.com.