Vanessa Druckman and I (above) are managing editors of the blog. MJ Tam, who never sleeps, is the official founder, techy and site host. And we have a fabulous group of writers/social media moms on board.In fact, we were happy before, but now that the posts are starting to go up for our "soft launch," look at how excited we are!
I am delighted to be working with Vanessa; lets hope she doesn't quit after she sees these pics.Here's my first post for The Chicago Moms with some background on how this new blog came to be.
{clears throat}
That line from high school chemistry has always stayed with me. Nature abhors a vacuum. Mother Nature doesn't like empty spaces or gaping voids and neither do mombloggers, so when the recent news broke that the Chicago Moms Blog and its sister sites were closing, the conversation quickly turned to ways to keep the sites operating and the community going.
Questions started flying as soon as the news was announced. Concerns were aired. More questions were asked and many of them were left unanswered, perhaps for legal reasons or perhaps because the answers simply didn't exist. There were just too many unknowns.
We bloggers were staring into a void and we didn't like it.
Contingency plans were floated, urls were purchased. (I bought eight last week, though not this one.) Twitter handles were claimed and alumni groups formed. Plans were put into place as though there was no time to wait. Of course there no time to wait, every avid blogger knows a week online is like a month in real life.
Eager for news of the larger community and sorting through the mixed messages about what the future might hold, looking into our shiny monitors like modern day crystal balls, we started talking and planning, just in case. As time passed, again we’re talking speed of Tweet online time, it seemed that the best thing for Chicago’s regional mom blog was to forge ahead.
You see, as days passed, it seemed that even in the unlikely event the entire group was somehow salvaged, we’d be forever fractured. The initial news of the group’s demise came so swiftly and unexpectedly that putting us back together would be like hastily reassembling Humpty Dumpty. Sure, the larger pieces might fit, but the cracks would be visible. Trust and its sister intimacy would be slow to return after such a quick exit.
I believe in the power of women sharing their stories and their lives online. I see what my blog and Twitter friends are achieving personally, professionally and in their communities. I believe we have a tremendous opportunities ahead of us here at TheChicagoMoms.
I believe a strong regional blog is the rising tide that floats all boats. Whether our contributors are writing here with hopes of building a community or brand relationships, whether they are here to play with words or publish a book, I believe good things and exciting times are ahead.
Won’t you join us?
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