The Nikon I Never Knew You Party

Apparently I am not A Big Shot. Not that this is news to me but some of the things that happened at BlogHer I was not party to nor even aware of until the last night and some things not until I was safe at home in Georgia.

One of these events would be the Nikon Party. I can only speak from a “friend of a friend hear that….” Perspective so let’s gossip over the fence a spell.

It is my understanding that Nikon decided to throw an "invitation only" party at nightclub in Chicago for certain bloggers. Just like with the Suave party I’m sure they selected women whom they felt would write about their products and the party. Instead of a trolley, Nikon even provided limo service. Nikon even went out and rented out a trendy nightclub for this private event in an effort to host something upscale and cool. How’s that for VIP service?

Here’s where it gets ugly. Some Mommy Bloggers attempted to attend the event with their children and were turned away. This turned out to be a huge mess and the Mommy Bloggers got on Twitter and fired back with horrible comments about Nikon.

Keep in mind what I’m about to say is all armchair quarterbacking but as my students often say, “It’s a free country and I have a right to say whatever I want.” Then again people are free to lambaste me for doing just that.

I put myself through college working two jobs. One of those jobs was as a cocktail waitress. For four years I pranced around in a white blouse and either a little black skirt, little black shorts, or a pair of tight black jeans. I breathed in so much cigarette smoke it is a wonder that my lungs aren’t already in the final stages of cancer. When I would arrive home from work my hair and my clothes reeked so badly from the smell that one would have thought that I used in a pure tobacco shower. While I have no clue if Chicago has now adopted the no smoking restrictions for bars that alone would keep my kids out of any bar when they were babies.

I worked in the same bar for four years. In a way it was great training for being a teacher and for the subject I teach. Being a cocktail waitress forces you to speak to others and teaches you to deal with people that you might not always choose to deal with. There is very little difference between a defiant teen in the middle of a melt-down and a drunk patron demanding one more drink. You have to learn that you don’t need to respond to every remark and that with time one will hopefully grow up and the other will hopefully sober up.

I learned a lot about the laws regarding operating a bar in Virginia and in Maryland. For example, I’m certain the guy who owned our bar would have loved to sell you one for the road. We didn’t have an on/off license so alcohol could only be sold and consumed on premises. I learned about state liquor boards and inspections and so much more.

In Maryland, children were not allowed to be in the bar for ANY reason when the bar was open for business. So if I wanted to stop by to pick up my paycheck on Friday early in the day I could bring my kids in with me and they could even sit at the table and have a soda. Once we began setting up the bar for the day though, about 4 pm or so, NO children were allowed in for even a second. The reason for this had to with the fact that my boss could have lost his license and the bar closed down if a state trooper or someone from the State Liquor Board decided to drop by for an unannounced visit.

So some people were upset because they couldn’t bring their kids into a bar. Some people were upset because it was an invitation only event. When I first signed up for the Social Luxe Lounge I felt like I was part of the “IT” crowd. I remember feeling crestfallen when I learned that they were opening it up to everyone. Then we were promised that WE, the original attendees, were going to get something special but that almost didn’t happen for me. That’s why I wasn’t really upset that even though my name didn’t appear on a list I did RSVP. Things seemed to be fluid and the rules were always changing. So if some people thought that “EXCLUSIVE” meant “EVERYONE” could go if they were a blogger I could almost see their point.

As a teacher I understood that if you allowed one student to do something you’d better expect that all the other kids and their parents would be up in arms and demanding to know why THEY couldn’t do it too. BlogHer, parties and events seemed to meld into one big thing with no parameters so that people mistakenly thought that they very fact that they had paid to go to BlogHer ensured that they could go to any and all parties and activities even if they were actually private events and only associated with BlogHer in an ancillary way.

I heard that it was all down hill from there anyway. Some Moms twittered things suggesting that Nikon HATES babies. I don’t believe that Nikon hates babies. Perhaps they could have chosen a different location. Could they have opened it to all the registered BlogHer bloggers? Perhaps. Maybe they could have scaled it back so as to be able to open it to everyone in attendance. Personally I understand what they were trying to do and I think Nikon was on the right track. Everyone wants to feel special. I know I love to feel special. My students love to feel special.

If I give a student a Snickers Bar for doing a good job he will see himself as special and so will his peers. If everyone gets a Snickers Bar for no particular reason it's just not quite as special.

The end result is that not that NIKON will forever be branded as a baby-hating company? Maybe by the bloggers denied access but not by the general public. As I have to remind myself after a mistake or bad experience, “This too shall pass.”

From what I heard the women in attendance loved the party. Heck I wish Nikon would contact me because I want to send a little love their way. How about sponsoring me at the blogalicious? Hint hint. I live in Atlanta so I just need someone to pay for my ticket.

So what else did I hear about the party I didn’t go to? Well I heard that the two women felt that their tweets were taken out of context. Still I don’t find anything really funny about this. It borders on Junior High behavior. “So and so said such and such so you know what I’m going to say about such and such.” I understand disappointment. I’ve been on the receiving end before but why revert to such childishness? How can you not feel that saying that a company hates babies is a bit over the top? I’m still twitter illiterate but must you place a hashtag for drama emphasis?

I read her response and apparently she feels people are criticizing her parenting. As a Mom who has now graduated to the Grandma part of the spectrum let me say, “Welcome to parenthood.” Everyone is judging you. If your kid cries on a plane “People are rolling their eyes and even telling you to shut your kid up.” If your kid winds up on drugs, guess who’s fault they will say it is. Relatives will judge, dissect and discuss your parenting skills as well as friends, relatives, coworkers, and strangers. Pull up on your big girl pants and get over yourself.

When I was raising my kids I knew people who felt is was “creepy” that I nursed my infant. It doesn’t matter what other people think. If you spank your children people will brand you as a child abuser even if it was once and it was a single swat on a diapered behind. If you don't spank your kids then when they grow up to be a terrorist it is all your fault because you were too permissive with your child. It took me fifty years to finally “GET IT” but it really doesn’t matter. People are always judging you. Heck you judged Nikon without even taking a look at the facts.

Heck I feel like getting on twitter with the hashtag "NikonLOVESTeachers". Do you think they'd invite me to their next party? Do you think they would sponsor my next trip to blogher? Do you think that they would send me some of their awsome products to review? Then let the hashtags begin.