DadTalk

Blogs Must Reveal Gifts, Pay for Reviews Stating in December

Wow. Starting Dec.1, the Federal Trade Commission will require bloggers who review products to disclose whether they were paid by advertisers or if they received the product for free, reports The New York Times and most of the blogosphere.

While I get a few CDs and DVDs in the mail, I only review ones I like; I certainly have not built my website around product reviews. I certainly don’t mind blasting some product out of the air, I just don’t waste my time on below-average products.

And while I can see the logic to the FTC rules, it may pose an interesting problem for book review sites large and small. After all, not even big newspapers pay for book review copies. The sheer number of books makes that impossible.

I don’t know if this ruling will reduce all the clutter out there without a significant enforcement effort – will a team spend all day checking out websites? I guess only time will tell. What do you think?

Book Awards Nominate Favorite Stories Published Over Past Year

Did you or your child read a fantastic new book in the past year? One that you think more people should know about?

If so, go right now to my wife’s website and NOMINATE your favorite book of the year. All kids books published in English between Oct. 16, 2008 and Oct. 15 2009 are eligible.

Here are the categories:

• Easy Readers/Short Chapter Books
• Fantasy/SF
• Fiction Picture Books
• Graphic Novels
• Middle Grade Fiction
• Non-Fiction, MG/YA
• Non-Fiction Picture Books
• Poetry
• Young Adult Fiction

You have till Oct. 15 to place your ballot. After that, judges will begin a process of whittling down the list until the top books are announced come next Valentine’s Day.

CYBILS Judges Needed for Book Awards

Yes, it’s time once again for Cybils. What the heck is that you ask? Why, that’s when my wife becomes obsessed over children’s books for six months.

Oh wait, I mean that’s when my wife begins work on the Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards. While the book awards have been Anne’s and a friend’s baby since its inception in 2006, my wife will share a larger burden this year.

To start things off, Cybils needs judges. If you blog about children’s books and are interested, you should at least take a look. Read this and then this.

If you have a favorite children’s book from this year, you might want to drop by between Oct. 1-15 to nominate a book. Don’t worry, I’ll post again when that time comes.

Holy Overload

Launched a website. Flew to Connecticut for a wedding. Kids back at school the day we returned home. Now have 500 (literally) emails to get through.

Still to go: renew lease, deal with school paper work, medical bills, taxes, build another website, take kids to and from school, wife’s birthday, laundry, find someone to hire me.

I hope to catch up soon.

Growing Up Without Dad

My dad died when I was 9. For most of my life, I would have denied that his death had any real impact on my development.

After all, I was a fiercely self-sufficient young boy with a strong sense of awareness at a very young age. On the day my dad died, I mentally took on the role of “oldest male” in the house and never really saw his death as a negative. I suppose that’s strange, but I’ve always been the type who rises to meet adversity.

Of course, there was a touch of silliness to it. I didn’t get a job as my grandfather did when his dad died. I didn’t take over the role of raising my brother. And in actuality, I didn’t know squat.

But, I did grow up a lot on the day my dad died from an embolism caused by a metal plate used to mend a broken leg. My sense of responsibility was immediate and immutable. In many ways, I acted as adult-like as my immature mind could muster.

It wasn’t until my kids were born that I started to realize something had been lost. Consider:

Want to Learn More About Twitter?

If you don’t, I understand. I mean, enough is enough already. On the other hand, Twitter is getting hard to run away from. If you want to learn more, go to my other site for an article on how to make the most of Twitter.

What Was I Thinking?

Because I’ve just launched WriteThru.com, which offers free webinars to media professionals seeking to enhance their technology skills, I’m going to cross-post my “explainer” here on DadTalk. Please feel free to spread the word about WriteThru … I can use the help!

I LEFT THE LOS ANGELES TIMES knowing an economic storm was coming, but I had no idea just how hard the media world would be hit. I figured there would be layoffs at newspapers beyond those of the late 1980s and early 1990s, but then mistakenly hoped that the market would stabilize.

Today, I find it heartbreaking to see so many hard-working colleagues and friends suddenly wondering how to pick up the pieces of their damaged careers. PaperCuts counts nearly 16,000 newspaper jobs lost in the United States in 2008 alone and nearly 9,000 more so far this year. And by all accounts, TV, radio and magazine employees all have been equally pummeled.

But I do not believe that professional journalism will die. Hints of what might emerge are seeping through. Think ProPublica. Think VoiceofSanDiego. Consider the possibilities of electronic ink/paper. I don’t know exactly what form this golden era of journalism will materialize, but I do know that many of the journalists who are losing their jobs today will help launch this renaissance.

Webinar Let’s Meet to Discuss Building a Blog

I’ve never been much of a joiner. Most of my life I’ve avoided cliques, fraternities, religion, political parties, etc.

If there is one group, though, that I’ve always identified with, it’s been journalists. I feel at home when walking around a newsroom, even if I don’t work there. I’ve tried to move on, but I still feel the ups and mostly downs the industry has faced of late.

It’s been particularly painful watching friends losing their jobs. It frustrating to watch highly-skilled, hard-working individuals wondering how to find a job in today’s nasty employment environment as the technological world around them has changed.

While I may not have the answers to journalism’s bigger issues, I do know how to help individuals. At the moment, providing an educational forum seems like the best place to start.

So at 10:30 a.m. (Pacific Daylight Time) on Monday, I’m offering journalists, and of course my readers, a free webinar on how to create a blog. Future courses will tackle topics like free office software, how to find journalism jobs and how to easily record video.

If you feel like donating, to help defray the costs, who am I to stop you?

If you’re interested, click on the link to sign up for a Blog Fundamentals webinar.

Thanks.

Awards Cybils Names BestChildren’s Books

Our house is unusually busy leading up to Valentine’s Day. That’s because my wife, Anne, is wrapping up the annual children’s book awards – called the Children’s & Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards –that she began with a friend a few years ago.

This year, because Anne reviewed my favorite category, Fantasy & Science Fiction, I had the pleasure of reading most of the finalists. I have to say, better stuff is being written for kids than adults.

If you read The Hunger Games or The Graveyard Book, you know what I mean. The finalists and books in other categories are fantastic too.

So, if you’re a parent who is wondering what books their children should read on spring break, check out the full list of winners here.

Flower Power Winners It Was a Tough Call; Find the 20% Off, Free Vase Coupon

While contests tend to give my blog a small boost, I find learning about other people more rewarding. Consider that most of the stories I received about why a loved one deserves flowers reveal a bit about what is going on in America in a way that the media fails to capture.

Below are a quote or two from one runners-up and the winners, who will be notified by email. And for those of you who read this far, I have another surprise. By clicking on this link, you will receive 20 percent off and a free vase if you order flowers from ProFlowers. (Yes, another ad, but what the heck.)

And now, for the winners: