Take my wine but don’t touch my Blog?
Filed under: Social Marketing on Friday, May 16th, 2008 by Nan DawkinsI was shocked when I saw the stats from the recent BlogHer study: 36.2 million women are active in the Blogosphere each week! And almost half of female Gen X Bloggers are publishing and posting about parenting.
What’s more shocking: 55% of these women would give up alcohol, 42% would give up their Ipod and 20% would give up chocolate rather than give up their Blogs! Seems a little extreme to me (go ahead, try to pry that glass of Sauvignon Blanc out of my hand — and don’t even think about touching my stash of Reeses Peanut Butter Cups.)
But then last week, as I was pouring through hundreds of Blog and Forum posts (pulled in the course of a Buzz Monitoring project for a client who sells to Moms) it hit me. As I read through the “HELP!!!” thread on the Infant Reflux forum, I remembered what I was doing 18 years ago around this time: Calling (at least a half a dozen times a day) my best mommy friend, Cheryl, who had a daughter just three months older than my Kate.
She’s STILL crying!
Did you try putting her in a basket on top of the dryer?
How about putting her in the car and driving around until she falls asleep?
Did you massage her spine?
Did she spit up after that last bottle?
What does her poop look like? (No, seriously.)
Colic doesn’t seem to have changed much since my little princess was screaming her lungs out eighteen years ago. What has changed – thanks to the social media phenomenon – is the size and efficiency of the mommy network. 
Today, Cheryl wouldn’t have to drive over to my house to take a look at the diaper. I would simply post the poopy picture online and wait 5 minutes for my Mommy network to review and respond.
Now that’s progress. Just one more reason to love Social Media. Those crazy lady Bloggers might not be so crazy after all.
Suddenly I no longer feel like having a curry for lunch :p
Maybe the old saying of “it takes a village to raise a child” needs to be brought up to date and become “It takes a community to raise a child”…
↓ Quote | Posted May 16, 2008, 11:23 amthe picture is an attention getter
↓ Quote | Posted May 16, 2008, 2:54 pmOh wow, I remember diapers like that! Looks like a breast-fed baby, ahem, output as well.
Oh the memories….
Barbara
↓ Quote | Posted May 16, 2008, 3:32 pmsame here sporstareduo..^^..I enjoyed reading the post but not the picture…>.<
↓ Quote | Posted May 16, 2008, 4:13 pmNow this REALLY gets the point across for me… well done, Nan !!! I really have to get more info from son on where to start finding blogs for my age/interests… now in my 50’s and having come of age well before PCs and Ipods I was baffled as to why people would spend so much time blogging… after reading this and recognizing how blogs are not just educational in nature but also have such an obvious relational component… I’m like Duh can’t believe it took so long for me to get it ?!?!?! Never know… I too may soon give up my Ipod but not my wine or chocolate !!!
↓ Quote | Posted May 16, 2008, 5:09 pmIt’s an hour later… and I don’t need my son’s help… after an hour online doing my own exploring… I am hooked… and I have found a blogger’s niche on my own… but now I’m off to have that glass of wine !!!
↓ Quote | Posted May 16, 2008, 6:16 pm