About Nadine Silverthorne
Nadine Silverthorne’s love of journaling began in Grade One with the entry, “I am the greatest dancer!” Two babies (and countless diaper changes) later, she has found her home away from home as editor of SweetMama. Don’t miss her humorous bi-weekly accounts of the joys and pains of working while raising them fabulous.
Mom Dot Com
silver spoons canada
(May.18.09)
I'd like to think I'm the Everymom. I have one of each gender of child. I had one via c-section and the second out the other door. I think that aside from my slightly unusual job, we have pretty typical lives for having two kids under 5 and a cat who behaves like a disgruntled teenager.
But then I think about how much time I spend on blogs, Twitter and Facebook -- on the Internet in general -- and I think, "Maybe not every mom is as web-obsessed as I am."
So it was with great interest that I read the recently released results (how's that for alliteration?) of a survey on the online habits of Canadian moms. The limelitePR and urbanmoms.ca survey highlights include:
- 73% of moms receive 4 or more e-newsletters
- 43% of moms consider websites the most trusted, valuable source for accurate & relevant information
- Moms’ community of peers and friends (including online community) overwhelmingly influence moms’ decisions by being the primary source when looking for information and recommendations on products or services.
None of this is earth-shattering of course, but it made me feel a few things:
- I'm not a webernet loving alien mom.
- I'm glad moms like e-newsletters because Sweetmama puts out three a week! (If you haven't signed up, now is a great time!)
- It's kind of cool how women are changing the face of business (and just about everything else) using the Internet.
For example, through Twitter, I found the link to this survey. I am on there periodically throughout the week to post links to cool stuff we've put up here at Sweetmama. While I'm on, I get to chat with other moms who might also be bloggers, writers, entrepreneurs and even competing publications. (I don't have enough room to get into how competing female-run businesses support each other. But I've experienced it first hand since coming to work here and it's amazing!) Women, the social creatures that we are, are connecting online and sharing what they feel strongly about.
Moms are now the most highly sought after group, especially by marketers and PR people, because "the word of mom" goes a long way. It can all be a little daunting (and sometimes makes me feel like I have a big target posted on my head) but after centuries of having nary a voice, I'm also flattered. We have the power to create the world we want to see. While most of that is coming from our purchasing decisions right now (which can lead to great things like an influx of eco-products, or a ban of a chemical from baby bottles), a lot of it is coming from the discussions we are having with our peers. Think about that this week as you go about your business. You have more influence than you think. Use it for good.
