Bloggers often interact with brands. It’s wonderful that so many companies value our voice and influence.

Sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of what this looks like to non-bloggers. My son talks with his friends in the high school class I teach. They have questioned why we’ve been paid to eat at a certain restaurant or make a shopping trip to Walmart; how we sometimes get free tickets to events, concerts, and plays. The biggie was when we got a free iPad because I’m on the advisory council for a new music program.

They want their moms to blog, too. 🙂

The truth is, I’m just a stay-at-home mom who enjoys writing, taking pictures, and interacting with others via applications like Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, and Whrrl, and that is why a company might work with me—or you, or any other blogging social media junkie—instead of someone who is like us in every other way.

Sometimes it makes me feel guilty, until I remember that we bloggers work hard for these opportunities. I’ve come up with an analogy that makes sense to me:

Bloggers are like the Electoral College.

To a company, do bloggers “represent” a certain number of people who are like them (SAHMs, photographers, foodies, crafters, scrapbookers)?

What do you think?

[Please don’t pull apart the details of my political analogy, since obviously we would be self-elected members of the Electoral College. Maybe that’s the beauty of it: it’s open to anyone.]