No, this is not a feeble attempt to one-up all those catbloggers. I’m just noting a story about Yet Another Trend In Blogging.
Baby blogs are fast becoming the new mommy (or daddy) must-have. Like other kinds of blogs, they vary in quality and style, but at their core are oodles of adorable baby pictures, practical parenting advice and such nuggets as “Bobby did the cutest thing today.”
They may have started as a way to keep distant relatives in touch with a new baby in the family, but they often are read by complete strangers, thanks to myriad Web links connecting baby blogs worldwide.
The sites, with names such as Daddyzine and Bloggingmommies, are this generation’s baby books, though many bloggers also scrupulously record every burp, giggle and bottle in book form as well.
Of course, it’s impossible to know how many baby blogs there are, but “they’ve taken off faster than other blogs,” said Clancy Ratliff, who is writing about gender-specific Web logs for her doctoral dissertation at the University of Minnesota.
I actually suggested to Tiffany that we set up a baby blog as an easy way to share pictures, but I’ve been sending out links to uploaded pix via email instead. I may still push for it some day, though the idea of having to explain what an RSS feed is to my parents is a bit daunting. We’ll see.
My parents keep up with the cat pics through my weblog. In fact, I believe my mom will be participating in the 2005 dead pool.
I wonder how many grandparents call the child welfare authorities when they first hear about a baby blog? Especially when they hear, “Mom, Dad, we’re blogging the baby.”
Just a thought.
Have you checked out Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/)? It’s a handy way to share photos online and it supports RSS for those so inclined…I’ve been very pleased with the free service so far.