Martha Stewart Is No Expert ~

A few days ago, Martha Stewart did an interview where she shared her thoughts on bloggers. Martha Stewart said that bloggers are not experts on recipes, etc. She basically said that bloggers just repost recipes that “trained experts” came up with. She, of course, aligned herself with people she classified as “experts” like Vogue editors and Ralph Lauren.

What Exactly Is An Expert?

ex·pert
ˈekˌspərt/Submit
noun
1.
a person who has a comprehensive and authoritative knowledge of or skill in a particular area.
“experts in child development”
synonyms: specialist, authority, pundit

According to this definition, an “expert” is someone who has a comprehensive knowledge of an area. Hmmm, correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t practice the way to get skilled in a particular area? Since when did cooking 3 meals a day for your family stop being practice?

train
trān/Submit
verb
past tense: trained; past participle: trained
1.
teach (a person or animal) a particular skill or type of behavior through practice and instruction over a period of time.
“the plan trains people for promotion”
synonyms: instruct, teach, coach, tutor, school, educate, prime, drill, ground

If Wikipedia is correct, Stewart holds degrees in History and Architectural History. No Culinary Degrees. Was she formally trained by experts? Wikipedia says that her grandmother taught her how to can and preserve – much like many bloggers I know. So, if degrees are what makes one an expert, then she should not be talking about hot glue and glitter table top decorations. So that can’t be it…

Ok, so perhaps one’s station in life is what makes them an expert. She is rich and I am poor. Hmmm, she also babysat for Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle when she was a child, hosted birthday parties for their kids and got a modeling gig at age 10. I am sure meeting all these high powered people at such a young age didn’t hurt her career. She also married a lawyer who played a pivotal role in her early career by hiring her to cater a book party {which introduced her to a bigwig at Crown Publishing Group} who then hired her to do a cookbook. Is she so arrogant as to say that if a different person had done the same exact things that she did, but not met the same people, they would definitely be where she is today?

Yes, I think Martha Stewart is talented in her niche, but I have seen tons of other people in life who can do the same things or even better things than she can. Just like with everything else, there is always someone better. And these people that I speak of are small time bloggers or flea market crafters. Yes, Martha Stewart may have worked hard to get to where she is today, but luck has definitely gotten Martha Stewart far in life and she would do well to remember that.

So, it seems to me that Martha Stewart became an “expert” the same way that most people do – try it and see.

Martha Stewart Doesn’t Stop With The Blogger Jabs

Paltrow’s empire includes cookbooks, the popular GOOP newletter, a proposed restaurant, and a Goop fashion line with top tier designers like Stella McCartney, Matthew Williamson and Michael Kors.

Martha Stewart also took a jab at Gwyneth Paltrow this week, too. She basically says that Paltrow wants to contribute to the LifeStyle niche but that she, Martha Stewart, created it. Martha Stewart created the whole concept of living to reflect one’s values? Okay…. narcissist much?

Recap {For Those Who Just Want To Skip To The Good Stuff}

Martha Stewart has no formal training above and beyond what the normal blogger has in cooking.

Martha Stewart got her first big break thanks to the hubs and his connections.

Martha Stewart claims she created the lifestyle niche {living a life that represents your style and values}. Before Martha Stewart, we all were just mindless drones with no personalities or style, apparently.

The only thing that separates Martha Stewart from the rest of us blogging idiots is money.

Money and luck = Expertise

So, What Should We Be Blogging About?

If I am understanding her whole argument correctly, according to Martha Stewart, we should only blog about things we are experts on. So, let’s make a deal…

Dearest Martha Stewart, I shall sit here and wait for your insider trading blog on how to step on poor people’s backs to get to the top AND I will be first in line to purchase your book on how to decorate prison cells for fall with only some torn sheets, a few salvaged prison yard pine cones and a whittled toothbrush shank.

As soon as you do these things, I will stop writing recipes that are cheap and tasty. Yes, I am no culinary expert, but by definition, neither are you. 🙂