Tweet like a mama bird

Heather and I went to the BlogHer ’08 conference this year and I must say that my single biggest takeaway was that Twitter is the next big thing. That very day, I became an addict, installing Twitterberry on my phone and looking at the tiny messages people are posting all day long.

Access it on the web, on your phone, or download a little IM-type program that accepts and displays your tweets. Asha convinced me that Twitter is like being in a coffee shop where you are overhearing a stream of conversation, except that this conversation is one you have opted-in to. You select who you “follow”, from friends to strangers or even non-people. (I follow my local pizza joint to find out what their flavor of the day is. Brilliant!)

On ParentHacks.com, I read the idea to use Twitter as a baby book, documenting milestones as they happen. So, when Scarlett took her first steps at Barnes & Noble on Monday, I looked around to see whose hands I could hug and celebrate with, and when I saw nobody, I turned to my phone. First, I texted my husband and then Twittered her accomplishment. To a bunch of people I barely know (and a small handful that I do know.)

What would be even more interesting for me is if more of my real life friends were on Twitter so that I could have the experience that Bill Braine described at my lunch table at BlogHer: he posted via Twitter that he was at JFK (maybe another airport, some airport regardless) and immediately learned that he had two other friends at that airport. How fun!

These thoughts and more resulted in this list in my head of why I want to introduce more new moms to Twitter.

Five reasons to Twitter for new moms

1. Stay cool. Don’t get stuck in a previous generation! Continue to adopt new technologies or you’ll be as lost as your parents are.
2. Spontaneous meet ups. Get your whole mom’s group on Twitter and keep each other posted on what park you’re headed for, or where you want to get coffee.
3. Documentation. Note some baby milestones and you’ll have an electronic journal of the early days. See Asha’s article for more details.
4. Expression. Have a place to spout off all the little thoughts that pop into your head.
5. Companionship. Even if you are home with a baby all day, you can “hear” the chatter of others and experience their activities, too.

Need someone to follow? Start with us: http://www.twitter.com/rookiemoms

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Whitney

RookieMoms.com co-founder Whitney lives with her husband, son, and daughter in the San Francisco Bay Area where she writes about parenting, crafts, and activities that moms can do with babies in tow. She and Heather also publish 510Families.com, a site for East Bay parents.