The Tribute to Our Madeline from Mike and Heather on Vimeo.

Yesterday, my day started with the discovery that a service I had been offering for free to all involved was being abused. Buzz Cooperative, an opt-in mailing list for PR and businesses to pitch to bloggers and, wait for it, bloggers to pitch the PR firms and businesses, was something I started with the foundation being my own personal contacts. These pitches aren't ones my friends or I received personally and then passed around. Every pitch, because the list is explicitly opt-in, is meant for Buzz Cooperative members.

To make a long story short, I asked that these pitches be taken down off of another site because of the opt-in nature of my list. I was told that it was "possibly the most stupidest thing I've read today". Erm...ok.
So I decided after talking to a few trusted, and whom I consider wise, friends, that people are less likely to abuse something they invest in. After grappling with it, I decided to charge the bloggers $10 a year, as a token of investment.
Meanwhile, a friend is burying her daughter, yes her 17 month old daughter, on the other side of the country. What I had been dealing with suddenly seemed so completely insignificant. And as I looked at little Maddie Spohr's smiling, beautiful face...it hit me. I needed to turn a negative situation into a positive situation in her honor. Because the $10 fee isn't so much about me making money. It's about principle.
With that said, I pledged 50% of all fees collected yesterday for Buzz Cooperative to go directly to Heather and Mike Spohr ending at midnight PST.  As you can see below, I sent that payment this morning.  And I've decided that I'm going to extend that pledge for the rest of the week until Midnight PST on Friday night.

Heather and Mike, I cry with you and admire your bravery in this heartbreaking time.

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