For me, Twitter is the greatest lifelong learning tool ever created. Using Twitter I'm able to learn from many of the greatest thinkers of our time. Sometimes I'm even able to discuss ideas with them and ask them questions. I learn about new resources long before anyone else does and am often able to access them quickly and easily electronically. For someone with curiosity, Twitter is the greatest invention ever.
As part of my job I work with organizations that deliver services to moms. So it is only natural that I want to learn everything I can about today's moms. This post is intended to share things I've learned about moms thanks to Twitter. It will be useful for me to pull the information together. I hope it will be useful to you to have it.
White Papers have taken on a totally new identity thanks to technology. I want to start out with one put out by Advertising Age: The New Female Consumer: The Rise of the REAL MOM. Written by Marissa Miley and Ann Mack. I'll give you a few points from the resources I recommend but the idea is for you to get them for yourself. For all of the changes over the last 40 years, mom's are still the "chief operating officer of the home." Many mothers, especially working mothers are time-cruched and stressed. As a result, today's mom's are not beholden to perfection. This report designates the change as from "supermoms to real moms." A real mom is rooted in reality. What this means to those of us working with moms is we have to figure out "new ways to reach a population that rarely has time to sit down to read or watch something without simultaneously doing dsomething else." This report is a must read if you work with moms.
Another White Paper worth including is by Mr Youth and RepNation Media: Millenial Mom 101: Why Millenial Moms are Supplanting College Students as the Most Connected and Technology Dependant Population. With the majority of births today being to Millenial Moms it is critical to learn about this demographic. This is a generation of moms raised on technology. According to this paper:
- They're multi-tech multi-taskers - technology is a way to streamline busy lives.
- They build communities to ease transition - get support and information for life stages from online communities
- They crowdsource decisions - peers are the primary source for advice
- They're masters of overshare - lines between public and private life are blurred.
Razorfish and Cafemom put out a great paper on: Digital Mom. Once you've accepted the fact that moms are connected, this is an excellent description of their use of technology. This is a report you have to read several times and digest slowly.
Here is a summary of a Nielsen Research project: Working Moms Turn To Technology by Jack Loechner. Learn about "Power Moms" in this article. Think of them as master influencers.
I'm not sure there is anywhere you could learn more about moms than at BabyCenter. Here is a list of the reports they have made available:
- Moms and Word of Mouth Marketing
- Moms Today: We Asked the Experts
- Have Kid Need Car
- Dr. Mom
- The Manners Revolution
- 21st Century Mom Report -Media Mom
- 21st Century Mom Report - Social Mom
- 21st Century Mom Report - Mealtime Mom
This article is an interesting read that supports much of what is laid out in the other resources.
That ought to be enough to get you started in understanding today's mom. I hope you find it useful.
