Today's blog post has been written by my friend and co-worker Carrie Davis. I met Carrie about 3 years ago when I was still a consultant for Lotus Services. We worked on a massive eLearning project for a customer in the automative industry using IBM Lotus Workplace Collaborative Learning. After that long project, we lost touch for a while (though we had an occasional IM via Gtalk every so often). We recently found each other through our blogs and it turns out we both have babies ~ 1 month apart. She runs one of Atlanta's mom blogs: Davis, Party of 3. She recently shared a story on her blog where she details why Blogs are so valuable to her. I thought it would be appropriate for my "Why I Love Social Software..." series. Enjoy!
The Affair Begins
I love blogging. I have loved it from the moment I read my first blog. Some (my husband) might even say that it is an addiction.
My love affair with blogs began while pregnant with my daughter. Like most new mothers, I couldn't get enough information. I began to Google baby equipment, baby names, soothing techniques, breastfeeding, labor stories, and the list goes on. As my search results led me to more and more moms blogging about their experiences, I knew that I wanted to document my experiences as a first time mother as well. So, "Davis, Party of 3" was born.
The Rationale
A few of the reasons I love being part of the blogosphere:
- I'm learning about people that I have lost touch with over the years as more and more of my past acquaintances have started blogs. In fact, I feel like I now know more about some of them than I did when I saw them every day.
- It is a source of socialization. As a mother of an infant, you can feel very lonely as you spend each day stuck in the house with a crying baby. Blogs are a way to stay connected to the world - and no one knows that you are wearing the same pair of yoga pants 5 days in a row.
- It is inspiring. For me, it is especially inspiring to see blogs that are now a business. Or, on a completely different level, the posts themselves are inspiring. I am inspired by all of those moms out there that are so dedicated to their children, or artists that have quit their "real" jobs to chase dreams.
- It's easy. I have never kept a journal more than 3 days. I am thrilled that on Feb. 1, 2009 I will have my daughter's first year of growth and development documented. It is fun to know that when she has her first baby, she'll look back on her first year to compare milestones.
Can't Forget Social Networking
But, the main reason I love blogging is that it is a wonderful form of social networking. For instance, I was recently a matchmaker for two mothers in the Austin, TX area. Through a photography forum, I found a mother blogging about her son and the pregnancy of her daughter. While at work, I ran into a mother of a 7 month old. She was using the lactation room in our office. We met one day in passing. She lived in the Austin, TX area as well. I gave her the name of the blog and said she should check it out, maybe they could meet up and swap stories. They met for lunch a few weeks ago and have plans to meet again!