Getting into the Camp Baby Spirit

In the last couple of years, blogging has become an interesting business -- and I use that term in the commercial sense. It's weird, because when I started this blog (back in 2003 - I know, it's mind boggling to me, too), I never expected anyone but my friends and family to read it.

Obviously I -- and the blogosphere -- have come a long way. Especially since we showed up on the radar of corporate America.

This post is not going to be about the political/social aspect of partnering with marketers. This is a topic that has been covered thoughtfully and forcefully by others, and is better suited for my main blog, SoCal Mom (where I hope to talk about the phenomenon after I've had some time to evaluate this event, but in a broader sense).

But I did want to talk a little about the wonder I feel every time I get an email promising an opportunity that is going to be FUN -- like the one that began my relationship with Nintendo... and the invitation I received last year to meet General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz. Or my very positive association with the Walt Disney Company, which paid me last year to be a consultant for Family.com.

These are things that NEVER would have happened to me without my little blog. They make logging on to my computer each day a little bit like Christmas. You never know what you are going to find in that email you are about to open.

So I was a tad giddy back in February, when I got an unexpected invitation to attend Johnson & Johnson's Baby Camp. A retreat with mom bloggers, like a mini-BlogHer? Only all expenses paid? On the East Coast (in New Jersey -- home of my beautiful blogging buddy, Lizzie Thompson)?

Did they know that I am in my 50's and not likely to have much contact with babies until I become a grandmother (hopefully, not for another 10 or 20 years)?

I RSVP'd immediately, in case they came to their senses.

Since then, there's been a lot of chatter in the blogosphere about this event and others. As I said above, I will deal with that in another post, after the event is over, and probably at my other blog, SoCal Mom.

This post is about the event itself.

Everything has been first class -- including my airplane ticket to New Jersey (not all participants got that perk. I think mine was due to how promptly I was able to RSVP). The Heldrich Hotel, where the conference is being held, is a quality, four-star facility. The food served at the dinner buffet was surprisingly good (I tend to expect less from food that's sitting out in a chafing dish). I didn't even have to drive myself to the airport -- Johnson & Johnson arranged for a towncar to transport me to LAX and back.

We have each received a goodie bag filled with Neutrogena products, like anti-wrinkle cream (AHA! Maybe they actually do know how old I am). There's also some partner mark eting going on here: the shuttle from Newark to New Brunswick was a hybrid Tahoe, courtesy of General Motors (a company that really does understand marketing through blogs), and the vintages we sampled at Queer Eye and Top Chef host Ted Allen's wine pairing seminar were provided by the parent company of Robert Mondavi.

Ted Allen, by the way, was wonderful: informative, funny and highly entertaining (just as he is on television -- only he seemed a lot looser. Or maybe we were the ones who were loose. A number of us went straight up to dinner after a chat session in the hotel bar. Anyone who has ever been to a party filled with mommy bloggers -- or even a PTA convention -- knows what that's all about).

I live-tweeted the Ted Allen event, which seemed to unnerve our hosts, one of whom asked another attendee what I was doing by texting on my phone through the whole thing. I guess they had not yet learned about Twitter (we were telling Ted about it, too -- he writes a couple of blogs of his own, and ended his presentation by asking US for pointers. Which, of course, we were more than happy to provide).

Tomorrow's agenda is chock-full of events, from 7:30 a.m. until midnight -- with nary a break inbetween. I expect to learn a few things here. But I think Johnson & Johnson is going to learn just as much -- or more -- from us.

And that's probably the point of this entire exercise.

In the meantime -- getting to reconnect with old blogging friends, live and in person -- is an experience I am savoring.

More tomorrow -- and with a little luck, I will be a lot more coherent than I am tonight.

Donna Schwartz Mills (SoCal Mom) writes about raising a family in Southern California. This was cross-posted at her review blog, SoCal Stuff.

I'll do it later

I'm a procrastinator. As organized as I think I am, I generally end up waiting until the last minute to pack for a trip.

My ride arrives at the crack of dawn tomorrow for New Jersey and do I have anything packed yet? Noooooo. I have "an idea" of what I'm bringing along but nothing actually physically in my suitcase yet.

I do know for a fact that I'm bringing four pairs of shoes. Three pair in my suitcase and one pair on my feet. Yeah. That's right. That's just me. For some reason, I'm packing "business casual". I'll have casual clothes with me too but I think I'm just getting into business mode because I start a new job when I return from Camp Baby.

Oh, I can't wait to get there. There are so many people I want to meet. I hope we all have a chance to get acquainted. Please don't be offended if I don't remember your name, I'm bad like that. I'll be the girl there wearing a different pair of shoes everyday!

PS: If the festivities end earlier enough on Thursday night - LOST party in my room!

Technorati Tags: jnj, jnj camp baby, johnson's camp baby

Ack! And, also , Ugh!

Oh, how ready I am for this trip. I told my coworkers and boss all about it - why not, they all read my blog - there really is no way to keep it secret. I went today and got a great haircut, got my lip waxed, have packed half of my dresser and most of my closet. I've procured rides for my kids to soccer and scouts, written pages of instructions for teachers and careworkers, bought groceries and lunch tickets. But you will know me, not by my gorgeous clothes, my pink and white polka dot suitcase, or my business cards.

You'll know me by my cold sore.

Yes, ladies, I have another cold sore. This makes three in three weeks - yes, I've taken possibly illegal amounts of Lysine, done a round of Abreva and Valtrex and coat my face hourly in Denavir. Despite all of this, I still look like a leper.

So, don't worry about your pasty white legs, dorky clothes, unshaven pits or the like. Everyone will be so busy staring at the blogger with perpetual cold sores that it'll take all the attention off you, and you can feel free to relax.

You're welcome.

