If you are in LA come by the PDC (Pacific Design Center) today for The Editor at Large panel a 3:30 PM. It will be moderated by Sophie Donelson, and is open to the public. The panel includes:
· Michael Bruno, founder of 1stDibs.com
· Ronda Carman, founder of AlltheBestBlog.com
· Brian Patrick Flynn, designer, founder of DecorDemon.com
· Brad Ford, designer and founder of DesignTherapy.com
· Jilllian St. Charles, vice president and site director, HGTV.com
· Vanessa De Vargas, interior designer and host of Designer Tag Sale
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16 comments:
Ronda,
How wonderful. I know you will be a shining star in LA.
Love that you are always part of such a perfect panel.
all the best to you-
pve
Ronda,
I wonder if you have ever posted on "all the best" brassieres? I have always wanted to know your top picks.
pve
Ronda, They are lucky to have you there. It will be a great experience for all!!
Karena
Art by Karena
Go for it!! Congratulations on the new venture. It will definitely fill a void in the industry.
Thanks to everyone who came today!
Sounds like a wonderful panel! Brian Patrick Flynn is hilarious.
I LOVE him...so nice and so funny!! Please send me an email. I would love for you to come to our SFERRA event in Atlanta on Tuesday.
You do realize that according to the new FTC rules you must disclose that Sferra is paying you to shill for them right? You also have to disclose when Mr. and Mrs. Smith get you a comped hotel room. That also means that if you only start blogging about your paying clients, you must let everyone know which means you lose all editorial credibility. I'd also like to know who's taking care of your husband and son while you are off touring the US for weeks at a time. Or are you getting a divorce? Please do enlighten us.
Dear “Anonymous” (i.e., “Person without the guts to give their name”)
First let me say that you must be an incredibly bitter, unhappy person (with an obvious penchant for being amazingly tacky). And I find it incredibly ironic/laughable that you seem to be arguing that readers and the public need more information if they are to be able to judge the veracity of information appearing on blogs (and the internet more generally), but you refuse to give your name and post anonymously.
For anyone to be able to judge the motivations of your comments, I would argue that you should give your name.
Generally my policy is to not post anonymous comments, but in your case I will make an exception. Your comments are so sad, and obviously motivated by such malice, I felt I should respond. However, I will go ahead and say that this ‘conversation’ with you will end with my response.
I will begin by addressing your asinine question about the new FTC rules and my blog. I am not sure what you think the word ‘sponsor’ means, so I will enlighten you.
It is a person or group, especially a business enterprise, that pays for broadcast, print, podcast, etc. programming in return for advertising time. In this case on my blog. (If this word continues to confuse you, I would point to the fact that this is the word that Google uses to indicate the PPC (‘pay-per-click’) links ii produces after a search.)
By stating that I have sponsored partnerships on All the Best, by definition, I am disclosing that I have paid sponsors. Perhaps you are too thick to understand how this works.
I have been nothing but clear that my work with those I have developed partnerships is ‘sponsored’. I agree that it is a good thing for people to know when a blogger, journalist, company, individual, whatever is in a ‘sponsored’, or remunerated, relationship.
Under my 'sponsored partnership' model, I emphasize personal connections and develop partnerships that can lead to positive outcomes – not just a PPP or PPC business model.
Please note that I do not place ad on my blog and have been very selective in how I develop partnerships.
Regular readers of my blog will know that I have been attempting to use the blog to launch a series of enterprises, whether the book I have been working on or my new brand building enterprise.
Do you honestly think that the blogs aren’t being used to develop the careers of the people who write them? Are you so thick that you can’t see that all of the best known bloggers are using their blogs to develop their various enterprises, whether an interior design business, journalistic endeavors, television deals, consultancy, etc.?
Now to address your horrifically tacky question about my husband and son: In fact, it is almost so below the belt, I do not feel I should respond. I will say that in my family, we support each other in all that we do. We encourage each other to do well and follow our dreams.
We see ourselves as a nurturing unit that wants each other to have every opportunity to succeed. My husband, an academic, travels a good bit to conferences and to conduct research. And my son is the kindest person you could want to meet and is nothing but supportive when I have to travel for ‘business’.
Do you criticize other working women when they travel for their business? Are you honestly trying to say that my ‘proper’ place is in the home and that I should not be allowed to pursue business endeavors because I am a woman and have a child?
Honestly, I am just disgusted by your inference on many, many levels. Perhaps it is time for you to stop compulsively watching Mad Men – we no longer to live in the 1950s/1960s and I have just as much right to pursue my career as does my husband. I support him in his career (at one point he was away from home for two months on a research trip) and he supports me in mine.
We honestly see it as a testament to the strength of our relationship that we are able to spend time apart (when necessary) and cherish our time together. We have been together for 22 years (since high school) and, God willing, this is only the beginning of our time together.
I would conclude by, again, emphasizing the fact that I find it equally sad and amusing that you, Anonymous, are expressing concern about full disclosure. Unless you have the courage to stand up and support your ‘comment’, please keep your ‘thoughts’ to yourself. I can only guess what your motivations are by posting your ‘comment’.
Also, again, please grab your bootstraps and pull yourself into the 21st century.
Anonymous,
As Ronda’s husband, I can’t tell you how both ticked off and offended by your ‘comment’ I am. You really, really need to get out more and develop some sort of life.
(Apparently my response will also span several ‘comment sections’, as did Ronda’s, so stick with me...)
