An Interview with Twittermom Founder, Megan Calhoun

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This post was written by Guest Blogger Christina Lemmey of Multimedia VA.

For anyone who uses the computer for work or play, no doubt you’ve heard the phrase “social media.” This phrase is changing the way people use the internet and with the variety of social media platforms available, it’s incredibly easy to meet other people from across the globe.

Twittermoms is a social media group that is booming since its inception only two months ago and I asked its founder, Megan Calhoun, for some insight about why Twittermoms is so popular and why she started it.

• Why did you start Twittermoms? What did you want to offer to moms that you couldn’t find elsewhere?

As a stay at home mom, you sometimes don’t get enough adult interaction during the day. I found Twitter and became addicted and it was great for connecting with friends, and I noticed a lot of moms on it – but no easy way to learn more about them, or make decisions about who would be really interesting to connect with on Twitter. So I created Twittermoms, a friendly and fun place where moms can connect with each other on a variety of topics ranging from business, motherhood and, of course, Twitter! The membership is made up of America’s most influential moms. They’ve got blogs, followings, opinions, and they’re not afraid to mix it up.

• Were you a fan (or addict) of Twitter prior to founding Twittermoms?

Yes, I was a big fan but sometimes I wanted more in-depth conversations to get to know moms better. Sometimes you need more than 140 characters!

• How did you attract all your Twittermoms? Were you a marketing expert in another life? How many members do you have currently?

There are currently over 4000 members in just over two months! The fact that these moms are all Twitter enthusiasts is unique. 98% of our members are on Twitter, which really multiplies the impact of their voices. So I owe the incredible growth of Twttermoms to the power of word of mouth. These are highly connected, influential moms – and they have serious virtual lungs. One example of that is the Twittermoms Holiday Catalog which was launched on Nov. 10th and immediately we received hundreds of tweets about the catalog in minutes!

• Do you personally keep up with all the activity on the forums or do you have a team who helps you?

I am a one woman show! My hubby helps me with the tech stuff, but other than that it’s just me!

• What kind of time commitment does it take to run a community like this? Is it difficult to balance your work time with your family time?

This is a very new challenge for me going from a full time stay-at-home-mom to a work-at-home mom. It takes a lot more time than you would imagine; I estimate I work six to eight hours a day. I try to do the work in the mornings before the kids get up, during naps times and after bedtime.

• Do you have anything special planned for the holidays at Twittermoms?

On Monday, Nov. 10th Twittermoms launched the world’s first “tweetable” holiday catalog. It features over 500 products, services and blogs from Twittermoms. It’s the first of it’s kind because it integrates Twitter as a distribution channel. There are links to each item’s website and also a link to Twitter so that people can tweet about a certain item they saw in the catalog that they liked. The word spread like wild fire with hundreds of tweets the very first day.

• Can anybody start a social network or do you need special skills/talents?

I used Ning.com as the platform for starting Twittermoms. I highly recommend it because I am technically challenged and Ning made it very easy to use and you can customize your social network.

• What’s your advice for someone who is thinking of starting their own network?

As far as creating a “culture” for a community, I would recommend that the “creators” set the tone and get things started. Then, let go and let the members build the community.

• How do you keep the members active? What makes Twittermoms different from a regular forum on some website?

Twittermoms is different because it offers members a place to find other moms with the same interests so they can follow each other on Twitter. Twitter is a communications tool. It’s a lot of fun. But our members have more in-depth conversations and build different types of relationships on Twittermoms – conversations that just aren’t practical in 140 characters or less. We offer a great place for moms to meet up, find birds of a feather, who then go off and flock together on Twitter. Twittermoms is where connections form and strengthen into friendships. People love it!

Thanks so much to Megan Calhoun for some insights about forming a social media network! If you haven’t yet checked out Twittermoms, go join now! It’s free and you’ll have friends greeting you in just minutes!