Sponsors of misogynist thug athletes vs. moms: This has legs

A couple days ago, the fabulous Nicole from MomTrends finally decided she'd had it. 

As Nicole wrote on her blog, "It all started with Nike's weird from-the-grave Master's ad for Tiger. Then I read about Ben Roethlisberger--another Nike guy. The NFL player wasn't charged with anything but according to the NYTimes he did earn a 572-page Georgia police report of a sexual assault accusation against him. That was enough for me." 

And so, Nicole kicked off her own, personal Nike boycott. Be sure to read the comments on Nicole's blog about this too, they are great.

Nicole wrote:

"I've got two little girls. I want them to grow up to be strong women that love sports--just like their mom does. So as their role model I want them to see me use my purchasing power well. Not only to I track trends, but I also try to steer moms into spending money wisely.  I'm certainly not going to be giving Nike my dollars anymore (two pairs of running shoes a year--roughly $200) to spend on athletes that at the very least don't respect women. So I'm asking you all to think twice before plunking down money for Nike shoes and apparel. As for me, I'm returning the promotional outfit I received last year for review."

Nicole brought the conversation over to TheMotherhood, too. Check that conversation out as well. Good stuff. Including a great point by Scraphappychristine:

scraphappychri And I'm a mother of boys and it bothers me. I do NOT want them to think these are acceptable ways to treat women and role model this type of behavior.

And now a Twitter petition is making the rounds, which reads:

Roethlisberger has been accused multiple times of sexual assault http://bit.ly/asVKj4 By sponsoring this football player, Nike says violence against women is okay. In 2007, Nike dropped Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick for running a dog-fighting ring, saying, “We consider any cruelty to animals inhumane and unacceptable.” Surely violence against women is many times worse. Tell Nike to drop Roethlisberger today!

The issue is clear. We buy the sports gear for our kids and for ourselves. Who wants to outfit our boys and girls like these men who, at best, act like spoiled, sociopath cavemen and at worst are dangerous and prey upon and assault females at a whim? 

Glorifying these guys has been very, very good for Nike, but what happens when there really is nothing left to glorify? Maybe Ben and Tiger are still good athletes, but at the end of the day without sportsmanship an athlete really cannot be considered world class. If they aren't world class, why are they worthy of an endorsement from a company such as Nike?

Our bet is that since women, girls and moms are starting to make some noise, companies like Nike will have no choice but to listen and act. It is the only right, sportsman-like thing to do.

What do you think?

UPDATE: The awesome Amy from MojoMom.com blogged about this issue as well.  Read her great post here.  In case anyone wanted to weigh in, Amy pointed us to the "interesting" NPR Morning Edition commentary from Frank Deford she covers in her post. 

The close-to-home impact of global warming

Here's what I learned yesterday. 

    Global warming is making poison ivy worse.

    Deer ticks (that cause Lyme disease) are thriving because of climate change.

    And the lovely, biting fire ants? They love that our planet is warming up too - they're spreading northward.

I was at a lunch with a group of fabulous bloggers (Amie Adams, Gayle Weiswasser, Diane MacEaachern), hosted by Jaime Matyas and her great team at the National Wildlife Federation and we had a fascinating, free-ranging conversation (thank you NWF!!!) and heard about a few NWF programs.  

This morning, I woke up thinking about poison ivy and had to tell you about the convo. 

Most of us might think of climate change as a big (global!) issue that affects the polar bears more than it effects our own, day-to-day lives.  Felice Stadler, with NWF's Global Warming Solutions Program, and Diane of Big Green Purse killed off that idea.  

Not only are we seeing extreme weather patterns that are messing with our plans (my daughter still talks about the record snow fall that hit Baltimore when she was on her special Grandpa-time weekend this winter), but nuisances like poison ivy, deer ticks, and fire ants are getting much worse, and get this ... there's a new mosquito coming from Asia, the Asian Tiger mosquito.  They bite often, need tiny amounts of water to survive and carry more than 30 different viruses. 

Not to be a wet blanket, but as a mom looking out for my family, I want to know this and thought you would too.

I just found a page on the National Wildlife Federation site that tells you how climate change is effecting your state in case you'd like to learn more about the impact in your area.  

(Cooper, Amie and I are on the NWF Founding Mothers Advisory Council - YAY!)

Oprah's Op-Ed in the New York Times Today

Way back in November, Cooper and I went to Chicago for the taping of Oprah's show on distracted driving (it aired in January).

Oprah's senior producer had invited us because we'd been in touch about TheMotherhood’s campaign to reduce distracted driving, Mom Sends The Msg, and recommended people she might interview and include in the segment.

