So my grandma called earlier to day to tell me she heard from my mom that I was in Ohio this weekend. She said my mom told her what I was doing there but she just didn't understand what it was all about. I took a minute to compose my thoughts on how best to describe what a Blog is and why a major company like Pedigree would want to sponsor me to go to an event so far away.
This explanation had to be completely unplugged from the internet all together because while my grandma does have a computer she is still on Dial Up and can only do anything if her friend helps her to get online. Here is a breakdown of how I explained it to her.
A blog is basically a Journal about our thoughts around specific topics and experiences within those topics that are put online for everyone to see.
I told her that with my blog that I do Public Relations and Advertisement for pet related companies.
I then backtracked and told her that companies are moving away from print ads and tv ads to person to person advertising. I explained that when we go to the store we are more likely to make a purchase based on a friends recommendation then an ad we saw in a magazine or on tv. I told her that companies have begun to realize this so they turn to bloggers (with their online journals about their experiences) to help promote their products.
Backtracked again to explain that these online journals have people that read them on a regular basis and that we as readers and writers form friendships with each other and trust what our friends say about a product. Therefore companies see it as a great way to advertise their products or campaigns to have a blogger review the product and write about their experience with the product.
These reviews benefit the company as they can reach large audiences with very little effort on their part and will have wide reaching results. Lets say three people choose to purchase a product they see on my blog. Those three people like it and then they tell their friends and three of their friends buy the product. For a minimal cost to the company they now have 12 new customers. Plus my blog post is still available for anyone to read so six months from now more people can find the post and go out and purchase the product.
She remembered I have had a blog before and she saw it. She asked why that one is different from this one. I explained to her that the blog she was referring to was about my time in Hong Kong and that I created it for friends and family to visit in order to see what I was doing and what Hong Kong was like. It was a Journal for friends and family to read and follow my year in Hong Kong. I also told her that blogging had changed a bit since then and that I didn't know that these kinds of opportunities existed then.
We ended the call with her satisfied about my answers so that she could understand what I did last weekend in Columbus Ohio at Blog Paws.Since it helped her I figured I would post this in case anyone else out there is just as confused as she was.