Blogger of the Week: The Well Connected Mom

This week’s featured blogger is Lori from The Well Connected Mom.

Tell me a little about yourself and your blog.

I am a SAHM mom of a six year old girl and a 3 year old boy.  They are my pride and joy and remind me to slow down and take a child moment – that’s a moment when you forget about yourself and your schedule, and you live in the moment with your child.  Wow, how often I forget to live in the moment.  After my son started part-time preschool, I decided it was time to dust off one of my old favorite passions – technology. I started The Well Connected Mom to share my passion of technology with other moms.  I noticed a lot of my friends have media enabled phones, but they are not using them as effectively as they could.  The same is true for valuable free websites on the Internet.  So I started my new “jobby” in August of this year to help other moms to understand and use technology more effectively.  I coined the word, “jobby,” because it’s my hope that one day my hobby will be my job.

How did you decide that technology was the right niche for you?

I’ve always heard that you should follow your passion.  So I began to ponder what my passions were.  I remembered way back in sixth grade, I was one of the few who frequently checked out the Popular Science magazine from the school library.  I have always been intrigued by new technology and what the future holds.  Through the years I have enjoyed trying out new gadgets and software.

As a fairly new blogger, what do you find to be the toughest challenge when it comes to blogging?

There are several things that challenge me.  First, although I love technology, I am a consumer of technology — not a developer of it.  So,  it’s been tough working with templates and plug-ins and getting them to respond how I would like on my website.  Certainly having more knowledge about HTML and php would help.  Second, there is more involved than just writing and researching your blog.  There’s templates, plug-ins, affiliate advertising, embedding videos or documents into your site, improving your site for SEO – improved searching, setting up and monitoring statistics, promoting your site, joining and adding comments to community sites (Facebook, Twitter, FriendFeed, Twittermoms, Sheblogs.org, etc.).  Then of course, I love keeping up with the latest social media techniques and my favorite mommy blogs like An Island Life, MummyDeals.org, etc.

What’s your favorite product that you’ve reviewed and why? What would your kids’ picks be?

The favorite product I reviewed was Windows 7.  In fact, I am in the process of writing a series of articles on Windows 7 and why it’s worth the upgrade.  It has greatly enhanced my ability to upload my pictures and videos, store them and tag them easily, and view them in great slide shows with just a few clicks.  My daughter’s favorite product would be the V-Tech Bugsby Reading System.  It’s less bulky than a Leap Frog and she loves reading along with her Bugsby pen.

What do you like to do in your free time, when you’re not trying out the newest gadgets or chasing after your two kids?

Hmmm, if you take those two loves out of the picture, there’s little time for much else.  I love spending time with my husband.  We enjoy doing things together and we seldom get time to ourselves.  Our latest hobby?  Rockband 2!

Thank you to Lori for sharing her story with us! Please visit The Well Connected Mom to read all about her thoughts on the new Windows 7 and more interesting technology.

If you have a blog and would like to possibly be featured here, please let us know by filling out the contact form above. We look forward to hearing from you!