Baby Showdowns

So....on cafemom today and noticed on my homepage a large forum with a bunch or baby photos on it. The title....Baby Showdown. Very interesting. Moms going at it baby to baby.....who has the cutest kid??? So, I thought I would check it out a little further. There is a best dressed baby showdown, a best smile baby showdown, and a just for fun showdown. I then clicked on the "Show me more" link and ended up on this page with about 100 different showdowns! They range from best home decor to best baby bump to hottest hubby. I wonder, how exactly does this effect the users of the site? Do people get mad if they lose the showdown and then proceed to stop using the site? Would something like a baby showdown turn cafemom into a community of exit? I assume that under certain circumstances it could. While I think this may add a fun competitive element to the site, it really seems unnecessary and could cause more drama than positive fun. However, you are note allowed to make comments on the showdown photos, you can only place your vote, so at least nasty words can't be exchanged between members if things get a little too competitive! Personally, I would not want to participate in the showdown, because I wouldn't want someone to tell me my kid is not as cute as another, or that my baby bump sucks.....do you agree?

Something Interesting...

As I was lurking today, I ran into an aspect of filtering that I had not thought of before. While I still believe this web site does not have a large problem with a lack of participation from its members, there is still a filtering process within the Mental Illness Awareness Group that is used to promote participation. This group has an automatic filter that will boot you out of the group if you have not logged on in the last 30 days. If the automatic filter does in fact boot you from the group, you are allowed to rejoin the group, but you must be an active member if you do decide to rejoin.

The leader of the group sent this awareness message out after getting complaints from the group's "regulars" who began to become annoyed with members simply lurking on the site and not actively participating. This filtering technique goes beyond just content and actually filters out the members at the bottom of the totem pole!

After a few weeks...

Sorry I haven't been posting for a while, school has really picked up!!!

Lately, I have spent a lot of time simply working my way through the many layers of the site, trying to gain insight into how filtering overall effects the participation of the site.

In my observation, one of the things I noticed was the close-knit-nature of the site. Members appear very willing to ask private questions within groups and forums, and members will give open, honest answers. I think this is what makes cafemom such a successful social networking site. Members are really involved and wanting to help each other out. I find that because of the overall "mom" topic of the site, members are even more willing to spend time on others rather than fulfill their own goals. It's really refreshing to see, especially since on so many social networking sites members want to do what will benefit them the most, whether that be receiving posts on their wall, meeting people that they want to, or having others help them in some way shape or form, and that is just not the case on cafemom.

Of all the members I have messaged with in the site, not one of them would say they have had a negative experience on the site. Most, if not all, of my interviewees couldn't even think of an example where they felt negatively toward the site or toward something that occurred on the site. I think from these interviews and observations that cafemom is not a community of exit. Even though children grow up, and perhaps they do not need the sute for advice anymore, the closeness of the site, makes members want to keep visiting to share their stories and advice to try and help other members. And, once they get old enough, they could even join the group cafegrandma, and be right back where they were initially with cafemom.

That's all for now....