Summer starts late in Boston but one sure sign it has arrived is the opening of our local farmers’ markets. 360PR’s office is just a few steps from a small but wonderful little farmers’ market in Copley Square that just reopened for the season.
This past April, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported that U.S. newspaper circulations fell significantly again with the exception of the largest two big-league players, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal, which were up just half a percentage point.
Although this news isn’t all too shocking considering newspaper circulation has been on a declining trend since the 1980s, the societal implications are significant. The obvious implication is that we’re becoming an increasingly mobile, web-based culture. But it’s not that we’re digesting news, information, and entertainment online that is earth-shattering.
I had the pleasure of joining a team of mompreneurs, editors and bloggers at last week’s Detours & OnRamps Conference, created by Meghan McCartan to help moms in career transition. It was the second such forum, following a successful launch event in New Jersey last fall. According to the US Bureau of Labor, more than 70 percent of women with children under 18 work outside of the home. That’s approximately 24 million moms trying to balance family needs with the responsibility of working part- or full-time.
HybridMom Publisher Meryl Otis Kessler moderated the “entrepreneur” panel I participated in, and I got to meet Christine Koh, founder of Boston Mamas and Posh Peacock, a gorgeous new line of stationery and invitations. Christine has more degrees than anyone I’ve met in Boston and in this university town, that’s saying something. She’s an accomplished musician and, of course, a proud mother. Amid all this, she finds time to post twice daily about resources and events for families living in and around Boston. She talked about the importance of finding a niche when starting a business - in her case focusing on Boston happenings rather than trying to be all things to all families everywhere. She said the strategy has helped her attract advertisers.
It was one of the finest spring days yet in Boston and I was taking in the beautiful Beacon Hill scenery - including window boxes overflowing with flowers - with my daughter on our way to the Public Garden when a friend shared the news that Senator Kennedy had just been flown to the hospital from his Cape Cod home for seizures. Boston.com confirmed the report.
I had just had the honor of meeting the Senator one week prior. He was the keynote speaker at the Associated Industries of Massachusetts’ annual meeting. In his introduction of the Senator, Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare’s CEO Charlie Baker commented that Senator Kennedy had done more than any other person in history for families living in Massachusetts. Given the Senator’s impressive longevity in the US Senate (he’s the second-most senior-ranking US senator) and his passionate advocacy for decades for issues affecting so many families at every income level, such as education and health care, the bold statement was indisputable.
We caught another case of spring fever here at 360. We had it bad in 2007. So bad, that we actually planned a special shin-dig to where those suffering from the symptoms could get some relief. What is this miracle cure you ask? Well, it is the 360PR Spring Fling, of course!
360 staff and a variety of our local clients and partners came out last night for our 2nd Annual Spring Fling at 28 Degrees in the South End - just a few blocks from our office. It was a blast to see some old friends and meet some new ones as well. Plus, we lucked out with the weather - the rain held off, so we spent the evening out on the patio.
Click here to check out a Flickr slideshow of photos!
Thanks to everyone who came. Hope to see you next year!
If we’re in a recession, it sure wasn’t apparent at last night’s SABRE awards event in New York. Held at the glamorous Cipriani across from Grand Central Station, the event had PR’s finest lining up behind red velvet ropes to get in. 360 was there, with programs nominated in three categories (one of which we won for best Media/Magazine Placement).
Our Converge™ network partners were out in force – with Carmichael Lynch Spong, rbb Public Relations and M. Booth & Associates all nominated. rbb won a Gold SABRE in the Corporate Image category for Florida Power & Light’s Storm Secure Program, and Carmichael grabbed two awards, a Gold in the Trade Show category for Sherwin-Williams Paint Stores Group and a Silver for the cleverly named “On Your Bark, Get Set, PETCO!” campaign.
Nearly 10,000 entries were submitted from more than 60 countries for the 12th Annual Webby Awards. Just this week, winners were named in over 100 categories. I haven’t even come close to browsing all of the winners (if I did there is no way I would have accomplished anything else today), but wanted to share a few favorites that are using the web in wonderful ways. There’s a handful - dig in…
As you may remember from earlier posts, 360 attended the BlogHer Business Conference at the beginning of April. A handful of the women bloggers in attendance made a pit stop at The Today Show for interviews while they were in NYC. A month later, the segment, which comments on the growing number of mom bloggers and why businesses find this audience attractive, just aired on NBC.
The video also gives viewers a better understanding of why this group of women blog in the first place. I love Mir Kamin’s comment that “blogging is cheaper than therapy.” Click on the image below to watch the segment (and if you look closely at the image, you’ll see the heads of Carrie, Laura and myself):
It’s a wonder with all today’s mothers do that they’re not planning their own Mother’s Day celebration - in fact many probably are. It’s not that mothers of past generations didn’t work as hard. They worked differently, and they didn’t have Web 2.0 in their corner. But sometimes the best networking happens the good, old-fashioned way - face to face. At next week’s Detours & OnRamps conference in Boston, 200 moms will gather to discuss how to balance work and family life, many looking to make their next career move.
The list of speakers includes some amazing women who have found a way to balance work and family life - entrepreneurs like Jo McChesney, who helped found Isis Maternity, Meryl Otis Kessler, publisher of Hybrid Mom, Christine Koh, founder of Boston Mamas, and Sheila Marcelo, founder and CEO of sitter service Care.com. It’s hard not to notice, and perhaps no coincidence, that each of these women launched a business to help women in their everyday, busy, family lives.
I also recently had a fun lunch with Erin Kane, who created Manic Mommies. “Manic” seems to be the operative word for today’s moms trying to do it all.
My guess is, if you asked these women leaders - and the moms you meet at the grocery store, playground and school - what they really want for Mother’s Day, the answer would be “more time.” More time for their families, for their businesses, and for themselves. That, and maybe getting to sleep in on Sunday. You don’t need a credit card for either, but they’re both priceless.
As most of you are well aware by now, former Live with Regis & Kathie star Kathie Lee Gifford has joined the ranks of Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira. Dubbed “America’s most meaninglessly controversial figure” by the Washington Post, Kathie Lee, 54, has emerged from retirement to co-host the fourth hour of NBC’s Today Show. [Read more →]
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