Parent Hacks admin: BabyCenter Parenting Federation
So it all comes full circle! In 1999, when I was newly pregnant with my first child and busily devouring all the expert advice I could in order to "prepare myself" (quote marks = irony), more often than not I found myself at BabyCenter. BabyCenter's encyclopedic coverage of just about every pregnancy-related topic made it a comforting place to learn about what was happening to my body, and to soothe my anxiety about the upcoming Life Change (capital letters = magnitude of change).
Keep in mind -- this was before Wikipedia redefined encyclopedic, before widespread Google use made the Web effortlessly searchable, and long before Web 2.0 and user-generated content changed the way we interacted with information. BabyCenter was the first place on the Web I called home.
As my kids (and I) grew, I stopped visiting BabyCenter regularly. But I never left completely -- I dropped by to look up facts here and there, and always appreciated its quality, reliable presence.
Imagine my surprise when I visited BabyCenter again, prompted by the news earlier this year that they had acquired one of my favorite parent-related sites, Maya's Mom. They had certainly changed with the times, and I found myself clicking around with newfound interest (and lots of warm fuzzies).
I'm excited to announce that, through a partnership between BabyCenter and FM, Parent Hacks is one of the 14 sites that make up the new BabyCenter Parenting Federation. Your hacks will make their way to the thousands of parents who visit BabyCenter looking for answers...hopefully teaching them that their own storehouse of hard-won parenting knowledge is every bit as worthwhile as the expert advice.
I'll bet you many of those BabyCenter parents are Parenthackers themselves...they just don't know it yet.
Great news, and congratulations! Welcome BabyCenter readers!
Posted by: Pete | 21 November 2007 at 05:05 AM
Congratulations, Asha! I felt the same way about BabyCenter, so it's super cool that you're affiliated.
Posted by: JT | 21 November 2007 at 06:04 AM
I started out there, too. :)
Posted by: hedra | 21 November 2007 at 07:47 AM
That's the first site that we found - even prior to confirming our "Life Change" changer. Really valuable tool.
Congrats on being part of their network!
Posted by: Rob | 21 November 2007 at 07:59 AM
Welcome to the BabyCenter family! We're thrilled to have you on board! Best - Tina
Posted by: Tina Sharkey | 21 November 2007 at 11:41 AM
That's excellent. Congrats! I used them a lot too, when I was first pregnant in 2000.
Posted by: Sue | 24 November 2007 at 05:14 PM
Congrats Asha!
Posted by: RookieMom Heather | 05 December 2007 at 07:57 PM