Sure enough as there are hoards of fish in the sea, there are multiplying and endless bloggers in the blogosphere. And just like the sea, the blogosphere is continually changing, being held together by its self imposed rules and regulations . It seems another change is sneaking up upon us. When i first started blogging, it felt so different and most definitely not always in a positive way. Twitter was really taking its stronghold, face book pages were littering the search engines, and bloggers were seething at each other for a taste of the biggest and best review that made their site feel, or atleast look, more important.

I recently posed a question to the MD forum simply asking them..Do you feel the change in the mommy blogging tide? Unsurprisingly the answer was a resounding yes. Whether it be from blog burnout or PR over load, mom bloggers are simply revolutionizing and moving back from the opportunities at their fingertips and finally realizing their time is more valuable then a 2 hour press release write up and the temporary high of the UPS man knocking at the door.

More importantly than the never ending change online into whatever the next fad may be, is the fact that this change is nothing new. Eve from Confessions of a Housewife brought some excellent insight by saying ” I have been blogging on my blog for 4 years and every year or so there are a new batch of bloggers, a new ‘trend’ –last year it was paid posting (PPP, Izea, social spark, PU2B, etc) then everyone (including me lost page rank (went from a 6 to a 0 now at 2) the year before that it was affiliate programs, the year before that it was survey sites and the GPT era (sign up for xxx service trial, get xx money for doing it) LOL All of these trends (INCLUDING product reviews and giveaways) hits hard, then google does something to make it not worth it/ pay decreases / people get burnt out/ etc, and they slowly die until the next big ‘thing’ It is getting annoying to keep switching over, but you gotta go where the money is! LOL I just wonder what the next rave will be! None of the old ‘trends’ actually went away, there is just not ‘as much’ money in them, but that varies with the month, I have seen ‘old trends’ come back with a vengeance before!”

Stacey from Tree Root and Twig followed up with “ I think maybe this is what I’m feeling lately, too – hence my “where’d my social media mojo go?” thread a few days ago.  I think for me personally, it also goes back to the fact that no matter how hard I work or how much “bigger” I get (in baby steps, anyway), the majority of my friends and family still could care less about what I do.  It makes me think of the online world as this big illusion, where we go in circles, talking about the same products, the same bloggers, the same “hot button” issues.  We’re so insular, though, and to many in the “real world,” it doesn’t really matter!  I’ve really taken several paces back in the last few months and realized that I blog to document, express, and connect FIRST, and anything I can develop in a business sense must come second (or third, or fourth…or wherever it needs to be to balance out my actual life!).  I love what Heather said about wanting to blog the kind of stuff she likes to read – so true!  I’m working on bringing those two perspectives – blogger and reader – into closer harmony for myself.”

So is that all it is? Bloggy balance with personal life? Or is it like Kim suggests  (read her article on Bloggy Burnout) when she says “I wonder if this is normal once you’ve been blogging for a year or so.  Like if it is the natural shift of things and newer bloggers come up and take our places.  Is it US that are changing and PR continues to call on NEW bloggers who are willing to do EVERYTHING just like we did once?  Or is the whole thing changing?”

Its true, our blog has been around for a year this month.  Maybe its us changing. After all, we have went from a group blog, to a single blog with a website that includes amazing contributions from bloggers all over the net.  Yet with the exposure that I have on the inside of a larger community rather than just being a single blogger, I have to say that the shift feels very relevant. That maybe as a whole, women are wanting more than just a beat down by negative press, or the same names touted in the media as voices for the entire momosphere, and that maybe, just maybe, they are starting to put a virtual foot down by collectively saying it no longer matters. And where we were begging to be noticed, to prove our importance, we somehow realized this false sense of mattering wasn’t necessary.

What is a community without community.

My thoughts are that women online are like advertisers believe we are, women that gather together to discuss all facets of our life, big and small. Except our rising needs as women are altering more towards friendship and less for the need to stand out amongst our peers. I know that MomDot has been instrumental in assisting countless bloggers on the net in connecting with Public Relations, invitations to blog trips, and sponsorships. But more importantly, we have created a place where bloggers like Kristi from Orange Juice said just today on the forums that ” I have mixed feelings about MomDot. By mixed feelings I mean mixed feeling about telling everyone about it. I have to say I haven’t found such an awesome community since I was pg and I never thought I would again..” Fortunately, her sentiment is shared by countless other bloggers and she is welcomed to the club as another addict in a quite jokingly manor.  But this addict behavior of online life speaks volumes about what women truly want and what they are settling for when its not at their fingertips. With as much time as women spend online, their online lives shouldn’t compete with their offline lives, but rather enhance them. I truly believe that the enhancement comes from a pat on the back, a sharing of a laugh or a vent, and a feeling of a true sense of belonging.

And while I feel the tide changing, I cant help but wonder if its personal. If its feelings of regret from past posts that I could have done better, of leaning too far left when I should have gone right, of someone I let down along the way in my quest to achieve bloggy bliss. What I can say is no matter which way the blogosphere is heading, no matter whether that tide brings in the seaweed or a beach full of sand dollars (or more newbies to love!), that Ill hopefully be ready, able, and a steadfast leader for those that remain a part of our journey.

~Trisha