Sleepless Nights

Author: Veronica

  • Working with brands: The importance of talking with bloggers, not just at them.

    I was at the Kellogg’s breakfast on Thursday and as the conversation flowed around the table, I was trying to work out why I felt differently about this brand event and why, suddenly, I was feeling excited to be there and talking with the Kellogg’s representatives.

    It was the communication.

    You see, Kellogg’s was interested in having their message heard and talking to bloggers, but more than that, they wanted to hear back from us. What made us think the way we did, why we did or didn’t like things and how we approach breakfast time, our families and our blogs.

    This is the part of working with bloggers that it feels like a lot of companies are missing.

    The Kellogg’s event was a huge success for me. There we were, sitting around a table together, talking, discussing and having Kellogg’s listen in return. That kind of involvement is priceless. Even as the morning drew to a close, we had a lot of things left to say and the discussions probably could have lasted another hour, without me getting bored.

    I get a lot of PR pitches in my email, a good portion of them that are just press releases. I am never quite sure what I am meant to do with them and when I’ve asked the contact person what exactly they want from me, I get a “We thought you might like to pass it along to your readers.”

    “HERE’S OUR MESSAGE, REGURGITATE IT FOR US.”

    I have opinions and I like to talk about why I think the way I do and I like it even more when the brand I am talking with stops and listens. I don’t like being talked at, or having to wade through a brand message to work out what they want from me.

    Other bloggers no doubt feel the same way. Communication and brand work are a two way street and it’s unsettling to realise that a lot of brands just want to dump a message in our lap and run.

    I don’t want to work like that – I want to build relationships and work with brands who are as interested in hearing from me, as I am from them.

    There is a certain level of excitement when things come together and I’m left feeling the potential of a situation and what it might bring. I left the Kellogg’s plant feeling excited about working with them and what the future might hold for brand work when it’s done well.

    Because of how Kellogg’s approached us, as mums and bloggers, it made me want to work with them, and promote their products and tell people that yes, Kellogg’s is a great company to be talking with and buying products from.

    I didn’t feel like I’d been talked at, or taken advantage of, or used to promote a message to my readers. I felt like my opinion was valued and that maybe, our opinions there on Thursday actually mattered to Kellogg’s.

    And really, that can only be a good thing.

    [L-R My Mummy Daze, Goog Googs, Diminishing Lucy, Me! and Hear Mum Roar]

    Thanks very much to Kellogg’s, DEC Communications and Louisa at Brand Meets Blog for organising everything.

  • Support Australian Musicians – The Jane Austen Argument

    I really like this song.

    And because I really like you guys, I even managed to work out how to turn autoplay off. Aren’t I nice?

    You can help support them too.

  • Things I know, the slightly exhausted edition

    Things I know was such a success last week that I’m doing it again.

    • I know that flying into Sydney is exhausting, even when you’re having a great time.
    • I know that dinner with Fiona and Watershedd will make you laugh lots and talk even more.
    • I know that Penthouse suites sometimes have mirrors on the roof and the Internet can’t agree whether this is creepy or cool. Neither can I.

    • I know that being on floor 56 is very high up.

    • I know that working with brands can be fantastic, if done well. I’m writing a post to be published over the next few days about brands and conversation and communication and the importance of it all. Expect the post on Monday.
    • I know that coming home is sometimes the best bit about being away.
    • I know that red shoes make me happy.

    • I know that my house didn’t flood, even though the river made it up to major flood levels and Nathan rang me a little worried on Thursday afternoon. There is very little I can do about flooding when I’m in a different state. The river has receeded now. Thank god.
    • And finally, I know that personalised Cornflakes boxes are very cool. SO COOL.

    What do you know this week?

  • Should be sleeping

    Tomorrow, I am getting on a plane and flying to Sydney, to attend a brand event with my sponsors for the Blogopolis, Kellogg’s. I’m pretty excited about this, but excitement seems to manifest in weird ways for me. Namely, procrastination.

