A work at home mom discusses social media and networking.

As you may know, one of the best social networking sites for moms has been the Digg-like site called Sk*rt. For a little over a year, the ladies over at Sk*rt have been bringing moms the best in news, products, stories and ideas and those moms have voted, commented and contributed in many ways. However, recently, due to some trademarking issues, those fabulous ladies have been forced to make some very big changes to their site; the biggest of these changes being a brand new name for the site, new location and new logo…….

“Much like Saul became Paul. Puffy became Diddy. Prince became an unpronounceable symbol. Sk*rt will now and for ever yonder as far as we can see in the future as we know it be known with a new name. A name that many many many voted for. A name that means giving honor, nods, props and respect to something. A name that looks freaking awesome in its logo form. A name that we now know as Kirtsy.”

What does this mean? In a nutshell….the site is better than ever. Kirtsy is still full of great information, new ideas and wonderful stories and women from all over the world can participate in the various conversations going on throughout the site.

So what’s it like over there? The Kirtsy logo is very much like the Sk*rt logo so you will feel the familiarity right away and the old Sk*rt address goes right to the new Kirtsy address so no worries there. Evidently trademarks and mommy bloggers have been a fairly big topic in the blogosphere as of late and by tapping into the very community that makes their site possible, the three owners, Gabrielle Blair, Laura Mayes, and Laurie Smithwick were able to get things changed over in a timely fashion.

Don’t take my word for it, see for yourself and check out their blog. While you’re at it, raise your skirt and Kirtsy!

Yesterday was Mother’s Day and while families from all over the nation celebrated moms with brunches, flowers and a multitudes of hugs, RevolutionHealth was busy working with a team of public health officials, maternal health experts and consumer representatives to unveil momScore, a brand new interactive tool that presents moms and moms-to-be with relevant, comprehensive data about maternal health in their states. MomScore is the first of its kind, health index community, that provides nationwide state rankings for maternal health; which means, the health of women during pregnancy, during childbirth and postpartum. I believe there needs to be a renewed focus on the health of moms because a mom’s health has a very meaningful impact on the health of the whole family……

“Researchers believe that our rising maternal mortality rate is due to increasing levels of high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes. In addition, growing racial and economic gaps could contribute to existing prenatal care inequalities.”

MomScore has taken into account 10 attributes to determine each state’s rankings and RevolutionHealth has coupled these rankings with expert-led groups on topics ranging from parenting and healthy eating, to losing weight and de-stressing…….

“To determine each state’s ranking, the expert team weighed the attributes and each state was assigned a momScore from 0 to 100. Some states had better access to prenatal care, which is critical to ensuring a healthy delivery and pregnancy. Other areas had better paid leave policy and childcare services, allowing mothers time to bond with their child after giving birth and peace of mind when they return to work. Air quality was another important factor, since mothers and babies are especially sensitive to pollutants.”

The results speak for themselves, a mother’s health has got to become a priority in our nation and RevolutionHealth is using social media to accomplish that goal. Blogs, forums and communities are being used to encourage moms to take action to improve their own health as well as offering discussions on how the online community can improve their individual state’s momScore rankings. It saddens me to see the very nation I live in with maternal, infant and child health goals falling short. My own state, Missouri, ranks a mere 25th out of 51 states ranked. What is one to do? We can start by participating! Debate your state’s score, share your personal story, or respond to the community or simply leave a comment below telling us your thoughts about how momScore can really utilize social media to promote women’s health.

hat tip: MyStarbucks

This guest post comes from Marty Weintraub. Marty is the founding father of the aimClear Blog, and the eighth in my series of Social Media Dads.

Teenage Girls, Social Media & the Pretty Pink Looking Glass
Let me start by saying that I have the best 2 daughters a social media dad could ever ask for. They’re both superlative academically at a very difficult school, accomplished athletes, beautiful young ladies of 12 and 14 and gifted socially. Sure we get our dose of up-your-snoot-daddy teenage angst, even to the point where I feel compelled to share that they’re hurting my feelings. Of course that’s tempered with priceless expressions of their love and dedication to family.

They have their baggage, I have mine and we have some of each others’. Still we’re extremely close in mystical ways that can’t be adequately described with words. Being a father is the most exquisite privilege.

Social Media as an Analogy
Growing up male offers little preparation for understanding the blessed emotional push-me/pull-you of raising teenage girls. *sigh* Luckily my work in social media marketing amongst the MySpace, Youtube, and Facebook pop-cultures has provided serious insight into sociological patterns of both adolescent genders, at least from anthropological vantage point.

The Tao of Being a Social Media Dad
Timeless axioms of social media success hold true when peering into the pretty looking glass lens of raising daughters and I’ve learned a lot about kids from my day gig herding unique visitors. Reciprocally raising 2 teenagers offers incomparable insight into the very wheels of social media.

When dealing with daughters and social media marketing alike, dads are like account managers who manipulate to serve. As parents it’s our responsibility to teach life’s lessons and help guide our children in ways that foster their ability to independently choose their own special direction. Kids need to be told what to do and need to think of it themselves.

Issues arise in teenagers when they don’t quite know what to do and STILL need to think of it themselves. The subtlety involved in helping them to resolution is not much different from the most holistic of social media pitches. Every day aimClear contacts bloggers and “lets them think they thought of it.”

Unselfishness begets mutual support in functional relationships in parenting and blogging alike. The analogy is poignant for me. Sometimes today’s teens are lacking in interpersonal and communicative skills and our challenge is to teach that true love is unconditional while at at same time drawing a line in the sand.

Being a blogger is like the process of unconditionally loving our kids. We give and give and GIVE until there’s sometimes not much more left to give. THEN we thank those who disagree with us for participating in our community…our family if you will.

