blogging

If everybody gets 15 minutes of fame, do mamas who blog for their children get 30? With moms and dads tweeting, blogging, and updating their Facebook statuses about their lil ones around the clock, many of the sites look more like parenting outlets than the social networking spaces they were in their early days. Seventy-five percent of LilSugar readers believe it is OK to blog about their children, telling anecdotes about their daily activities and posting photos for friends, family, and strangers to browse.

Our fellow PTA moms aren't the only ones doing so, either. Celebrities like Denise Richards, Brooke Burke, and Lisa Rinna spend a significant amount of time online — posting cell phone pictures of their kids, asking for parenting advice, and doling out advice of their own.

What's next? Some parents are even taking it further, blogging and tweeting in the voice of their tots, taking on their personas, and sharing their children's supposed thoughts. A Seattle mom-to-be is even tweeting from her unborn child's point of view. Do you think it's cute when adults blog from their children's point of view, or a bit over the top?

Want to talk pregnancy with other expectant mamas? Get the conversation started in the Pregnancy Posse group!

In the movie Motherhood, which opens today, Uma Thurman plays a multitasking stay-at-home mom trying to raise two kiddos and keep up her passion for writing. Her busy schedule of feedings, cleaning, meal making, and party planning means she has to sneak short moments of computer time in wherever she can. She blogs in 10-minute increments at her desk while baby plays, at the playground, and even in the stairwell of her building.

I'm not a mom, but I can relate to whipping out my laptop in usual places (you know, the car, the laundromat, the camping ground) in order to get work finished and stay connected. Where won't I blog or log on? The bathroom. Unlike Brooke Shields' character on Lipstick Jungle, the idea of bringing my Mac to the powder room makes me cringe. Where is your no-tech zone?

Director John Hughes, who passed away Thursday at age 59, made a big impact on those of us who grew up watching his films and crushing on his characters. But he made an even bigger impact on Alison Byrne Fields: he was her pen pal.

As she recounts on her blog, We'll Know When We Get There, Fields and Hughes sent letters back and forth between 1985 and 1987, after Alison poured her heart out to Hughes praising The Breakfast Club. Initially, she got a form letter back and wrote Hughes again, chiding him. Find out what happened next.

Posting photos online has pros and cons. Families separated by mountains and seas can share photos and stories instantaneously, but there are hazards to the free space as well. A Massachusetts mother recently discovered her son was being falsely advertised on Craigslist for adoption. A good Samaritan of sorts notified the woman that her kid's photos were being used by a scammer.

Following up on her lead, the curious mom emailed the poster and asked for a picture of the child that they looked to place. Much to her surprise, the mommy was horrified to see her own child staring back at her. Safe in his home, the impostor pulled off his stunt by swiping the picture of the youngster from the family's blog with hopes of collecting a $300 fee to start an adoption process. This is a red flag for the many women sharing their experiences on mommy blogs. Do you openly share photos of your family online?

The Internet gods know that I can't fully function in the morning without surfing my blogs and sippin' my coffee, which is why I'm particularly partial to the I Love You, Blogs and Coffee print from MadeByGirl. At $20 it seems like a steal, plus you can totally start a new tech-print trend, and toss those old Keep Calm and Carry On posters to the curb. And you don't have to be a java drinker to appreciate these works of art. You're more of a tea lover? Well, there's a print for that too.

Since the Twitter whirlwind took the world by storm, I've never felt more connected to some of my friends, colleagues, and favorite celebrities.

Unfortunately, I've noticed that some of my favorite blogs — written by copious tweeters — have had posts fall by the wayside (I'm looking at you, Mindy Kaling).

And it's not just celebs — I've watched the blog posts of my personal friends decease in frequency as their twittering has skyrocketed.

For many it seems the immediacy of Twitter satisfies the need to get your voice out there — not to mention that Twitter gives you the instant gratification that blogging doesn't. You may see a comment or two on a carefully crafted rant about soy milk on your blog, but if you Twitter it, your friends (and random Twitterers) post @ replies to you at rapid-fire pace. It's exhilarating.

Anyway, I miss some of you bloggers. And I need to know: have you been blogging less because you're twittering more?