Kelby Carr

My latest obsession is a social network I’m embarrassed to say I just discovered maybe a week ago. So far, however, I have been quite impressed. The main reason is that this social network, like Twitter, is one that’s rockin’ cool for moms to connect. Cre8Buzz Beta has a category for each member, and Moms is one of them. How much easier could that be to find moms?

That’s part one what makes it stand out. When I waxed philosophical on the fate of social networks earlier, I mentioned that people will likely settle into their favorites, into the networks that best fit their lifestyle and their clique.

I love that I can find people in all my special little niches with just a couple clicks on Cre8Buzz… there’s a section for dads, writers, travelers, foodies. Some aren’t as populated with members, but the Mom one is definitely hopping (there are 500-plus moms on Crea8Buzz.

And here is the stand out part two: it is so easy and simple to promote yourself. So many social networks just don’t totally get it. They might make it possible for people to promote themselves, but it isn’t always easy. For a blogger, you can easily add all of your blogs which are enticing little screenshots. Not only that, but people vote on how cool your blogs are, so they can get increasing exposure as people rate them highly.

Which brings me to stand out aspect number three. The community sets the level of coolness of its members and the things they promote. I’m sure that means there can be abuse, but it also means cream can rise to the top. The mom bloggers in the top 10, for instance, are pretty amazing bloggers. People can rank blogs, pictures in your profile, videos in your profile, your blog posts at Crea8Buzz, and even you.

Here’s the other cool thing. When I joined, my ranking was something rather embarrassing. I think it was close to 400. And a week or so later, my ranking is 13 in the Moms section! That really speaks more to how many moms I already know were on there than anything else. But it sure drives me to visit the site again and again. I’d almost describe it as a little too addictive.

Are you on Cre8Buzz? Check out my profile and say hello!

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Wow, I can’t believe the venom unleashed against mommy bloggers in this Toronto Globe and Mail article that questions whether mommy bloggers exploit their children. They really take it to Her Bad Mother, who is featured and interviewed in the piece (and, incidentally, a must-read mommy blogger!). The comments in reaction to the article are pretty shocking, going so far as to equate mommy blogging to neglect, comparing mommy bloggers to zombies who sit in front of a screen all day, and saying children of mommy bloggers will need years of therapy. She writes about it in a beautifully titled post, “ Crazy Narcissistic Exploitative Zombie-Pimp Mom-Bloggers Unite and Take Over.”

Some examples that I swear I am not making up:

Homer - from Canada writes: these bloggers are nut cases.. why would u want to put your personal stuff for millions to read and watch.. and then you worry about all those sicos out there… how crazy can you be..

and…

Eric the Red from Uzbekistan writes: “Writing about your daughter’s toilet-training misadventures could net you $40,000 a month and a legion of fans.”

If you’re a parent and have enough time blogging and wanting to capture and chronicle every stage of your child’s development for the world to see, your priorities as a caregiver and parent are entirely skewed. Get a life.

And if you do blog about your kid’s life for monetary gain, you are truly a cretin.

and…

Gogh Forit from Canada writes: Isn’t this just another form of pimping?

and…

My eyes are open, Are yours? from Canada writes: It was bad enough that my dad carried a picture of 3-year-old me in the bath in his wallet until I was 25.

Whatever money these people make from their kids, they should expect to spend it all on lawyers and psychotherapy for their kids later on. What kind of person tells others about this stuff? What kind of person reads it?

Boy are people bigoted against the mommy blogger. Why can’t a mom write about the amazing, wonderful, frightening, insane, beautiful, ugly experience of being a mom? Sure, moms should be careful about exposing too much information on the off chance some freak is watching. That really isn’t any different than anything else someone does online that presents personal information. People should use some sense about it.

It also ticks me off that moms get criticized for making a buck for their writing. Are you kidding me? How many MEN running corporations make millions of dollars on the backs of regular people? And maybe moms wouldn’t have to blog if a company or two would hire moms to telecommute (this is, ahem, the year 2008… you’ve heard of things like computers and email, right?).

Oh, and here’s a question for you. How is a mom who works a day job better or worse a parent than a mom who spends time blogging (probably almost exclusively during naps and nighttime, losing sleep many of you take for granted)? Both are doing what they can to earn a living and be a mom.

Really, bless Blogger and Wordpress and Google Adsense and BlogHer and every other simple platform that has made it possible for moms to work from home and earn a buck! I only wish there were more options out there. But I am certainly glad there are moms out there making $40K a month blogging about being a mom. That is supreme.

And everyone else had better watch out. Mommy bloggers are taking over the world! Don’t mess with us.

Does this get you incensed, too? Don’t comment here (or at least don’t just do that). Write about this on your mommy blog and hop over and post a pro-mommy blogger comment. I’ve tried a few times, but it keeps telling me to confirm my email. Whatev…

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I’ve been social networking for a while, and I think Twitter has nailed the mom demographic. I see moms on there left and right, and there is a wonderful mom conversation happening at Twitter. If you haven’t been listening, check out this ab-fab Ultimate List of Moms on Twitter. (And thanks so much eMom… you rock for taking the time to create this list.)

I’ve stumbled (which, for the record, I still totally love), sphunn (is that a word?), dugg, spaced, facebooked, you name it. I netscaped until it propellered. I have a secondlife (but do I even have a life?). I babblzed until it fizzled.

Some are more enjoyable than others, and some are better for networking than others. Some will bring a torrent of traffic that, I suspect, never returned. Some boosted a site’s PageRank, odds are likely. Some connected me with old and new friends.

MySpace is too filled with spam, pre-pubescents and glittering graphics for my taste. Honestly, I know Facebook is supposed to be so hot, but I just can’t get into it. You know why? I don’t have the time to delve into it. And I don’t really WANT graffiti.

But then I discovered Twitter. Oh, to Twitter. My day consists of not a single stretch to focus on one thing for more than, oh, a millisecond. Then there’s a whine, cry, dog who needs to piss, kid who wants to be fed, blog I need to write, web article that needs editing… Like every mom, this list is endless.

Twitter’s genius lies in the beauty of 140 characters. It lies in the ability to send without even opening a new browser window, without even needing a computer.

I don’t have time for much, but I have time to Tweet. That I can do. Microblogging is social networking for time-deprived, short-attention spanned mom.

Beyond that, it’s also appealing to a mom. It’s more intimate and personal. You see a page full of faces, you see what they’re saying. It’s a real conversation. It’s also very effective. When I see a link posted by one of these moms, women I’ve never met or said more than 140 characters at a time to, I click it.

I can talk to the momosphere, and I can do it quickly. Better yet, I can listen to the momosphere. Very cool.

What do you think? Why do you Twitter (or not)? And hey, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter.

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