So, the other day at coffee, I brought up my mummy blog. I might as well been speaking Slovenian. Non capiche.
What’s a mummy blog?” asked one of the mums, a particularly chummy friend of mine who loves veg patches as much as I do.
“It’s a place where mums can share info, write about their experiences, make new friends, stay sane," I said as enthusiastically as I could, but the look on her face said it all. “Why?” was oozing out of her.
Now remember, I live in the heart of the Thames Valley, the tech capital of the UK. Many of these mums either have worked in the IT industry, or have husbands who work in IT industry.
Though mummy blogging is a huge phenomenon in the US, it is just in its infancy in the UK. A study last year by Blogher reported that more than 36 million women participate in "blogosphere" every week, and 15 million women have their own blogs. A growing number of these women are British.
Mummy blogging hasn’t crossed the chasm, or the pond, but that’s not to say there isn’t an active community. You just have to dig around to find it. In the last six months, I’ve made lots of new friends through blogging, including Potty Mummy, Nappy Valley Girl, Part Mummy Part Me, Little Mummy, Jo Beafoix, 21st Century Mummy, Jen at Alpha Mummy, the list goes on…
It is a bit different here -- more cut throat, with a few big egos (and book deals) involved, and lots more “alter ego” blogs with made up satirical content. Though these can be hilariously funny, they miss out on the "the real life" aspect which is blogging's raison d'être. I’ve also noticed most British bloggers are anonymous.
Through my travels in blogosphere I've run into lots of good British mummy blogs and I've complied my list of the Best British Mummy Blogs of 2008 (a PR person’s dream).
Also -- you can keep up with the British mummy blogging community every two weeks with the Best of the British Mummy Bloggers Carnival. Don't let the name fool you -- there are some dads there as well.
The Best British Mummy Blogs 2008 (in alphabetical order...)
If I’ve missed anyone, please let me know. And if you want a ranked list, check this out this list of top 100 UK parent bloggers and if you are a UKparent blogger you are welcome to join our social network British Mummy Bloggers. So, ladies, why do you blog and what do you think about the state of mummy blogging in the UK?
