After reading the Virtual death and how communities are formed through blogs, I decided to find an article related to that subject. I found an article in Time Magazine titled, "The New Family Album". This article discusses a specific type of blog, parental related blogs. This one woman decided to start a blog about her growing family. She wrote posts during her pregnancy and found that most of the people who viewed her little blog were people who were also experiencing the same life changing experience. This article explains how parent related blogs help mothers especially as they are able to vent as well as hear from other mothers who are experiencing the same things with their children. If a mother needs tips on how to get their baby to sleep through the night, they have a community to turn to for advice- a community of mothers and fathers. According to the article, "Pregnancy, childbirth and parenting are times of great personal change and uncertainty, and that enhances our desire to reach out...Blogging helps parents connect in a convenient, efficient and stress-free way without the time and obligation of a face-to-face meeting,"( Time, 2004). Even though these women dont know each other personally, they feel a certain comfort within the community to express their concerns and fears as well as share their accomplishments and happiness. I think a blog is a great way to "meet" like minded people and have the opportunity to get answers to your questions and have a place to turn to when things get rough. Sometimes it easier to talk to strangers online than it is to confide in your own friends and family.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,993832,00.html#ixzz1dSsg7ryF
You make a good point at the end of your post. Sometimes it is a lot easier to chat with strangers online via a blog than it is to talk to your friends or family. Although having children is an amazing event, some women suffer from postpartum depression after giving birth. I am sure they find it extremely comforting to be able to go online and talk to someone else that is going through exactly the same thing especially at that exact moment. With the internet, it is much easier now and more convenient to find a CoP (community or practice). Anyways thanks for such an interesting article.
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