Community of believers. Community service. Living community. Community center.
With the help of the Internet, a new kind of community is quickly emerging, no longer confining community to proximity.
An e-community called "mommy bloggers" has taken over cyber space.
From the east coast to the west coast and everywhere in between, moms are logging on and creating blog sites to share photos, give tips on the best way to handle "kid problems" and talk about their day-to-day life with anyone willing to read.
There are plenty of willing blog readers and writers out there, and Iowa moms are no exception. Sites like iowamoms.com or themomblogs.com allow moms to create, find, read and connect with mom blogs from all over the state.
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Stefanie Kramer of Earling works full time as the senior vice president of retail at the Shelby County State Bank in Harlan and maintains a blog on the side.
Originally, she wanted to create a "how to" blog on balancing a career with a family life. However, it has evolved into a mommy blog with funny anecdotes about life as a mom and stories about her children and husband from her every day life.
"Everyone is trying to be that perfect mom and have the perfect career," Kramer said. "But it just doesn't happen that way."
Humor is found in many of her stories involving her family, and many moms find themselves relating.
She credits the popularity of mom blogs to the way women were created.
"Women are social creatures by nature," Kramer said. "We find it almost therapeutic to relate with others."
Kramer carries a notebook in her purse that she fills with conversations her kids have or ideas that pop into her head throughout the day. Although hard pressed to find time, she attempts to write three posts a week, usually in the evening when her two children settle in for bed.
"Finding time to write and blog can definitely be a challenge," said Kramer. "It really ends up being a matter of letting a few things go, like housekeeping."
Kramer has an 11-year-old daughter, Alex, and a 6-year-old son, Cole. Both know their mom writes about them on her blog, and while Cole believes himself famous for his "online fame," Alex reads it to make sure nothing will bring embarrassment to her soon-to-be-teenage image.
"It's cool and very funny," Alex said. "Sometimes it's good to be on it, but other times I wish she wouldn't write about me."
Many of Kramer's posts are stories of her sincere attempts to help her children become the best people they can be in life. However, like most parents, her efforts, at times, fall short.
"Sometimes our best intentions as parents backfire," Kramer said. "My blogs are about life; we as parents are not always perfect, and it's OK."
Wendy Crumbo, author of her own blog, www.aniowamom.com, created iowamoms.com to bring the mothers (and fathers) of Iowa together in an online community where they can support one another, give or request advice and share helpful information while raising children to become Iowa's future.
"It's a site where Iowa moms (and dads) gather," Crumbo said. "We have several contributors who write for the site in a variety of categories."
Visitors to the site are welcomed and encouraged to comment on these articles. Many times, discussions take place. A calendar of events listing the happenings in specific areas and categories make it easy for visitors to find fun things to do in their town.
"Although iowamoms.com is in the beginning stages," Crumbo said, "it will be the 'place to be' in the world of 'Iowa Internet.'"
Iowa businesses can list their information as well as share any coupons or special offers they may have under the business directory.
"I always encourage our parents to support Iowa businesses when purchasing items they are in need of," Crumbo said.
Google has discovered the mommy blog craze and has utilized them to the fullest. The company created AdSense, an advertisement serving program and revenue source for a blogger. AdSense automatically crawls the content on a site and delivers ads that are relevant to its audience.
"They match ads to my site's content, and I get paid every time a visitor clicks on them," Kramer said. "I've actually made some money from it."
Like other Internet networking communities such as Myspace and Facebook that started with a more youth-centered focus, the blogging world has expanded its demographics into the Gen-X and baby boomer generations.
"It becomes addicting," Kramer said. "Besides posting to my own, there are a few blogs I am a faithful reader of."
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