A Modern Mother

Hmmm, what shall I do now the girls are in school? I know, read an online serial novel!

Ooohhh, how fun! What better way to fill in my time, now that all the girls are all at school, than to be involved with an online serial novel. How cool!

Corduroy Mansions 2 -- The Dog Who Came In From The Cold, by Alexander McCall Smith (best known for the Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency) starts Monday. Sign up, and every weekday over the next 13 weeks a new chapter will be sent to your laptop or iPhone. Did I mention this was free? (thank you The Telegraph).

McCall Smith, who got the idea for digital serial genre while talking to Armistead Maupin (Tales of the City), only writes the first 40 or so chapters and likes to get feedback from his readers before he gets on with the plot. So you really do become part of the story. How Web 2.0!

The state of mummy blogging II

We all know mummy blogging is starting to take off in the UK in a big way.

But how big?

In addition to new British mummy bloggers popping up all the time, the major brands are starting to take notice. In the US, consumer PR revolves around the "mommy" blogger community and of course don't make the mistake of ignoring microblogging Twittermoms.

This weekend I was invited to Dyson (along with Potty Mummy, Bush Mummy, Dulwich Divorcee, 21st Century Mummy and Violet Posy) to take a look at their vacuum cleaners with a challenge to see if we could "break them". 

The state of British mummy blogging and the best ones of 2008!

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.

Is blogging dead? Not on this side of the pond!

First, the Best of the Mommy Bloggers is up on Under the Big Blue Sky.

Check it out, it’s an eclectic mix of stories from the trenches of motherhood.

Second, I read something the other day that is really bugging me.

Is blogging dead?

The debate is raging in blogosphere. Some prominent bloggers have decided to “retire” because, to sum it up, now that blogging has reached mainstream in the US, it’s not cool anymore.

Microblogging, such as Twitter, is now the “in” thing.