Social Media & Networking – Do Mums Need It?

With all the fuss these days about social media, social networking, twitter this and plurk that, are all these ‘ways of communication’ actually needed by Mums?

There are a host of social media and networking sites these days, ranging from simple ideas like Twitter to full on website making profile page ideas such as Facebook or MySpace.

However, as a Mum, do you need them? Will they benefit you?

As Mum’s we have enough on our plate with housework, being a taxi for our children, cooking, cleaning, working out the weekly menu, doing the shopping, washing etc.  We might also have a full or part time job on top of all that, so do we really need endless websites to try and keep track of too? Well maybe…

As you know from previous articles I am not the biggest fan of social media.  I would much rather meet someone for a coffee and have a good old fashioned chinwag about life, than try and fit a conversation in 140 characters on twitter.  However, this is the time when, now this is going to be hard for me to say, but, I may have been a little harsh on poor little social media.

I am a member of Twitter, Facebook, MyBlogLog, BlogCatalog, Digg,FriendFeed to name a few, now that is quite a few sites for a self confessed Anti-Social Media mum BUT they do have a place in my online world.

Twitter is the tool I use most often.  I use it to meet new people, to let people know I have done a blog post,  to join in ongoing conversations and to have a giggle.  I don’t use it seriously like some professional bloggers do (in fact I mostly talk drivel on there), but I do meet new friends and us it to get word out.  It is a simple concept and that is it’s appeal.

Social Networking sites such as Facebook also offer a good place to meet new people and to hook up again with old friends, however, personally I find Facebook bland and boring, plus you get spammed but endless notifications of people inviting you to join various applications. No! I don’t want to install the ‘Do you have hairy armpits?’ application thank you very much!

You then have FriendFeed and websites like these, which import all your information from all the other sites and cram in all on to one page.  A nifty idea if you are out and about on your mobile phone, you only need to login to one site each time, so you can network to your hearts content!

Now after all that (are you still with me? Do you want to get yourself a cuppa and come back to read the rest?) you have the Mum-specific social networking sites.  Now, I have to admit, I find 95% of these sickly sweet and quite nauseating.  Yes, I am proud to be a mum, very proud, but I don’t need to have a 1000px banner on my website to tell me that nor do I want to talk about breastfeeding or how to knit a blanket all day.  I am a grown up and want to be treated like one, I am a woman as well as a mum, I HAVE NEEDS!  As much as my love my kids, I want to talk about other things too and even other aspects of family life.

So apart from the 95% of ‘Fluffy Mummy’ networking sites out there, there are some gems to be found….

Type-A Mom, although a US based site, does allow and encourage worldwide Mums to join and guess what, they treat you like a real person! The topics are all ‘mum’ or ‘family’ based but in a factual way.  You can get advice, network, meet other mums in a non-fluffy way, and not a pastel colour in site, brilliant!  A well designed, well thought out website and I support Type-A Mom 100%.

Wishpot.com, not strictly a networking site, but it hasn’t stopped me networking on there! Wishpot.com is a shopping list website where you can list items you have, want, need, wish for etc.  Wishpot opens it’s doors to its new Baby Registary soon, an excellent way to list exactly what you want or need for a new mum.  With ‘real mums’ on hand to give you ’straight down the line’ advice if you want it. Excellent and again I am right behind Wishpot.com!

And…before the cynical ones amongst my readers say “She’s only saying that because she is involved with them”…well thats the point, I am involved with them because I believe in them and what they do/represent.

So, do Mum’s need social media? No, we don’t NEED it, but if you want to spread the word about you, your business, your blog, meet new friends or even just to announce to the world that “I EXIST!”, then yes, it works wonders!