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....