And yuck. Anyone have a spare burqa?

Please Refrain from Cleaning Anything!

I'm less than enthralled with my wardrobe options for this trip, like many of you. I was kind of hoping that my collection of cute spring shoes, combined with a lovely pedicure, would carry me through the wardrobe angst. Since I don't like to come home to a dirty house (ha, I'm leaving my husband and child home alone, like it won't be dirty anyway), I decided to check off a few cleaning chores before I started packing. This was a grave mistake.

See, when you start wrestling with a shower door that has come off its track, and subsequently drop it on your toes, your desire to wear shoes at all goes straight out the window. Plus, no one is touching that foot for a pedicure now, I assure you!

So, let this be a warning to all of you. Please stop cleaning things now. Do not harm yourself in preparation for this trip. And if you see a girl hobbling around wearing flip-flops, with only one pedicured foot, and toes that look like an entire Hell's Angels club ran over them, that's me. Glad to meet you!

So Nervous to Meet Real Bloggers

Jenny, you aren't the only one with clothing issues. I went out last night because I needed something to go with my classy maternity shirt (shhhh, don't tell anyone that my youngest is 2 years old!) I bought a pair of capris. Only they aren't capris on me. They're just pants. I kinda look like George Costanza. I know, I know. Don't be all jealous now.

I'm so looking forward to this trip! Wine - good. Dinner out - good. A bed all to myself without toddler feet, knees, and elbows kicking me in the face all night - good. The smell of Johnson's baby lotion - good.

I'm not so sure about the braiding, bug juice, ghost stories, and getting my butt kicked playing Wii (my children have informed me I'm pathetic because my Wii age is 492.)

Sooo, if you see a George Costanza shaped dork wearing a maternity shirt and floods, sitting over in the corner looking nervous because she doesn't know a single person, it's me. You know, just so you can avoid me and all.

Because Johnson & Johnson Already Practically Owns Me, Apparently!

If you're plugged into the blogosphere, particularly the world of "mom-bloggers," you've heard more than enough about The Great Camp Baby To-Do of 2008. If you've missed the dustup, you can bring yourself up to speed here, and a little Googling will turn up plenty more fallout.

What happened was, Johnson & Johnson and their PR firm, in an effort to "connect" with what is becoming an increasingly powerful demographic, MOMS WHO BLOG, decided to host a 3-day "getaway" for moms, culminating, naturally, in a field trip to J&J headquarters for a product expo. The hope is that the blogger attendants will return home and write (hopefully glowingly) on their blogs about the J&J products they saw, and how well they were treated by the giant corporation. They invited 50 "influential bloggers" on this junket, and shockingly enough, Yours Truly was one of those 50. I'm still trying to figure out quite how "influential" I am, but I registered for the trip based on a few key factors:

1. FREE. The trip is FREE. As in, all expenses paid, including airfaire, car service to and from the airport on both ends (though I excused them from sending a car for me here at home), great hotel accomodations, meals, a wine-tasting hosted by Ted Allen (fangirl squeeeee!), lots of pampering activities, a Wii-party and fine dining at The Frog and The Peach, etc. Yes, apparently, I can be bought--although I have to give props to our sponsors at J&J for making it clear right up front that: a.) We are not obligated in any way to write about the trip or the product expo, and b.) If we DO write about any of it, they ask that, in the interest of total transparency, we reveal that we were there on THEIR dime. I respect that.

2. The opportunity to visit with scads of my all-time favorite blogger-buddies from all over the continent! And these are just a few of the ones who I know will be there--I'm sure I "know" a heck of a lot more of the 50 attendees, if only online. If I had to guess, I'd say that MOST bloggers who accepted the invitation did so with this motivation high on their list of priorities. That was smart of J&J. I've heard lots of complaints that "the same group of bloggers gets invited to all these corporate-sponsored junkets," but this is the first time for me. It will be interesting to see if my participating in this activity gets me on some kind of PR "list" in the future. I do get PR pitches from time to time, but I'm certainly not inundated by them like some folks say they are.

3. TED ALLEN. 'Nuff said. I'm a dorky, dorky Top Chef/Queer Eye for the Straight Guy fangirl. I'm not ashamed. Much.

In preparation for this trip, in order to educate myself about exactly who was buying my attention, I did some research into the companies owned by Johnson & Johnson, and the products they make. I was ASTOUNDED at the sheer number and variety of things made by J&J or one of their subsidiaries which have directly impacted my and my family's lives. They're not just Band-Aids and Baby Powder. From psychiatric medications that have benefited my bipolar husband to the Interceed fabric that repaired my resectioned colon and protected me from adhesions during a lifesaving surgery in 2000, I've spent enough money with Johnson & Johnson that a plane trip and a few dinners are looking like a nice "Thank-You" note at this point! Check here to see how much influence Johnson & Johnson has in your life--you might be surprised!

I'm looking forward not only to visiting and schmoozing, but also to doing my best at being a representative of wonderful folks like this amazing woman and others.

Cross-posted at my space on The Arkansas Times Blog.

Spouses, Employers, and Wine Oh My

I'm getting so excited about this trip. I know my husband is probably wishing he could drop me off at the airport tonight. Ha! ;) Does anyone else feel like they're driving their spouse insane with excitement over this trip?

I just got my AmEx boarding pass reminder in my e-mail. Wahoo! I'm very thankful this is a direct flight for me. I'm a nervous traveler. I foresee a glass of wine upon arrival in New Jersey.

For those of you who work, did you tell your employer the details? I just requested time off for a mom's retreat. I don't really feel comfortable tooting my blog horn here at the office. I know one co-worker who occasionally reads it, but no one really seems to get the "blog thing" at work.

I'm looking forward to meeting everyone tomorrow! I arrive fairly early (1:30.)