I have been online in one way or another since 1990.  I had a website in 1995 and started blogging shortly after that.  (Of course, back in the '90's it was referred to as online journaling.)  The gift that online writing gave me was invaluable to me when my children were young.  I found my salvation during those sleepless nights and never-ending days through online communities.

When my older boys were young, I found that online communities got me through the roughest of times.  You see, I lived in a neighborhood where the moms fell into two categories: They were either moms to much older children or they never ventured beyond their own home or inner circle of already established friendships.  I was the first in my group of close friends to have children.  I felt lonely and alone.  When I discovered there were other women like me online, I felt as if I had be given an invaluable gift.  We chatted about everything from colic to sleep issues.  We laughed about husbands and sex (or lack thereof), too.  I found a new neighborhood.  We couldn't meet face to face for coffee, but these women became my friends and virtual neighbors.  

Since those early days online communities have come a long way.  Back in the day, many of these communities were self contained. In ways they kept women isolated.  It was the mom and her computer.  Those people were her neighbors. I fell into that and was burned.  My online friends were there when the computer was on but when it was turned off, where did they go?    Today many new communites are setting themselves up to encourage moms to reach out and find local moms to find that support not only online but in their personal world.  I have found some of these amazing communities and have met real, long lasting friends that I meet in real life as well as on the computer screen. Motherhood communities can be a wonderful resources for mothers.

Take for instance the brand new relaunch of one of my favorite mom communities: The Motherhood.  The relaunch was kicked off by celebrity mom Alison Sweeney host of The Biggest Loser and Days of Our Lives. The brain child of founders Cooper Munroe and Emily McKhann, this site is amazing for Moms who want to connect using every mode of technology they have at their disposal.  No longer just a community of merely written posts and comments, the interaction has been kicked up a notch.  You can connect to this site from your computer, your cell phone or email.  From posting pictures and videos to leaving a voice message or post from your phone as well as text messages posted to your favorite circles. 

Emily and Cooper describe The Motherhood in these words: 

Since time began mothers have turned to each other for just about everything.

Now,
with The Motherhood, mothers can talk, listen, be there for each other
and get awesome ideas and help, whenever you have the time and from
wherever you are.

Circles, our version of conversation groups, are the heart of The Motherhood.

Think
circling the wagons, coming full circle, circle of friends, inner
circle, circle of life, winners' circle, sewing circles - you get the
idea.

Whatever you might need from a circle of mothers -
a laugh, a shoulder, advice, information, understanding - you can find
it here.

I had fun creating my own circle and circles that I found of interest to me as well as setting up my own home page that I can add my personal (and random) thoughts. It is truly a multi-media mom centered community that reaches moms in all stages of motherhood and all walks of life.

There are also sites that have a more specific focus geared towards moms.  Sites such as Work It, Mom! which is aimed at working mothers.   This site bills itself as a site geared towards working moms.  I know many working women who have found this site very beneficial to them.  From articles on how to manage finances, wardrobe choices for the office place, working from home as well as balancing work and family life.  The site is narrow in its focus in that it is geared towards working moms, but many women want to find sites where they feel they can relate to the focus.  In this busy world, a narrow focus is beneficial to busy moms.

Then of course we have the mom bloggers and their communities.  One of those communities is the Mom Bloggers Club.  With so many mom blogging, many of them seek out the familiarity of other women who are mom bloggers.

The Mom Bloggers Club is one of the largest social networks for mom
bloggers. With over 1600 members, the Mom Bloggers Club is a place
where moms who blog converge to talk about the latest trends in
blogging and support each other in their blogging endeavors. Moms
can find everything here from discussions about RSS feeds and
sidebar widgets to parenting advice and giveaways.

This site is a great source for parenting advice, blogging advice and community for mom bloggers. This site focuses on the issues of mom bloggers such as how to avoid blogger burnout and how to drive more traffic to your blog.  This community is a fantastic resource for mom bloggers who want to connect, learn and network with other mom bloggers.

However, with all of these communities popping up, I have to ask:  Are modern moms using online communities to replace real life communities?  Some may say having every possible source of support just a text post away is keeping moms more isoloated than ever before.  Without the need to reach out to moms in your neighborhood, why should you try to meet them?  

On the other hand the argument can be made that online communities are not isolating these moms but are in fact helping them to meet other moms in their area that have similar interests they might not have found if they had not found them through an online community.   

Take the sites listed above.  The Motherhood has local circles for local cities where moms can connect in many ways.  Work It, Mom! has a section where you can search for members by their location.  The Mom Bloggers Club has groups that are listed by geographical locations.  Through these sites some moms may be able to find that friend that will be with them through thick and thin by using these online sites.

But again, I ask you:  Are we isolating ourselves online or bringing ourselves closer to one another by using an online medium?

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For more online mom centered sites visit the following:

Mom Junction

Cafe Mom

MothersClick

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Contirbuting Editor (Mommy & Family) Jennifer Satterwhite also writes at Mommy Needs Coffee and Parenting.