The reason I'm bringing this up now is during the 'after show' I asked Oprah a question that, as it turns out, ties into the great op-ed Oprah wrote for the New York Times today, called Dnt Txt N Drv, about the dangers of using your cellphone while driving. 

Here's what happened at Harpo Studios. 

The show itself was an intense and emotional hour and a half – no surprise given the topic - and afterward, Oprah took off her high-heels and curled up in her chair to talk with us, her audience. She was relaxed, found ways to lighten the moment, talked about how much the issue of distracted driving mattered to her (“texting and driving is just dumb” …”everyone thinks they can handle it”), asked to hear some of the personal stories from the audience and took questions.

The 'after show' was coming to a close when I decided to ask Oprah a question that had been on my mind: "Would you consider, if Harpo doesn’t have one already, putting a distracted driving policy in place before this show airs?”

And without missing a beat, Oprah answered, “Tomorrow.”

At this point, Oprah was leaning forward, focused, with both stockinged feet on the ground. We talked awhile about it - actually, I stood and she talked to me and all of us about how much it mattered to her that her employees not use their cellphones when behind the wheel. Audience members then raised their hands to tell their own stories about on-the-job, distracted driving scary stories and near misses, and Oprah was right there.

So today, when Oprah said in her op-ed, "... I instituted a policy at my company that forbids employees from using their phones for company business while driving," that moment in Harpo studios came rushing back. 

And here we are five months later, and Oprah is taking this on in such a big way and, as a result, many companies will put strict "No Phone Zone" policies in place, and we'll likely see more people pull over to the side of the road before talking on their cellphones and others who will even stop texting while driving (imagine that!).  All so cool.

Is there a Webby for that?

As one of the  Webby Awards' five family/parenting category contenders, TheMotherhood.com is in some serious, mind boggling company. 

I admit in the last week while feeling excited and honored, I'm also, well, kind of amazed - especially when I see us stacked up among such heavy hitters:

1) Babycenter (Johnson & Johnson): Eight million members, or as Babycenter puts it, "Our website ALONE reaches as many people in a month as there are births in the U.S. in a year." I'm not sure I understand the math but it's IMPRESSIVE.

2) Sesame Street (Sesame Workshop): What else to say but sunny days! LOVE. The website just won an Emmy. And their annual report details how they are saving millions of children in just about every, single country in the world. 

3) Parenting.com (Bonnier Corp.): 14 million pageviews a month, YOWZA! And, according to their media kit, there's nothing they can't do for moms,"Parenting.com continues to embody The Parenting Group's commitment to moms, by doing it all."

4) Drinkwise Australia (the Australian alcohol industry): Well, we'll just leave it at that. 

5) And then there's us - TheMotherhood.com: Several million-less pageviews a month than the above and, according to this here blog post by me, it's brought to you by "Two moms with six kids between them -- and a dream!" 

It's a puzzle.

But, then again, it's not.

In internet terms, Emily and I go back a million years (before Twitter) when "mommy blogger" was not a noun and BlogHer had yet to hold a conference. 

But there we all were, moms online, building a strong-as-steel network out of kindness, support and amazing storytelling.   

Emily and I started our first blog in 2004 but neither of us fully understood the true meaning nor power of the mom blog community until August 2005 when the levees broke in New Orleans. 

On that day we wrote a blog post on this very blog that literally changed, for us, everything.

We became, overnight, an in-kind donation clearinghouse for moms helping moms. The web was used for good and it was mom bloggers leading the way. Emily and I cried often that year because of how you helped each other.

Looking back now it is clear that moment in time also represented when we, as a culture, started to trust the institutions less and trust each other more. We were not immersed in social media yet, but the seeds were planted and soon being online was never going to be the same.

Funny how life works.

In early 2006, all Emily and I could think about was creating a way online for moms to be there for each other. Hello, TheMotherhood.com! 

Building social networks wasn't really understood by anyone and we obviously (if you saw our first, horrible versions of TheMotherhood.com you no doubt agreed) didn't understand either. 

However, we had two principles for our "neighborhood" and they kept us focused:

1) We raise all boats

2) We leave everything a little better than we found it

We're several versions into the site, and yet we never stop learning what it takes to build on and improve our community. All the while we've also built a business that "keep the lights on" but also allows us to live out what we mean by "raise all boats".  In the last couple weeks alone we've been able to engage several dozen mom bloggers in projects with brands. 

Amazing to think how much has evolved on that front in just a few years. 

