"I exploit my children for millions and millions of dollars on my mommyblog" How Heather B. Armstrong's personal blog became a successful business
4 Chapter 1. "Why do I daydream about Rod Stewart in inappropriate posit ions?" 6 1.1 Rationale for the study 11 1.2 Methodology 18 Chapter 2. Dooce.com a "piece of selfloathing, selfindulgent, narcissist ic crap" 56 2.1 A definition of key terms: blog, personal blog, mommy blog 57 2.2 Dooce.com the blog's early stages 77 Chapter 3. "But they didn't have to hire me. I hired myself." 104 3.1 Interpellation and second person narration: from writing technique to product attribute 113 3.2 Zany, abject, interesting and cute aesthetics: from writing style to product attribute 123 3.3 Constructing a human brand: the representation of the everyday and the online reality effect 139 Chapter 4. "Thank you for catching me, Internet" 158 4.1 The Dooce brand core value: honesty 159 4.2 Audience engagement and loyalty 193 Chapter 5. "These posts keep me in business and allow me to continue to tel l stories" 209 5.1 Mitigating brand identity, consumer loyalty and blog monetisation 210 5.2 Additional monetisation strategies 222 5.3 Brand awareness strategies 246 Chapter 6 "So, what wil l happen to dooce(r) Wil l you shut it down? What is your last post going to say?" 261 Bibliography 272