The Wall Street Journal has a piece today on how the networks are building buzz for the new season’s shows by courting–yes–bloggers. To promote The New Adventures of Old Christine, CBS targeted mommy bloggers (bolds mine):
Warner Bros., the studio that produces the show for CBS, identified 12 blogs about motherhood, a key theme in “Old Christine,” and invited the writers to spend the day on the set. The bloggers got free DVDs, watched a rehearsal and made videos with Ms. Louis-Dreyfus and other cast members to post on their sites. “It was totally rad,” says Yvonne Marie, the publisher of a Web log called Joy Unexpected.
Free DVDs! Face time with Ms. Louis-Dreyfus herself, the only non-washed-up cast member from Seinfeld! What up with that. I’m so jealous I just ate a whole bag of Lay’s Ruffled Chips. And I don’t even like ruffled chips (they scratch the roof of my delicate mouth).
It’s interesting to me that what was and still is a late-night hobby for us working moms has become an actual leg of our careers. My friend Penelope Trunk has even turned her blog into a brand. I recently got an e-mail from a woman named Valentina, who posts a video blog about her art on YouTube and now says she makes a “living” off of it.
For the rest of us, our blogs have apparently become a source of–if not income, then at least some swag. I suppose you could count me in this group, if you consider the sacks of business/career books swag. I’ll take coffee with Julia Louis-Dreyfus any day.