Remember the big feature article several years ago in the business section of the New York Times where a home builder had an epiphany and asked a bunch of moms what they would change in his homes' floor plans? He made their changes - like moving the mudroom from the middle of the house to next to the garage - and sales skyrocketed. Everyone went, "Ooooh, ahhhhh. So smart, ask the women." That article was the first big media piece in recent times that acknowledged the economic impact of moms. 

And soon the media, brands, organizations, entertainment people, big wigs all wanted to hear from moms.  

It wasn't generic "moms" who were sought, however, it was moms online. 

"Influencer," in all its marketing-speak, also happens to be the mantle online moms bear. But with it moms online have demanded a new level of authenticity, honesty and integrity from brands. Sometimes we get that from a company, sometimes we don't but when a brand breaks our trust, the economic ramifications are swift. At the same time, when companies and moms connect in real ways -  work together, build relationships, listen to and hear each other - it's value -added for everyone. 

Maybe moms online take if for granted, or forget it from time to time, but if we pause a minute to absorb who we are, the impact we've had and continue to have and what we represent -- we, in the fullness of our ongoing contribution to the world, are revolutionary.

Moms online at this moment in history might not be so different from pioneering women who've come before us. Wouldn't it be wonderful to think we're direct, philosophical descendants of those who barreled across prairies or discovered new territory or invented communities out of nothing or circled their wagons to protect each other? 

It's not a leap, and our kids will say so one day, that we've built a new world. We've together spent countless hours and years on it, gently, intently, diligently building - with deep love, and lots of hard work and tears, too. The work isn't over and there is so much more to do and discover. 

Where we are, what we've invented and all we have accomplished and will accomplish might not involve annual shareholder meetings, thousands of employees or millions of subscribers, but it has changed - and continues to change - the way the world views moms. More importantly we've created a whole, entirely new way to see, connect with and care for each other. 

For that reason, Emily and I dedicate our Webby nomination to the originals, the real power houses - the mom blogger community - and in the unlikely event we win it gals, OMG it's yours. 

Download Courageous Parents, Confident Kids - Free!

Courageous Parents, Confident Kids — Letting Go So You Both Can Grow, a fabulous book in which TheMotherhood plays a part (we held a live Talk on TheMotherhood.com about Courageous Parenting  with our members and many of the book's contributors AND Emily and I wrote a chapter), will be available for a free download from April 19-21 ONLY! 

Go to MojoMom.com to register for the free download!   The AMAZING Amy Tiemann, PhD of MojoMom.com fame is the editor. 

Here is the description of the book from Amy's site: 

Courageous Parents, Confident Kids Helps You Create Joyful Independence for Your Family, in the Nest and Beyond 

A close relationship with our kids is a gift. But it’s possible to become so over-involved that our kids don’t learn to spread their wings. And, how does that hovering “helicopter” mode impact us as parents? This unique resource releases both parents and kids to fully enjoy the comforts of the nest and the ability to explore and grow beyond it. 

Courageous Parents—Confident Kids gives you the practical skills and inspiration every family needs to grow up together. This is your guide to sustainable parenting that makes letting go a safer and happier process, every step of the way. Let the journey begin! 

The courage to invest in your own care, career, and development 

The courage to raise capable, confident kids at every age 

Beyond “Stranger Danger”–concrete skills for online and personal safety 

Finding your voice and raising it for the community 

“Wondering why kids used to play and roam outside, but things are so different today? This book brims with courage for today’s parents, and ways to pass that power onto the next generation. Read on!” — Lenore Skenazy, Founder of FreeRangeKids.com and author of Free-Range Kids: How to Raise Safe, Self-Reliant Children (Without Going Nuts with Worry) 

“Tiemann’s ‘letting go so you both can grow’ is the shift parents need to nurture themselves and their families with absolute confidence and joy.” — Michele Borba, Ed.D., author of The Big Book of Parenting Solutions: 101 Answers to Your Everyday Challenges and Wildest Worries 

Hurry, register for your free download now! You don't want to miss this great opportunity!

Big News! TheMotherhood is a finalist in the Webby Awards!

Wooo Hoooo! Great news! TheMotherhood was nominated today by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences as a finalist in the Webby Awards (they call them the Oscars of the web!) in the Family/Parenting category.

It is because of you, this incredible community, we have this honor! 

With the Webbys, there are two ways to win, by a panel of judges and by a People's Voice vote.  

The People's Voice vote is happening now and we would LOVE to have your vote!!!!!!! 

At the moment, we are in 2nd place across all categories. Yes, that is right - TheMotherhood is beating Twitter. Don't hear that everyday, do you? Let's do it!!!!! Please vote and spread the word!!!!! 

