The Beginning

So....this is my first blog post, and I have to admit, I am really not that far in my assignment. I have done some lurking and exploring on the site, and am a little intimidated. The cafemom web site is absolutely HUGE!!!! Anyone can join this site (obviously it is a site specifically for moms). The site allows you to create a profile, including photos of you and your children (which is an ethical issue I may decide to explore further thoughout my ethnography). The site incorporates a multitude of different groups the members can join. These groups range from interest groups, to political groups, to specific mom related groups like "new moms," or "expecting moms," or "moms with 2-year-olds." I plan on looking into the groups that are related to touchy subjects such as "lesbian moms," "Catholic moms," or Muslim moms." I want to look into how the posts made within these groups are filtered and whether there are different ways of filtering throughout different groups with different beliefs. I hope to encounter several moms on the site who belong to many different groups and can give me good insight into how filtering works from group to group on cafemom and whether their statement about people being able to post their opinions without getting filtered on the site, and be prepared because you may not see posts you like on the web site really holds true for all groups. I've got to go for now, but I am expecting to hear from the leader of the Catholic moms group later today, so perhaps I'll post some of her responses to my questions about privacy and filtering! Twin Cities Chica out~!