Two Knives

I quit working about 18 months ago to enter the world of SAHMs.

My job as an events coordinator with a for-profit higher eduction company had left me a tad, well, wrung out. Depleted. Wasted. I was a quivering mass of jelly and bones piled in the corner of my office at the time I quit.

Husband: So, what are you going to do with all your time now?
Two Knives: I don’t know. I thought I’d write a little.
Husband: Oh.

I had been yearning to write, as many of us do, because I thought I had something to say. I also wanted to figure out exactly what I really wanted to do for the rest of my life so that I could start a grown-up career. And stop counting meatballs.

The idea of writing a blog did not occur until several months later. One daughter was in school, the other in preschool parttime, so I had a few hours free every day. I decided to just do it.

I dove in head first. I started posting with only the goal that I post almost every day. I found the exercise of writing and posting, without the time for second drafts or feedback, invigorating. I joined a couple online communities. I posted comments on other people’s blogs. And people began to read mine.

In the midst of all the writing and posting and commenting, something happened: a theme emerged. As much as I wanted to be funny and write about parenting and housework – I couldn’t. I kept returning to the topic that really made me angry: corporate marketing directed at children.

Angry? I should say really pissed off.

Some days, I would scan the jobs openings at local nonprofits to see if something caught my attention. No more corporate jobs for me, no sir. After all, I had taken courses in nonprofit management along the way to my master’s degree. And I wanted a new job I could be passionate about.

But my mind kept coming back to the children’s marketing issue. 

Then I started to realize something. Perhaps the anger I felt wasn’t so much anger. Maybe it was — passion?

Could this be what I was passionate about?

Then I got this really crazy idea: Why not do something? Why not create a nonprofit? With an agenda I could be passionate about?

Can you do that?

I guess you can. I’m pleased to introduce Parents for Ethical Marketing and its blog, Corporate Babysitter.

If anyone’s still reading I want to thank some people: those kind bloggers who befriended me at the beginning and kept me going: Roy, Jessica, Zesty, Liz Strauss, and StealthBadger; bloggers Chilihead, Amy, and Mom for their tremendous support and encouragement; & Mel, for his ear and editing kindness.

And most importantly, thank you to my husband, who has tolerated my obsession, maintained enthusiasm for it, and supported me one hundred percent.

Thanks for reading. Now, let’s get to work.

I need some quick help setting up my new blog on Blogger. My big problem is finding the proper widgets (?) for the sidebar. And putting them in the proper place. Should be a pretty simple job. I’m hoping to find someone here in Minneapolis. Work would have to be completed within the next couple weeks.

It’s a paying gig. Please respond or pass this along to anyone you know who might be able to help.  I know you are out there. I know there’s like 8,000 of you out there. Why can’t I find you?

UPDATE: Found someone!

. . . now if I can just finish writing the copy for the web site.

And a blogging break for my birthday, which I could have spent at DL, but decided to go with Merlin’s Rest instead. Closer to home, more Irish music, and less screaming.

Recently I’ve witnessed a consistent mindset about corporate marketing: that corporations are corporations, that they will never change, and that trying to alter their marketing practices is a silly endeavor.

These posts, comments, and discussions are heavy with defeat, or even worse, apathy.

Here’s what keeps me going — a roundup of signs that I’m on the right path:

Many Companies Unprepared to Battle Online Critics . . . . Malcontents, unite!

Responding to Bad Press using Video, and Video Brand Hijacking

Brand Hijacking is when customers and the marketplace take your brand and create their own messages, experiences, and share with others. For most corporate marketers, this is scary stuff.

Feeling Trashed on the Web? How to Avoid Having your Brand Message Hijacked

Blog critics can “define what better is,” says blogger Jeff Jarvis of BuzzMachine.com. In July, 2005, Jarvis wrote about Dell’s poor service, echoing mainstream media reports. The pc maker recognized Jarvis’s influence—his blog traffic since doubled—and founder Michael Dell personally apologized to Jarvis.

Free Online Reputation Management Beginner’s Guide 

A great brand can take months, if not years, and millions of dollars to build. It should be the thing you hold most precious. It can be destroyed in hours by a blogger upset with your company.

And see what happens when you move from blogging to legislative hearings and threatened lawsuits?

Nickelodean Ends Character Licensing to Junk Food

Kellogg’s Announces Major Shift in Marketing Manufactured Food Products to Children

Masterfoods Vows to Cut Kids Marketing

I’ll leave you with this post, timely, thoughtful, and yes, inspirational, from Mockingbird’s Medley (via Skippy). In part:

. . . we who are distressed over the current societal situation we find ourselves in need to get real by subduing those members and those aspects of our society that are screwing us up. It’s time we took steps to put reins on those who survive by preying on us. The marketing bozos. The true believers. The misanthropes. The fearmongers. The scrubs. And the haters.

The Sunday New York Times has a wonderful op-ed from professor and author Gary Cross. He details the successful business model that is licensed-toy marketing and describes how it’s not so great for kids.

An essential point (at least in my house):

But the problem is that the fun built into the toy is mostly in receiving the latest Polly Pocket and adding it to a collection, rather than playing with it.

A counter opinion comes from David Harsanyi at The Huffington Post. Reading this, I understand one of the arguments we’re up against: government interference in parenting. Harsanyi does not believe that rampant marketing to children will cause any personal or societal harm. That’s one thought.

I’ve added three books by Gary Cross to my reading list: An All-Consuming Century, The Cute and the Cool: Wondrous Innocence and Modern American Children’s Culture, and Kids’ Stuff: Toys and the Changing World of American Childhood.