Marketing to Mom Bloggers: Influence, Power and Responsibility

I'm going to try something a little different this week: crowdsourcing a blog post. I've been mulling over a few thoughts on blogger influence, power and responsibility, but this week I'm pressed for time. Also, I'm continually impressed by the thoughtful comments you leave here, so I thought I'd throw out a few questions this week and use your answers (always giving credit and sharing links, natch) and mine to put together next week's post.

As mombloggers, we're offered treated like divas- showered with coupons, product samples, trips and other goodies. Have you ever gotten carried away a bit carried away and crossed the line from blogger to blogwhore*?

Do you think the diva treatment has swelled up some egos and perhaps created a bad name for mombloggers? Explain. (Answer in the sense of the community as a whole. I will not post comments that call out any specific bloggers.)

How has your relationship with swag changed over time?

Whether you have 10 readers or 10,000 followers, describe the responsibility (if any) you feel toward them

I hope this little experiment works.

I'll be spending my day sampling chocolate and other fine confections as well as enjoying lunch with an interesting new group of bloggers and writing about it on Scrambled CAKE. If I return to find a bunch of comments here, it will be the icing on my milk chocolate filled Lindt Truffles. And if there are no comments, well, I'll drown my disappointment in those same truffles. They don't really need icing, anyway.

Subaru Dream Rally: Setting the scene

I was thrilled to be invited to join Subaru's inaugural Dream Rally. They invited a handful of journalists (and me) to New Hampshire to learn more about the Subaru brand and drive their latest models while picking up some mad driving skillz. They also promised us a fab spa treatment to help us wind down after our long, dusty day at the O'Neil Rally School and Car Control Center. How could I say no?

Kristin from MotherProof, the go-to site for moms and cars, travel writer Lynn (who write alongside my friend Andrea), and Wendy from Parents/GoodyBlog were part of our our small group.

The event was arranged with the help of Brushfire, who added several delightful touches to the event: a pre-event email linking to a local weather forecast, a goody bag full of New Hampshire products (maple syrup would be the overriding theme), and a fruit and cheese tray in our rooms upon our return from the driving school. I was over the moon when I saw that tray and would have stopped to take a picture of it had I not been famished. It was a thoughtful move that brought a huge smile to my face. Good "wow" factor. If only they could have done something about the hotel's spotty Internet service.

Ah, the hotel. We stayed at the Mountain View Grand Hotel and Spa, a charming historic hotel nestled in the White Mountains. I walked down the rural road leading to the hotel and it was everything one would expect from New England in the fall: fresh air, crisp leaves scattered about the ground, trees ablaze with color, and pumpkins on the porches of quaint houses.

Here are some photos from an early morning walk.And here's the view from the hotel porch.