Welcome to Fans of Being a Mom – the 2011 edition. We are excited to officially unveil our new and improved site. This update is much more than just a facelift. Fansofbeingamom.com is now a fully functional community where members have priveleges and can join groups and participate in forum discussions. Best of all, the whole experience is integrated with Facebook – the heart of our community.

We’ve baked a lot of cool functionality into the new site; but made sure we kept things simple. Below is a quick overview and some tips to help you get the most out of the new site. We look forward to your continued feedback. Your input guides everything we do, and we so appreciate hearing from you.

Thanks and definitely let us know any questions you have about the new site!

Jamie & Meredith

OVERVIEW

• Facebook Page: You’ll still be hearing from us a few times a week via our Facebook page – all the great TimeOut stories and Sticky Note Quotes that you love. Thanks so much for Liking and sharing these stories!
• Fans of Being a Mom Profiles: Creating a member profile in our community is as easy as connecting with your Facebook account. Members can join groups, participate in forum discussions, and send private messages to other members.
• Groups: Now you can connect with moms who share your interests, have kids the same age as yours, and even live in the same city. Groups will help you make better connections and help us know which info and stories matter the most to you. Our “ages and stages” groups are already up, but keep your eyes open for location- and interest-based groups. We’ll also be launching sponsored groups that will help you connect to exclusive content, special offers, events, and other fun stuff – for your kids and for you!
• Forums: You moms consistently impress us with your kindness and generosity when it comes to sharing experiences and information. Forums are where you can talk about everything from how to get your toddler to eat vegetables to how to prepare your big kid for grade school and more. Add you two cents to an existing thread, or start your own.
• Likeable Things: Some stuff is just too good to keep to ourselves. Likeable Things are great products, new releases, special deals, exclusive offers, giveaways, contests, events, and even cool people. We’ll share Likeable Things on the blog and also on our Facebook page.

GETTING STARTED

1. Create a member profile: To participate in groups and forums, you need to be a community member. From the new home page, click the “Register” link in the right-hand column. Creating a profile is as simple as connecting with Facebook and filling out a super brief form.
2. Join a Group (or two!): Visit the main Groups page to check out some starter groups we’ve already set up. Joining a group takes just one quick click.
3. Start a conversation: Visit the Forums page to see what people are talking about, or – better yet – get the conversation started by posting your own question or comment.
4. Amp up your profile: For the best Fans of Being a Mom experience, fill out your Expanded Profile. From your profile page, select “Edit Profile,” and then click the “Expanded Profile” button. This is where you can tell us about your specific interests so that we can provide you with the information that’s most relevant to you.

Welcome, good luck, and definitely let us know what you think!