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Original poster

Can Mumsnet HQ recommendations be trusted any more?

16 replies

AngryBirdsNoMore · 05/12/2023 11:01

I don’t know if I’m being cynical here, so asking others: do you think Mumsnet’s recommendations can be trusted any more?

I feel like a few years ago, products were recommended with an emphasis on having been tested by parents and/or by Mumsnet HQ, with an emphasis on independence. Whereas everything now seems to come with a partnership and affiliations.

An example that pushed me into thinking this is Boden. It feels like Mumsnet is constantly - in emails, ad threads, banners - pushing Boden and saying Mumsnetters “love” or are “raving about” Boden. Whereas actually, Boden is pretty consistently panned in Style and Beauty now.

I get that they need to generate income with ads. But it feels like they’re recommending things PURELY on the basis of advertising and income, with no independence or even Talk forum backing?

Am I better just ignoring Mumsnet HQ recommendations and just going elsewhere for ‘best of’ product lists eg Made tor Mums, newspaper supplements?

OP posts:
Original poster
AngryBirdsNoMore · 05/12/2023 11:02

(Sorry, my wording feels a bit clunky, sitting with an ill sleeping child in hospital so brain a bit crumpled)

OP posts:
FictionalCharacter · 05/12/2023 11:05

I just treat these as ads tbh. If I like the look of something I look up proper reviews.
I hope your child is OK.

LadyDanburysHat · 05/12/2023 11:05

I agree, it seems to just be adverts now. Boden and Uniqlo being the biggest ones. The Swears By emails used to be full of things based on threads actual mners had posted. Now it is just advert after advert.

Interested in this thread?

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Families
AuntieStella · 05/12/2023 11:26

There have always been tie-ins (Boden and GHD spring to mind)

But Uniqlo did get lots of lower-key shout outs a decade or so ago before it became ubiquitous.

And back when it was all fields round here, things mentioned on threads did get into the "Swears By" (remember a piece of running kit that we'd been discussing a few weeks before appearing in one). But I assumed that was a result of people at MNHQ actually being MNetters too, spotting what was really being discussed, and then seeing if the seller was interested in a promo deal

But now it all seems more corporate, and I assume little to none originates spontaneously now.

Summermeadowflowers · 05/12/2023 11:27

I’m pleased that new mums aren’t being pushed into buying sex toys courtesy of MN any more Hmm

Original poster
AngryBirdsNoMore · 05/12/2023 12:27

LadyDanburysHat · 05/12/2023 11:05

I agree, it seems to just be adverts now. Boden and Uniqlo being the biggest ones. The Swears By emails used to be full of things based on threads actual mners had posted. Now it is just advert after advert.

Exactly. The swears by emails are just full of stuff Uniqlo and Hush. I saw a dress recommended this week that I’ve seen repeatedly panned on several S&B threads! so definitely NOT recommended by users.

I like Uniqlo - on the recommendation of mumsnetters I bought some lovely cashmere-ish jumpers to see me stylishly through an enormous pregnancy, absolutely top recommendation.

But I don’t see the point in clicking on anything in the emails any more and that’s so irritating. It’s supposed to save me time not cost me more time.

OP posts:
Original poster
AngryBirdsNoMore · 05/12/2023 12:28

Summermeadowflowers · 05/12/2023 11:27

I’m pleased that new mums aren’t being pushed into buying sex toys courtesy of MN any more Hmm

Ha, I actually didn’t mind that. It was via a mums forum years ago (pre kids) that I discovered the existence of sex toys that are specific to women who’ve given birth - I thought it was really great that there were such things, engineered to help with intimate areas that may have changed shape or size or sensitivity.

But I can see why others were annoyed by it.

OP posts:
Original poster
AngryBirdsNoMore · 05/12/2023 12:30

@FictionalCharacter thank you. Bronchiolitis, classic December. But he’s only 4 months so a worrying few days.

OP posts:
FictionalCharacter · 05/12/2023 13:21

AngryBirdsNoMore · 05/12/2023 12:30

@FictionalCharacter thank you. Bronchiolitis, classic December. But he’s only 4 months so a worrying few days.

Oh poor little chap. Hopefully he’ll be over it soon.

FictionalCharacter · 05/12/2023 13:28

AngryBirdsNoMore · 05/12/2023 12:28

Ha, I actually didn’t mind that. It was via a mums forum years ago (pre kids) that I discovered the existence of sex toys that are specific to women who’ve given birth - I thought it was really great that there were such things, engineered to help with intimate areas that may have changed shape or size or sensitivity.

But I can see why others were annoyed by it.

Show quote history

Wait what?! I had no idea it was about that. I thought it was all about “ok, now you’ve got the childbirth thing just about over, time to turn you back into a raging sex fiend to keep your partner happy!” Hence I was one of the annoyed ones.

Original poster
AngryBirdsNoMore · 05/12/2023 17:12

No, sorry, you’re right @FictionalCharacter. What I badly explained but meant was: if it had been about marketing sex toys designed for women who had given birth - and therefore may have specific needs, or have changed shape / size / sensitivity - I’d be fine with that.

But yes, Mumsnet’s was more about getting your ‘va va boom’ back. Which many users were annoyed about not least because it just massively plays into the insecurities a lot of women have after birth abour not being sexy enough.

OP posts:
Original poster
AngryBirdsNoMore · 05/12/2023 17:14

I couldn’t see how it was ‘mum specific’. It was just a clitoral stimulator for all I could see.

OP posts:
FictionalCharacter · 06/12/2023 02:01

AngryBirdsNoMore · 05/12/2023 17:12

No, sorry, you’re right @FictionalCharacter. What I badly explained but meant was: if it had been about marketing sex toys designed for women who had given birth - and therefore may have specific needs, or have changed shape / size / sensitivity - I’d be fine with that.

But yes, Mumsnet’s was more about getting your ‘va va boom’ back. Which many users were annoyed about not least because it just massively plays into the insecurities a lot of women have after birth abour not being sexy enough.

Edited

Yea that’s what I thought!

WandaWonder · 06/12/2023 02:05

They are ads the same as what we see on tv, no one is being forced into anything if people just engaged their brains and used it more they would stop needing to feel forced into every decision they make by others

Society does seem to be getting more and more lazy

ColleenDonaghy · 06/12/2023 07:22

I've always assumed Mumsnet Swears By and similar are basically spam/adverts. I use MN for product recommendations all the time but I search the boards for comments by real users (with a caveat that brands can spam the boards).

frazzledasarock · 06/12/2023 07:29

I never bother with the mumsnet recommends it’s spam ads to generate revenue for mumsnet.

the ads are completely a miss for me. I prefer finding out real opinions and recommendations which we used to get on here years ago.

I don’t take MN recommends seriously at all. And wouldn’t look at it if I were in search for recommendations either.

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