I think Ronda handled your inane query regarding her sponsored partnerships fairly thoroughly, so I am not going to bother saying much about that. Well, except to say that you should do a bit more research. According to the FTC website: “The revised Guides also add new examples to illustrate the long standing principle that “material connections” (sometimes payments or free products) between advertisers and endorsers – connections that consumers would not expect – must be disclosed. These examples address what constitutes an endorsement when the message is conveyed by bloggers or other “word-of-mouth” marketers. The revised Guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service. Likewise, if a company refers in an advertisement to the findings of a research organization that conducted research sponsored by the company, the advertisement must disclose the connection between the advertiser and the research organization. And a paid endorsement – like any other advertisement – is deceptive if it makes false or misleading claims.” Now, aside from the fact that this is a poorly written, unclear regulatory mechanism that is going to be highly problematic in terms of enforcement (“case-by-case basis”, “connections that consumers would not expect”, etc.), it is pretty clear that allthebest is in compliance. So, your point is moot.
Further, as Ronda said in her response to you, the great majority of her posts on allthebestblog are about people, places and things she is interested in. She has always been very clear that she will only post about people and things that she likes. Trust me, being a single income family has not necessarily been the easiest thing at times over the last couple of years (especially since academics – my profession – don’t get paid all that much). But both our son and myself have been happy to make the ‘sacrifice’ to support what Ronda has been doing. We are both very proud of all that she has accomplished in the last couple of years.
to be continued...
continuing:
(Oddly enough, we were all just going through the photo library on our computer the other day and were flabbergasted by the incredible people we – as a family – have gotten to know through allthebest. We – all of us – have had our lives so enriched by the fantastic, creative people we have come to know. Our son has traveled to Los Angeles and been entertained by Nathan Turner and Mary McDonald (both of whom he absolutely loved! Though, truth be told, it was Nathan’s Labradors who sealed the deal). We have been to New York and had been invited to a lavish Thanksgiving feast at the home of Michael Devine and Thomas Burak (both of whom our son adores). He has gone to dinner with James Andrew and Scot Houston McBee and had what he still says is one of the best nights of his life. All of these trips, by the way, were taken at our expense. And, as it turns out, we will be fortunate enough to be able to go to New York for Easter, again to see our wonderful friends there – and to meet new friends. These wonderful people Ronda has gotten to know have all been kind enough to invite our son and myself to what promises to be fabulous events. To say that our son’s life has been more than enriched and that he has had opportunities we would not have been able to dream of just a few years ago would be a colossal understatement. All this thanks to the wonders of the internet and Ronda’s blog.)
My aside brings me to what I actually wanted to say. Let me ‘enlighten you’ (as you request) – and I am glad, in the least, you recognize that you are obviously the sort of person who is in clear, desperate, choking need of ‘enlightenment’.
I, personally, am highly offended by your implication that I am not capable – as a man – of ‘taking care’ of my son. I will have you know, that though we miss Ronda terribly when she is away, we are thankful for the opportunities she has been afforded through allthebest blog and have the highest admiration for all that she has accomplished. She has a contact list - and is friends with - more wonderful people than you can imagine. She loves meeting people and trying to understand what drives people to ‘create’ and has been able to – begin to – use that to do something she loves doing. Throughout the years when I was in graduate school, making, basically, nothing, she was supportive of me and worked herself to the point of exhaustion to make sure I could finish my Ph.D. Now, over the last couple of years I have tried to return the favor. And I am more than happy to do so. We hope that in some small way we are demonstrating to our son the value of family – showing him that we are always here to support each other and help each other strive toward our dreams.
to be continued...again...
and to conclude:
I digress (again). I will have you know I enjoy cooking and do a pretty decent job of keeping up with the laundry. (Hell, I do most of the laundry when Ronda is at home.) When Ronda is traveling, our son and I enjoy what we call our ‘guy time’. We watch sci-fi movies (last night was the final Matrix movie – the ending was more than a bit disappointing) and superhero movies (we are both particularly looking forward to re-watching the Fantastic Four Silver Surfer movie this weekend) and all the other sorts of silly movies Ronda does not like. We play with the camera and try to figure out those nifty long-exposure, low light shots. We play chess. We play way more video games than we should. I also get him up, get him dressed, off to school, feed the dog and manage to get myself to work – all this despite the fact that I am male. Golly, who would have thought it possible? Not you, obviously.
As I write, I realize that I should feel sorry for you, Anonymous. You obviously must have a shallow, perhaps solitary, life. Actually, maybe you are in a sad, unsupportive relationship. That seems more likely. You clearly do not understand what a healthy, committed, supportive and loving relationship is about. Ronda, our son and I take seriously our responsibility to support each other in all that we do. We do this because we love and care for each other. We relish the other’s successes. We hope for the best for each other. Perhaps, one day, you will find yourself in a relationship where that is the case. Given your obvious personality traits, however, I suspect that is not the case.
Ronda, you are such an amazing woman! Hats off to you for being a great wife, mom, and entrepreneur. I love reading your blog and thank you for all the inspiration you bring to women and men, alike.
Have a GREAT DAY!
Hi! Ronda,
Sad to encounter comments like this.
I know how hard you work in your blog and enterprises and for my own experience I know how difficult is to maintain a professional blog like yours.
Unfortunately envy is everywhere and it is not a constructive energy.
Keep doing what you are doing because you are simply...
"All the Best"
Iván Meade-Treviño
I am an interior design student in san diego and I got a chance to go to the PDC yesterday and meet with so many wonderful people! It was truly amazing! On Tuesday I even had the chance to attend the design show at the Laguna Design Center and meet with Nancy Corzine and Barry Dixon! I'm so full of new ideas and inspirations..everyone should attend these if not for the sole purpose of refreshing yourself with new and exciting ideas!
-Reanna
*get inspired!*
http://thegypsyswindow.blogspot.com/
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