Family Relationships Magazine is the #72 British parenting blog

Wow, we’ve actually made it on to a “top 100″ list! Thanks to Totsy’s Place for publishing the the first ever Tots100 Index of British Parenting Blogs and Bloggers and for ranking us at number 72.

The ranking is actually based on some pretty nifty online measurements, namely

1. Technorati Authority: number of blogs linking to this blog in the last six months
2. Technorati Inlinks: number of inbound links, excluding self-referring hits
3. Yahoo Inlinks: number of inbound links in last six months (excl self-referring hits)
4. Google Blog Hits: number of posts/links/weblinks in Google
5. Google Hits Recent: number of links from the last 30 days
6. Readers: number of subscribers based on Feedburner and Google Reader
7. HowSociable: the blogger’s visibility outside the blog, measuring activity on sites such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Don’t worry if that’s all gobbledygook to you – basically it’s just a measure of how many people are linking here and interacting with us.

It’s quite an honour to be listed next to a number of fabulous parents who are blogging personally and passionately about their kids and their lives.

The top ten is as follows:

1. Petite Anglaise
2. Wife in the North
3. Jo Beaufoix
4. Alpha Mummy
5. My Boyfriend is a Tw@t
6. Crystal Jigsaw
7. Babyccino
8. A Modern Mother
9. Single Parent Dad
10. Notes from Inside my Head

The press announcement also offers up five tips for being a “Mummy Blogger”

1. Sign up for an account with a blog provider. Blogger is free and simple to use. Typepad and WordPress are a little more complex, but offer more features (for a price).
2. Choose a blog name and write your profile. Think about how much personal information you feel comfortable sharing – you can always remain anonymous.
3. Start writing! A blog is a bit like an online diary, but there are no rules on what you can write about. Recipes, days out, comment on the news – whatever you like. Just make it authentic, and remember to update once a week or more.
4. If you want people to read your blog, make sure you read other people’s blogs. Include links to their work on your blog, and try to leave comments on their blogs. Eventually, people will start to visit and comment on your blog, too.
5. As you settle into the ‘blogosphere’, consider creating a blogroll (a list with links to your favourite blogs) and creating an RSS feed (a simple way of publishing your blog content in a form that people can subscribe to).

So, thanks for compiling the list, Talking Tots.

CALLING ALL FAB MUMS! Search for five real mums to become web celebs on new blog

A national search to find five ordinary mums to become online reality stars of the new social support network site FiveFabMums.com has been launched today. The website will follow the lives of the chosen five for a year as they experience the ups and downs of modern day motherhood, and will launch on MotherÂ’s’ Day, 2nd March 2008.

Sponsored by Tixylix, FiveFabMums.com will be the first website of its kind to give real mums the opportunity to blog their everyday experiences. The five chosen women will blog family life through video diaries, photos and web chat. From teething troubles, nappy nightmares and toddler tantrums to first steps, cute cuddles and teatime triumphs, motherhood will be shown in all its glory for all mums to share.

Having a child is a life-changing experience and adjusting to this new life can be hard; friends, work colleagues and a social life can sometimes feel very far away. FiveFabMums.com recognises that modern mums are increasingly turning to the online community, and aims to provide mums with a place to go for support, advice, friendship and fun without having to leave home.

As well as sharing the highs and lows of the chosen mums other mums can contact the Five Fab Mums with questions and can take part in web interviews. Tips and advice on everyday parenting problems by GPs and midwives also mean that good advice is just a click away. All mums can also use the photo fun section and can adapt fun photos of their little ones to share with friends and family.

To become one of the Five Fab Mums you can apply online at www.tixylix.co.uk by 21st December 2007. Applicants will be shortlisted and notified if successful by 31st December and invited for an all expenses paid trip to London for the final audition weekend on 5th & 6th of January 2008.

Each of the Five Fab Mums will be given a state of the art digital video camera to help them create their blog, and each mum will receive £100 a month paid into their Child’s Trust Fund as a thank you for participating.