Web sites that help me be a mom

April 20th, 2008

I’m a (relatively) new mom of two little girls ages two-and-a-half and ten-months. I’ve always been able to upload photos, videos and send them out to friends and family via the web. I’ve had the ability to share new happenings to friends and family instantaneously via email and blogs. I’ve been able to attend a “virtual” Christmas via skype when we were unable to come home so that my family could feel somewhat connected to the girls during that special time. My two, almost three-year-old plays on pbskids.org and playhousedisney.com and I appreciate having another medium to participate in her development. It’s not something we let her do every day which makes it all the more exciting when she gets to have her “turn” on the computer. It’s hard to imagine a life without these newly added comforts and although I’ve never been a parent when these things weren’t available I feel it adds to the parenting experience.

The following are websites that have helped me as a parent (in no particular order):

Skype- I have nothing but love for skype. Love, love, love. For those unfamiliar, Skype is a free way to instant message, phone (anyone in the world) and live video stream. Rampant rumors are going around right now that they will soon be acquired (and I believe they’ve already turned down a couple of lucrative offers). I sincerely hope that whoever does end up acquiring Skype will remember that people…families all over the world connect through this portal that might otherwise not be able to because of cost.

Flickr - Admittedly, I’m really bad about keeping up with photos (it’s always on my New Year’s resolutions list) so I don’t use this site nearly as much as I should. I love that you can send someone a simple url to view your photos unlike other sites that require login info. And if you’re not careful those sites send unwanted emails (I believe they call that something like…spam )

Netflix- For the most part I like the Netflix interface (they seem to mess with their formula quite frequently) and I’ve never had a problem waiting long for a movie. It’s no secret that having a baby throws your social life into a huge hiatus. We had our second when our first was only two, which not only makes babysitters more expensive but increases the fatigue level (do I need to say more?)! Our weekend entertainment is now a case of beer and a Netflix movie. It’s hard to remember the days of browsing through the video store (well, not really) but can you imagine what a two-year-old would do to all those little shiny boxes on the shelf!?! No thanks.

Picnik - This is a new photo site that I recently reviewed and since that time I’ve used it a ton. It’s super clean and easy to use. It makes me feel like I know what I’m doing with photos! You really should try this one out.

ParentMap - We live in Seattle and I work full time. When the weekends roll around I want to to get our little ones out and watch them at play! But sometimes I need a little push of what kind of play we should do; ParentMap helps me think outside of the box for outings and activities. Thanks for all the great ideas ParentMap!

Babycenter - This is a great site for all things babies. They have a great store and a well organized informational resource for parenting, babies and beyond.

WordPress - I hope I don’t need to explain this one. This blog runs on WordPress. I’ve disclosed before in this blog that I really do enjoy this blog platform. It has a lot of potential and speaks to all skill levels. WordPress recently released a new 2.5 version. If you don’t want to host your own WP site then you can easily sign up for WP hosted blog on WordPress.com.

Facebook- This is my favorite social networking site. When you work full time and have two young kids it’s hard to be social. Facebook is one way to “sort of” keep up with friends.

Craigslist! - I know I said no particular order but damn…how could you live without craigslist. From finding cheap kids stuff to selling your kid stuff to finding childcare - Craigslist is a friggin lifesaver! Simplicity and accessibility at it’s finest; a tremendous thank you to Craig Newmark for keeping it that way!

I think I may keep this a running list and when I run across other websites (or remember more) that may help out with parenting, I’ll add a short review on here. In the meantime, if you have any you think I should know about by all means, leave a comment.

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Posted in Blogosphere, Online Publishing, Online community, Web 2.0, Web 2.0 for parents, WordPress | No Comments »

The vertical world of web 2.0: The only way to go is up.

April 4th, 2008

It would be damn near impossible not to notice that there seems to be a trend in social media networks. At this point, I can’t decide if it’s a trend or a demand but either way it’s everywhere. I’ll admit that I’m a total social network geek. I say that and yet currently I have only about 30 some odd friends in the social networks that I use. To my fellow social network geek that’s considered a poor turnout. Now, you may be reading this all smug thinking, “I’m glad I haven’t fallen prey to these social media traps,” but chances are that you have. For example, do you have a Netflix account? How about Ebay; ever tried that one? And those are some of the pioneers in the web 2.0 world. The point is the web 2.0 world is the fodder of social media networks and honestly it’s hard to avoid. People like to connect and social media networks allow them to tangibly see who they are connecting with. It’s just plain fun!

But there is something new in the cyber air and it’s the “vertical” approach to these social media sites. In this sense “vertical” means niche or narrow. It’s a way to narrow down your audience and target specific individuals. These vertical social media sites are springing up all over the web for movie lovers, baseball fans, healthcare audiences and on and on it goes. It’s a smart thing to do and has proven results.

There is a SEO theory that discusses the long tail of search. Basically it states that the more specific a page or keywords can be the higher yield of pageviews the page will earn. For example, if your website is about Weddings you probably will find that the competition for that keyword is extremely high. You and thousands of other web pages are competing for the “Wedding” search traffic. So to give yourself an edge you would want to put something much more niche like, “Skydiving weddings” or “Seattle skydiving weddings.” That’s the way to focus on the “long tail.” Vertical social media networks should follow the same pattern. The more you can narrow down your audience and gear your SMN to a specific group the less you will have to compete. Many of these vertical SMN are finding that the more vertical they can become the more necessary their members find them.

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