Martha Stewart at BlogHer 2012

We’ve got a packed crowd in the Grand Ballroom for Martha Stewart’s lunchtime keynote speech at BlogHer 2012. Martha Stewart just snapped a picture of the crowd as she took the stage. Elisa Camahort Page, Co-Founder of BlogHer, is conducting a 1:1 interview for us.

I am attempting to liveblog the interview, but there is too much ambient noise to hear Martha’s voice. (We did eventually get them to turn the mic up.) Easier to type Martha’s responses in first person, but they are not quotes…they are paraphrased.

Martha Stewart at BlogHer 2012

What kind of process going into creating things for Martha Stewart publications?

Everyday Food, Martha Stewart Living…beautiful publications. Everyday Food has recipes for the everyday cook with about 7-8 ingredients. I encourage cooking at home in this economy and for good health. Whole living is an important factor.

Tell us about you and tech.

I’m proud about my use of technology. I had an IBM computer in 1982 as an early adopter. It was used primarily for bookkeeping, but I took a course in computing at Columbia University. I didn’t miss Google, and I didn’t miss Twitter. I was right on these things when they came out. Tweeting gets your message out instantaneously. I use Twitter for research and instantaneous surveys. I get thousands and thousands and thousands of responses when asking questions on Twitter.

What was up with tweeting pictures from the emergency room?

It was a distraction. Don’t look at those pics if you’re squeamish. It was 10:00 at night in a blizzard, and my driver took me to the hospital… I took the pictures and tweeted them to distract myself. I commented on the floral wallpaper in the emergency room… it was a great hospital for bloggers. (Laugh)

There’s no limit to what you share, if you want to. I am slightly fettered, unfortunately. If you make a political comment, you’re going to lose half your audience. You can’t be political, but you can be personal. I got millions of pageviews when my mom died, and it was great to see that people cared.


This liveblog post sponsored by…
Do Food Better ad
Do. Food. Better.


Your brand is all about quality, perhaps even “perfection,” but in social media, you focus a lot on your foibles.

“Bloopers are fun… I would love to have a late night talk show. I would be good at that.” Send in your comments to PBS. I’d love to talk about modern culture. So many things have happened in the last 20 years. Things have changed so drastically. Are we as productive as we once were? Can we, as human beings, be as productive as we once were? I have to curb my attitude when it comes to the things we’re talking about.

People think that misspellings mean drunken tweets. “Oh look, she’s drunk again.” (Laughter)

So…blogging.

You must be personal, passionate, sharing on your blog. You must have openness with your readers. You gotta make money. You need to be paid for your effort. You’re all passionate, intelligent women out there…I hope you’re making a living. Little by little, you’re finding yourselves as diligent, honest reporters. The better you are, the more popular you become, and the more people you can reach. That’s really be the story of my career. You have to be real.

Your new show is focused on the teaching aspect…

October 6 is the start day for Martha Stewart’s Cooking School. It’s all about teaching you how to cook. It’s a good show. We have 26 half hour shows. It’s good for people who already know how to cook, but want a referesher.

[We’re getting to preview a clip from the show on the video screen. Applause for a tip at removing skin from fish.]

You’re going mobile…

[preview of Martha Stewart’s iPad apps]

We’re trying to save you time while being innovative and creative. The digital versions of the magazines have some digitization that you can’t do with the printed page. All four of our magazines are now available in digital format. The editors are really into it, too, making stories come alive.

Do you see a future where you’re not focusing on all of these different formats?

We looks at what the consumer needs, and marketing follows. I never want to give up content, but we serve the consumer with all of our products, as well.

What has changed about being a woman leader over the last 30 years?

[Happy birthday, Martha.] One of the reasons I agreed to speak today was so you could all say happy birthday to me. (Everyone starts singing to her.) I’m still all of those women (the model, the stock broker, the entrepeneur) now. I haven’t given up any of those roles. The treatment of women is business has moved a lot. Women are generally treated nicely in the boardroom now. I never listened to the naysayers, though.

Oh, and….

I wanted  tell everyone out there that I would love to link to your blogs. Tweet @MarthaStewart with #CheckOutMyBlogMartha

Christina Gleason (976 Posts)

That’s me: Christina Gleason. I’m a writer, editor, and disability advocate. I'm a multiply disabled autistic lady doing my best in this world built for abled people. I’m a geek for grammar, fantasy, and casual gaming. I hate vegetables. I cannot reliably speak, so I’ll happily conduct business over email or messaging instead.


By Christina Gleason

That’s me: Christina Gleason. I’m a writer, editor, and disability advocate. I'm a multiply disabled autistic lady doing my best in this world built for abled people. I’m a geek for grammar, fantasy, and casual gaming. I hate vegetables. I cannot reliably speak, so I’ll happily conduct business over email or messaging instead.

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