Nestle Twitter Firestorm: Anthology of Activist Blogs & Twitter Names

As a service to the media, bloggers, twitter followers, and the members of the professional breastfeeding, ecofriendly and corporate watchdog communities, we have compiled a list of recent activist blogs related to the Twitter Firestorm about the “Nestle Blogging Junket” controversy, sparked by Annie of Phdinparenting.

We also hope that this list is helpful to ALL the expecting and new mothers and parents who deserve to make informed feeding choices, and deserve to carry out those choices, (whether it is breastfeeding,  milk bank-feeding, or formula-feeding or any combination thereof) without being “booby-trapped” by cultural and institutional barriers, including myths, misinformation and unethical marketing practices.

Twitter names where known are included for your convenience.   Tweets regarding the controversy can be found with the #nestlefamily hashtag on twitter.com (and if you are a breastfeeding, eco, corporate watchdog professional or social entrepreneur who is not yet on twitter, time to get on and follow these people).

This impassioned tweeting and blogging by so-called “mommy bloggers” . . . many of whom are extremely successful journalists, authors, marketing professionals & entrepreneurs . . . has raised enormous awareness about the unethical business and marketing practices of Nestle, has educated thousands about the WHO Code and Baby Milk Action, and has demonstrated the power of social media to bring about change.   For example, because of Annie’s advocacy efforts, -and the timing would suggest that it is precisely because of the Nestle firestorm- BlogHerAds has just announced that “it has created a new opt-out category for members of the BlogHer ad network that would allow bloggers to ensure their blogs are compliant with the WHO International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk substitutes.”

Activist Bloggers:  your courage, determination, wit and marketing prowess is breathing new life and excitement into the relatively tiny (and underfunded) breastfeeding community that has been engaged in a Sisyphean task for decades.  On behalf of the moms, babies and professionals we serve, our deepest thanks!

Please leave a comment or tweet me with any corrections to this list, links we’ve missed, or helpful suggestions.  Special thanks to Crunchy Domestic Goddess for letting us take over the list.

Anthology of #NestleFamily Activist Blogs

September 29, 2009

@phdinparenting An open letter to the attendees of the Nestle Family blogger event

September 30

@crunchygoddess Did we learn anything from the Nestle Family Twitter Storm?

(Popdiscourse)  On Bloggers, Breastfeeding, Family, Morality, Change, & the Nestle Family Event

@Mommymelee Thinking Outside the Hashtag

@jsbagain On Missing the Mark

@cyn3matic Bloggers, Corporations and Plausible Deniability in the Age of Google

October 1

@themotherofall The Parenting Community Will Hold Your Company Accountable if You Pull a Stunt Like Nestle Family

@blacktating #NestleFamily, Bloggers & Race:  Why it Matters

@debontherocks A Night-Night Story for Nestle’s Blogger Junket

@amamasblog Nestle Family and Blogging Responsibility

@ilauredhel Nestlé moves from obfuscation to outright lies

October 2

@that_danielle Nestle Marketers Tell #NestleFamily Bloggers What They Want to Hear & Know They’ll Believe it

@EvilSlutClique Getting to the Point of #nestlefamily

@meloukhia What do you get when you combine a Press Junket, Uninformed Bloggers, Angry Activists, and the Internet?

@roxanne600 My thoughts on the Nestle Family Event

October 3rd

(Fusion Parenting)  I am Evil

@QueerSubversion Buying  Bloggers with Shiny Things

TiffanyWashko Nestle Blogger Firestorm

@momswhoblog Did Nestle Step on a Hornet’s Nest or Open a Door?

@marketingmommy The Nestle Family Twitstorm

@jsbagain Lay Down With Dogs, Get Up With Fleas:  Old Lesson, New Perspective

@phdinparenting Follow-up Questions for Nestle

October 5th

About.com   Let them Drink Formula and Eat Steak:  ‘Nestle Family Blogger Event’ Fallout

October 6th

babble.com  Nestle’s Courting of Mommy Bloggers Off the Rails

October 7th

Fusionparenting  Apparently I am not just Evil, I childish too

Note:  This list was compiled primarily for those who are disturbed by Nestle’s unethical business and marketing practices,  including the media, moms, and breastfeeding, environmental, and corporate watchdog activists.   In that respect, it is indeed one-sided, as we are not looking to support or defend Nestle!  However, in order for lasting change to occur, we agree that it is important to understand the viewpoint of the bloggers who chose to attend the #NestleFamily event and to engage in a respectful and open-minded dialogue with those bloggers.   Mom101 (see comment below) suggested we include the best summary with the most productive comments:  @OhMommy:  Nestle Blogger Event from a Participant, from October 2nd, and we are happy to do so.   We appreciate the efforts of bloggers/tweeters like OHMommy and That_Danielle (amongst others) who are keeping this a sane discussion from both perspectives, and who are asking the tough questions.