Zeno's Bar & Grill

Marketers are on to the whole moms online phenomenon. As detailed in an article in yesterday’s NY Times, a number of sites are specifically targeting mothers, who, as we all know, wield upwards of a trillion dollars in purchasing power each year.

Even Amalah has started a self-described “selloutaceous” blog on the revamped ClubMom site. ClubMom apparently used to be some kind of rewards program, but is now creating an online community for moms. Former Melrose Place star Andrew Shue is a cofounder of ClubMom, but for some reason the NY Times used a photo of his business partner instead. Darn.

The zinger came at the end of the article, when Joe Kraus of JotSpot admitted that when his team built their mom-targeted FamilySite site-building tool, they did what sounded an awful lot like dumbing things down. They eliminated any use of the word wiki, although that’s what the service essentially is. According to Kraus, “We never mentioned the technology used to collaborate. Even using the word ‘collaborate’ was forbidden.” Well, golly, it had four whole syllables. Of course they did.

Guess they're the marketing geniuses, not us, but that comment didn't win any friends over here at Zeno's.

--Melanie & Kelly