So sorry everyone for the extended absence here on NKT. Last week was probably the busiest and craziest week for me since leaving my job last October. I’ve been out of town basically since last Wednesday, and I’m just finally catching up and getting back into the swing of things.
Wednesday and Thursday morning we were busy focusing on family events, and then Thursday evening-Saturday, I was busy with the events at BlogHer ’09 in Chicago. I came away with so many fun memories and learned a ton of great ideas and perspectives.
But in terms of NKT, perhaps the most valuable takeaway for me was the importance and the ethics of working with brands. Over the past few months for NKT, I’ve been quite fortunate to work with so many wonderful brands and companies. The reality for me is, I’ve worked with many wonderful companies prior to this new gig. Many of my regular readers already know, but as a working journalist and magazine editor who, despite so many interviews, I couldn’t find a job in print publishing. Thus, NKT became my vision and yes, my Next Big Thing (though not really “big” at all.) I write about products that I genuinely feel are new and notable for like-minded modern parents. Just like I would if I was still a magazine editor, I only post stories that are relevent to NKT. Everyone maintains their blog differently; however, here on this blog, the giveaways I conduct are typically the samples I’m sent or giveaways the companies offer. That said, it will always be my intention to uphold my journalistic standards while integrating my own voice on NKT. I truly respect this blogging community that I’ve become a part of (and love the great friends I’ve met on the way!) but I absolutely refuse to be grouped into a category that the media has been labeling as “ungrateful” “shills” and “borgs.” …because those labels just aren’t relevant here at NKT. Nope, not one bit.
Whether it’s posts on NKT or the toys, products, lotions or wipes I talk about, I’m a big believer in quality vs. quantity. One quality product is worth much more to me than a pile of uselessness.
In short, I truly value my professional relationships, whether it’s with fellow bloggers, writers or it’s with companies, brands and publicists. All of these relationships can live happily ever after, I’m learning.
As I continue to navigate my way through this new personal frontier, I look forward to unearthing more great kids products and working with even more fabulous companies to share with you, my awesome readers. And a big huge thank you to the responsive companies that have emailed, tweeted and commented. Thanks for the outreach.
I’m still formulating the rest of my thoughts about my experience at BlogHer, but I just wanted to take a moment to thank my partial sponsor, Yummi Bears, who helped to offset some of the expenses for my trip to Chicago over the weekend. I enjoyed spreading the word even further about Yummi Bears Organics and Slice of Life.
On that note, the posts I promised last week on my top picks are coming up soon. So, please stayed tuned while I try to get NKT back to business!
