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This past weekend, approximately 40 family travel writers and bloggers (including myself) gathered at the Omni Berkshire Hotel in New York City to participate in the inaugural Family Travel Conference. The two-day conference was hosted by Kim Orlando (TravelingMom.com), Kyle McCarthy (FamilyTravelForum.com) and Eileen Ogintz (TakingtheKids.com) and it was produced by JoAnne Vero (Travel Media Showcase). Due to the intimate size of the group, the attendees not only learned from family travel experts but also were able to network with one another at this “hands-on” gathering.

Focused exclusively on the family travel market, FTC was presented to potential attendees as a “conference that is half education, half press trip and all fun. We’ll learn some things, get to know our sponsors, see the sites of NYC and take in a Broadway show.” It ended up being all of that and more. The Friday workshops focused on better travel writing and monetizing content. Later in the evening, attendees learned some twitter tips and participated in a mini twitter party in the midst of a cocktail reception and dinner where the Orlando destination was highlighted. On Saturday, the focus was on videos, the future of travel coverage. After learning some practical tips, the writers were split up into pre-assigned groups to perform video interviews of various Omni roles (doormen, housekeeping, chef, general manager). After a hands-on travel video workshop where help was available for participants to turn their footage into a final video, the conference officially ended at a special Virgil’s lunch. (Attendees had the option of extending their stay for an additional night to enjoy a Broadway show and to use their New York Passes to explore the city.)

Two aspects made this conference stand out in the sea of conferences that are held for women bloggers every year. First, each conference participant had the option of bringing one child to experience the city and to participate in the Saturday portion of the conference. Secondly, there was no fee to attend the conference for the invited participants. The conference, meals and lodging were provided by the conference sponsors who obviously value the family travel market. As Kim Orlando noted, “FTC is important because family travel has come of age. Over 100 million trips include kids each year. Family travel is a broad term that can include friends, blended families, grand kids, college kids and multiple generations. There is still a lot to be done to make the family vacation a great experience and as travel writers, we can promote change and really make a difference.” It makes sense that the conference sponsors would want to tap into this lucrative market.

What do you think about such conferences? Are intimate, invitation only conferences geared towards niche bloggers the wave of the future? Are conference attendees as guests of the sponsors (who want the writers and bloggers to both learn more about them as well as more about their craft) a positive thing? While there are pros and cons, I think that this is a positive thing when done in the spirit of overall community growth. In any event, I was impressed by the first-ever Family Travel Conference. I learned a lot and enjoyed including my son in Saturday’s events.

{Post image courtesy of Family Travel Conference}

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As most users of social media know, the rules are always changing. When you’re talking about Facebook, however, the rules often seem like a moving target, the latest target being posted photos of mothers nursing their children.

It’s not a new issue nor a new controversy. As early as December 2008, Facebook was being accused of censoring breastfeeding by removing a member’s profile picture that showed her nursing her baby. Not only did an online controversy erupt (that resulted in a group called Hey Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene) but there were planned nurse-ins to specifically protest Facebook’s action.

At the time, they released a statement referencing a policy not to allow photos that show fully exposed breasts. Since that time, Facebook has developed an answer as to how their policy specifically addresses this:

Does Facebook allow photos of mothers breastfeeding?

Yes. We agree that breastfeeding is natural and beautiful, and we’re very glad to know that it is important for mothers to share their experiences with others on Facebook. The vast majority of these photos are compliant with our policies, and we will not take action on them.

Photos that show a fully exposed breast where the child is not actively engaged in nursing do violate Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. These policies are based on the same standards which apply to television and print media.

It is important to note that photos which we act upon are almost exclusively brought to our attention by other users who complain about them being shared on Facebook.

- from the Facebook Help Center

To any woman, breastfeeding or not, Facebook’s policy seems relatively clearcut and intended to protect the under 13 audience.

The latest drama that Facebook has brought on itself, however, started halfway around the world. Prominent Australian blogger, Eden Riley of Edenland, wrote a contributing post to the Australian parenting site, Kidspot, titled “Miranda Kerr’s Boobs are More Special Than Your Boobs.”

The piece was a bit tongue and cheek but touched on the fact that a beautiful celebrity can post a photo of herself breastfeeding her baby to all of Twitter but any other woman posting to someplace like Facebook would be heavily scrutinized. And it’s not just conjecture.

Eden was inspired to write the post after Facebook had “suspended the accounts of over 400 Australian women under the terms of ‘hateful, pornographic, contains nudity or incites violence.’” And when readers responded so strongly to her message, she decided to put the terms to the test.

Using her Facebook page for her personal blog, she invited women to upload their breastfeeding photos to her wall. It was intended to be a test as to how soon her page might be suspended.

She received no negative feedback but based on what happened next, she suspects that her page was reported to Facebook. The next day, she was forced to log in to Facebook with unusual security measures. Once she had accessed her account, a photo appeared on her screen with the caption: “Please remove any further offensive photos from
your Facebook page or you will be deemed in violation of Facebook
Terms of Service and could have your account suspended.” The “offensive photo” in question was the first breastfeeding photo that had been uploaded to her wall.

Photo courtesy of Shae from Yay for Home

So who is in the wrong here? Are breastfeeding photos offensive to some? Is Facebook taking on the role of protecting users from that content? If so, it’s fairly certain that they find much more offensive content without looking too hard.

The other question is on what grounds is Facebook censoring its content when they have clearly stated their policy on this issue?

While breastfeeding is a hot button, the issue at hand is really about censorship of content. Eden shared her thoughts on Facebook managing its content:

I absolutely think a private networking site like Facebook has the right to censor content… it is actually their duty. But it has to censor the right content! Who is deciding what that content is?

- Eden Riley

Right now, Facebook is making all the decisions: about content, rules of content, violations of content, and most importantly, who actually has to follow the rules. With an impending IPO, the only changes they’ll be making are those which make them more profitable.

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