    You see, I’m always so worried that something will go wrong at the Very Last Minute, leaving me unable to attend an event – so I try hard not to think about it, not to look forward to it and finally (the worst one) not to plan for it.

    I am good at procrastination. In fact, I think it’s probably likely to be my secret superpower.

    “Able to run around screaming like a headless chicken AT THE VERY LAST SECOND. Can ignore jobs that need doing up until an HOUR BEFORE. Forgets to plan everything and then FREAKS OUT.”

    I’m sure that would look perfect on my resume.

    Procrastination is why, this morning, you could have found me in the garden pulling weeds, transplanting strawberry plants and planting peas and beans. Not, say, doing something sensible like making a list and packing my bags.

    It is also what left me running around like an idiot this afternoon, trying to work out where my grey skivvy was, whether my skinny jeans would be okay for the plane and what on earth was I going to wear on Thurday for the actual Event.

    Sigh.

    I suppose everyone has to have a skill and this is mine. I only wish that it could have been a better skill, like organisation, or the ability to knit three jumpers at once, or even better, turn lead into gold.

    Now those would have been skills to be proud of.

  • How to grow garlic

    I try to grow garlic each year, because I prefer home grown garlic to shop bought garlic. Garlic I harvest myself is always fresher, less likely to go mouldy, lasts longer (see: fresher) and I always feel like I’ve been really productive when I’ve got my garlic plaits up and hanging.

    We’ve been living here for over three years now and I’m only just getting the garden into a semblance of a rotation system. The “big” garden failed entirely due to chooks and a lack of nutrient in the soil – but with a layer of hay over it and the chooks scratching the hay and grass out, it may be ready to have something planted in it next year.

    Sprouted garlic under mulch

    The greenhouse failed, due to wind and a general lack of ACTUAL strength, able to stand up to you know, ACTUAL WEATHER.

    But, my small garden has been working quite well, albeit messily because I haven’t weeded it, I’ve just mulched it and ignored the edges.

    Last year, I planted a little square of garlic and harvested around 15 bulbs. I hated that I didn’t have lots. LOTS is always better than some. (Some being better than none, but nothing beating LOTS.)

    This year, I went wild and bought 2kg of sprouted garlic cloves and planted them all in the garden. They’re just starting to sprout up through the hay now and I couldn’t be more pleased.

    How to grow garlic:

    Find youself some sprouted garlic.

    Some people use proper seed garlic, but I tend to just use green grocer bought garlic and leave it in my fruit bowl until the shoots appear. I’m pretty sure people will tell me that this is a terrible way to do it and supermarket or green grocer garlic won’t grow properly, but I disagree. It works fine, for me.

    Planting:

    Once your garlic has sprouted, plant it sprout side up in loamy soil, at about a depth of an inch. If you’ve got a large amount of green shoot, leave it above the soil, otherwise cover the entire thing.

    Plant garlic in the middle of winter:

    Garlic likes the cold (I’m in Tasmania, we have lots of cold) and I usually plant around late June, early July. I think I remember being told to wait for the shortest day to plant garlic, but I’m terrible at keeping track of the shortest day. BUT, that said, I have planted garlic in August before and it’s done quite well – I just harvested a bit later than normal.

    Garlic hates weeds:

    You will need to either weed your garlic regularly, or do what I do and mulch heavily around your garlic plants.

    Mulch:

    Once my garlic has sprouted and I can see the tops through the dirt, I cover the entire garden bed in mulch, to protect the shoots and keep weeds at bay. If I’m being lazy, I mulch the entire bed at the same time as I plant the garlic. It works just as well, either way.

    Watering:

    Keep the ground and mulch moist, but not terribly wet. You don’t want your garlic bulbs to rot.

    Harvesting:

    When the tops are about knee high (depending on your height – if you’re a toddler, you’re aiming for waist high tops) and are starting to brown off (usually by the end of summer) then you can harvest your garlic. I usually use a pitchfork and a lot of care to do this.

    Then I wash all of the dirt off and plait the garlic into strands, to hang in the kitchen, while wishing that I’d planted more.

    You can never have too much garlic.

    Sprouted garlic under mulch