When diagnosed with lymphoma my daughters Lee and Sylvie were 9 and 11 years old. I swore that day to live until at east 60 years old, to see my precious children graduate from high school and college, independent and stable in this world. Through the healing process and over the years it became perfectly clear: it was not only Lee and Sylvie who needed me …I needed my kids in the worst kind of way. Out of all the monikers assumed during my life, “dad” is the closest thing to “purpose” on this earth that I can find.

The lessons I learn every day at work as a social media marketer help me to understand the delicate balance of give and take. Being a social media dad provides incredible insight into the workings of human nature in a microcosm. I have one very cool life and such beautiful children.

You can follow Marty on Twitter here.

It goes without saying, that social media has become so mainstream that consumers are now demanding it when it comes to retail. Individuals have tapped into online conversations at such a fast pace that businesses are losing money to their competitors if they are not participating in the conversation.

A perfect example of this is the fact that more and more retailers are offering live chat as a way for shoppers to converse with their knowledgeable sales reps…….

“Live chat is basically an instant message between you and the retailer you are shopping with. The agent or sales rep on the other end of the live chat can help you find what you’re looking for or answer questions about sizes, colors, shipping and handling, return policies and a lot more.”

Not only does live chat help meet the human primal need that once drove people to the town square but it gives the consumer a chance to benefit in ways that otherwise might not be possible……..

“One of the most overlooked uses of live chat is to see if there are any free shipping coupons from that retailer. I was recently shopping on the Lands End web site and I didn’t want to pay for shipping. So I asked the live chat agent if there were any Lands End free shipping codes. She said that there wasn’t, but if I signed up for their newsletter she would give me free shipping on my order.”

Not every retailer is set up for live chat but if your favorite store displays the “Live Chat” button, don’t hesitate to use it. There’s no telling what you can get if you just ask for it!

Two of my very favorite bloggers and social media dads have been battling it out to see who would give in first to Twitter Peer Pressure. Matt McGee and Jeff Quipp have finally decided to start conversing in 140 characters or less and are now racing to see who can reach 500 followers the fastest. The winner will get $500 sent to the cause of his choice by the loser.

While both Jeff and Matt are passionate about social media, in their efforts to avoid wasting time on Twitter they may have just found a way to make this very useful tool work for them in the long run……

“It’s no secret that I’ve been trying to be the last person on Twitter for some time now. You may also know that Jeff Quipp (of the Toronto-based agency Search Engine People) was also not on Twitter, and has been challenging me to see who could last the longest without joining.

Well, we’ve put out heads together and have decided to sign up, and raise some money in the process. Here’s the scoop:

1. We’re both putting up $250 for a total of $500 on the line.
2. We’ve both chosen a charity that we like and want to support.
3. We’ve both (finally) signed up for Twitter.
4. Whoever gets 500 followers first is the winner, and all $500 will be donated to that person’s charity.

Essentially, there are no losers in this game and that’s what I love about Jeff and Matt. Each will gain something, whether it be loyal followers or $500 to his favorite charity. Certainly, The African Well Fund, which is Matt’s charity, will benefit by being able to bring clean water to parts of Africa where it doesn’t exist.

And also, the Tuberous Sclerosis Canada, a cause near and dear to Jeff’s heart, could use some financial help as well. The people that suffer from this horrible disease need awareness, support and most of all…a cure.

I am following both Matt and Jeff on Twitter, not necessarily for their causes but because they are awesome guys who care more about others than themselves. Good Luck Guys!

You can follow them both here and here!

This guest post comes from David Harry, aka The Gypsy - David is the founding father of the HuoMah Blog, and the seventh in my series of Social Media Dads.

Lamentations of a wandering Web Gypsy

Hi, my name is Dave, I am an algo-holic - not so sure that I am much more than a social media flirting father; more so than a Social Media Dad. While I have been noted for Sphinning, called a Social Media Ninja; I am but a humble search geek at heart.

And from time to time my own curiosities have lead to muse and investigate the world of social media marketing, but nothing more. Though addicted to Sphinn and I ocassionally Stumble and Twitter, it is rare to see this Gypsy Digg or Mixx it up and I have never bothered to put my Face(book) in (My)Space. Mostly I enjoy socializing with chatter about search… but Social Media Dad? Maybe..

In many ways the lack of social space activity is directly related to me being a father. You see, there was a time last year that I began to understand that my children were spending far too much time looking at the back of my head as the hours melted away. Between the three companies we operate, dozens of websites I manage and time spent networking, there was little in the way of quality time left to nurture and enjoy my children’s growth.

Please stop the ride I want off!!

One thing is for sure, you’re unlikely to catch me at a conference, Twittering my life away nor Stumbling past my children’s youth anytime soon. In the years to come when the teens are upon us and my kids forget what I look like, there will be plenty of time to consume with further ventures and social affairs, but not now.

And so, since I have been tasked with giving advice about social media or endeavours for greatness it is this; be true to yourself. Now and again the ’15 minutes of fame’ may come your way; enjoy it for such that it is. Fleeting and often unsatisfying, little measure of worth. Sometimes it is the quality of your efforts, other times blind faith, neither is worth your soul. Go for the enojyment of others not the adoration of sheep, the journey should find you more fufilled.

If you are participating in the social sphere for personal reasons or as part of your daily grind, remember it is but a small measure and unlikely as important as it is to be a father, husband or child in this life. Healthy, happy and wise are the benchmarks for success in life, the social dramas there but to amuse. Don’t take social spaces too seriously; it is unlikely worth the potential price…

“The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself”. Friedrich Nietzsche - German philosopher (1844 - 1900)

… cya on the trails – Dave

P.S. one can’t be a great father without a great wife…

Follow the Gypsy on Twitter here.