i have to say it.

and maybe only those of us in the “blogging community” would even get fumed about something like this, but for some reason, i was thinking about this all day yesterday and wanting so badly to give this woman a piece of my mind…

“They’re not trained editors and writers at Vogue magazine. I mean, there are bloggers writing recipes that aren’t tested, that aren’t necessarily very good or are copies of everything that really good editors have created and done. Bloggers create kind of a popularity. But they are not the experts and we have to understand that.” 

first of all, who, as a blogger thinks they ARE an expert? 
we are all WELL AWARE that we are just sharing opinions, with the handful thrown in who are real writers, or fashion experts, or designers, that give us real tips and tricks.

and if i can say it out loud, i have rarely spent time on any of martha’s sites. i may have seen things posted on pinterest and saved them to copy later, but never have i spent time in her corner of the world and had any idea who she is as a person. why? because that’s not what she is. bloggers are human. we like to communicate. and while not all of us are recipe developers, or experienced seamstresses, or interior designers {by trade}, we sure do try. and it’s the trying that makes it fun to read, and gains “popularity.”

“oh, you are a mom, working from home like me, with a million things to do and a toddler pulling on your arm and you created THAT?! well, i would most definitely like to give you my time and attention, because you are super woman!”

i feel that way when i come see your blogs, because i feel like i have a sense of who you are and i like getting to know people and what they like to do!

plus, does martha have a clue what kind of free advertising we bloggers give her ALL.THE.TIME? we copy her ideas, reinvent them, link them to her site. collectively, we bloggers provide reviews and sponsored posts for all kinds of large companies in need of a thousand women’s eyes and ears.
we do that because we are a powerful community with real influence. what companies will pay for a blogger to share their {non} expert opinion is a lot. many companies have a budget for just that. i bet martha’s minions have shared with bloggers in the past {obviously unknown to her…}.

after being necessarily upset about this itty bitty comment from martha, i saw today her tweet:

oh right. so NOW you say bloggers are inspiring?
hope it didn’t hurt on the way down from that horse!
i know she probably doesn’t keep this twitter account herself.
i know she has a team that does MOST of her talking for her, but i would be lying if i said that i think she is genuine. her past has taught me she’s shady business, and really my only beef at this point is i wish we could erase “you’re such a Martha” from our list of useless idioms. rather, just don’t ever call ME martha. if you do, i’ll assume you mean slightly egotistical and ant-squashing.
be who you’re going to be, stand up for what’s right, and even be a huge talented billion dollar business woman, but don’t say that we’re useless. it’s just bad form. and possibly wrinkle-forming too.

rant over.