Congratulations everyone! Now, GO VOTE! : )

Oprah, OWN and 1/1/11

Yesterday, Discovery Communications presented their fall line-up of shows and my friend Gayle Weiswasser (@DiscoveryComm) invited me to go.  It was a fantastic show with gorgeous footage of Discovery's amazing programming, with the stars of their top shows talking about what's coming up.  The highlight for me was when Oprah came on stage.   Gayle surprised me (maybe she knows I'm a fan?!?) and way cool.

Since I've been so curious about what Oprah is doing next and her plans for OWN, I thought you'd like some highlights of what she said.

Oprah will launch the OWN network on, you got it ... 1/1/11. 

Some of shows she's planning are:

A reality show - This show follows Oprah through her day to day the last year of her network show.  The behind the scenes on this looked real, personal, unscripted and make-up free.

Miracle Detectives - tracking down stories of real life miracles by two hosts, one the skeptic and the other a believer.  

Kidnapped by the Kids - Kids literally kidnapping their parents who don't give them enough time or attention and causing an intervention. The clip we saw got me crying.

Shania Twain - Shania talked about her reality series on coming back after going through loss and depression (she didn't actually use that word, but it sure sounded like it the way she described her slump after her marriage broke up).

Visionaries - Will.i.am talked about a show on Visionaries and the creative process. They'll feature Steven Speilberg, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Will.i.am of course and other top creative talent.

Your OWN Show - Oprah will have a reality show for people who want to do their own show (think Oprah Winfrey Show spin-offs like Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz, Nate Bekus).  She's going to find the next star who needs her or his own show.

Oprah - And lastly, Oprah is going to have her own show but not in the studio, out of it.  She said that people think she's seen the world, but she hasn't.  She's flown over lots of places but hasn't spent time on the ground.  She's going to interview "the most famous people on the planet and ordinary people leading fascinating lives."  She says it will be a show "about people we want to hear from." And she "can't wait to start the next chapter."

Here's a photo of her onstage with Will.i.am (Thank you so much to wonderful Nicole from http://www.linussblanket.com who sent me this after my iPhone died.)

A look through the years

Since everything in our virtual life is getting a bit of a makeover, up next is Been There. This blog has been pretty much the same design for at least 6 years. 

Cooper's sister drew several "seasonal" illustrations for us, which we made into different mastheads and for a long time when the weather changed we changed our masthead as well.

So shall we stroll down memory lane? Here are some. Aren't they wonderful?

And this classic always makes us smile:

     

Fun and Team and Serendipity

Andy took our ten year old to the NCAA basketball finals on Monday night as a birthday surprise and I have to share a story from their trip.   Erin loves soccer and was wearing her favorite "Duke soccer" cap (Duke was playing Butler).  At the game, she saw a group of Duke students, all girls, wearing Duke soccer clothes, and she went over and asked if they were on the soccer team.  They said yes and were so excited Erin was wearing a hat in support of their team that they all had a great big love fest.  Erin got them to autograph her hat (and she autographed it too!), and the girls were all incredibly sweet and nice and encouraging of her.  

That got me thinking about how ya' never know when fun, encouragement and team will show up - and how we find it together online all the time.  And how much I love that.

Hats off to you, my fun and fabulous friends online! 

Welcome (back) to TheMotherhood

Here we are! The latest iteration of our beloved community is now live and we can't wait to hear what you think! 

Our goals in rebuilding and redesigning the community came out of your feedback and being there with you as you filled TheMotherhood.com with your wonderful voices, words and caring for each other. 

In simplifying the site, we aim to make it easier for you to find what and who you are looking for.

By cleaning away some of the extra bells and whistles we had before, we hope the point of the site - a neighborhood where moms help each other make life a little better every day - is easier to accomplish. 

We also rebuilt the platform completely. You will find the "engine" has gone from one not unlike that in a nice, solid mini-van to one that's under the hood of the sleekest sports car. Yeah, baby. We are enjoying the speed tremendously, and hope you do too! 

We've set up a live Talk for you to ask questions and make comments about the redesign. It is open now and we are eager to hear what you think. You can join the talk here. At the very least, we hope you pop by and say "hi!" - we'll give you a cup of coffee.

All of this would not have happened if not for our technology partners of many years, Deep Local. Through thick and thin, Nathan, Dimitry, Dave, Lindsey and the rest of the team have worked long, hard hours on TheMotherhood.com bringing all their heart, brilliance and creativity with them. If you get a chance, let them know how you like the site! They would LOVE to hear it!     

Without further ado, we give you the refurbished and revitalized TheMotherhood.com. Doesn't she look fantastic?

Hugs!