Adventures in the Wonderful, Weird World of Blogging

In the 13 weeks I have been in this class and a demographic/audience-specific NEWS class, I have had to blog (obviously). In this span of time I have looked at some pretty questionable blogs on the Web. These may have been blogs I thought were WAY too personal (in a physical way...no thank you), or maybe too intrusive on their spouse or young child's lives, or just some rantings that actually made me question whether the Internet should have cursing regulations like television....and that's pretty bad coming from a potty mouth like me.

So here are just a few examples of the blogs I've discovered this semester that stopped me in my tracks and got me thinking about my own ethics and what-not!

1.) "Reasons My Son Is Crying" - this one is fairly new to me
http://reasonsmysoniscrying.tumblr.com/
Okay, so I will be the very first person to admit that this blog cracks me up each time I look at it. The captions just make the blog! If any of you have ever messed with the smartphone app "I'd Cap That," you understand the humor behind a few of these photo posts. BUT, this blog makes me question the thought process, or lack there of, of the boy's father taking the pictures and posting them. Yes, most of them seem harmless, but there are a select few bathtub pictures thrown in there. What I would be most worried about if I ran a blog like this that is 95% pictures of my child would be my son's safety....paranoid and overly protective? Maybe. But I watch way too much Law and Order SVU and I know there are freaks out there! But the second highest thing on my list of concerns is how rough this kid could potentially have it in high school in like 13 years. These pictures will always be out on the Internet, and someday some mean, Internet-addicted prepubescent could walk up to this kid and say "go cry to your daddy," "why don't you cry about it," or maybe even a more specific "why are you crying? Because your mommy wouldn't let you bite off Buzz Lightyear's head?!" (Ha sorry, that's one of my favorite entries!) Though I may have concerns like this, the parents are not idiots. The little boy's name (so far) has not been released on the website for search engine optimization, but he has been featured on the Today Show and Good Morning America!

2.) "Simply Being Mommy"
http://simplybeingmommy.com/
I promise this rant will be shorter! This blog just kind of grossed me out upon reading some of the entries. Some are SO personal!! She talks about red, mystery skin "whelps" in tanning beds after her first child, pictures of post-pee pregnancy tests (just a personal ick), and surrogacy parenting. I'm all for surrogacy mothers, but I don't think I would be at all comfortable if the woman I chose to carry my baby was posting updates for 9 months, and I definitely would not be happy if she posted a picture of my baby online on her popular blog one month after birth! These are just my personal feelings about it and I would never allow it, but I can only assume this woman got permission from the "other mother" to do these things...that doesn't mean I like it! This blog isn't all gross or personal though. There are actually some pretty decent recipes!

3.) "STFU Parents" -- last one I promise
http://www.stfuparentsblog.com/ 
Okay, there's not even anything bad I can say about this one from a personal standpoint, because I'm not a mom and not offended. Other than a few possible ethical shortcomings, this woman is absolutely hilarious! And ethics aren't a huge issue because she found most, if not all, of her posted stories and headlines from web-published "news" content. This one has apparently caught quite a bit of bad press from angry parents, calling her and her writing "insensitive." Here is a entry quote pointed out in an article from the NYpost:

"When a mom posted a picture of her baby in a onesie that read,“$5 Footlong” with an arrow to his crotch, she wrote, 'Since when did it become acceptable to compare a baby’s genitals to a sub sandwich?'"

See...I think that's hysterical. Mothers don't seem to agree with me. I just think PEOPLE are "too sensitive," and need to stay out of good old fashion baby humor.


Okay. I'm done with the rants. But definitely check these blogs out! And, if you have time, try to do what I did and just start Googling "pop culture blogs," and see what you get out of it!