Week 8 Journal

Week 8 Journal

This week, I am reviewing a social media site. The web site I chose, Cafemom.com, is designed as a meeting place for moms. This was the first thing I noticed about the web site when I opened up the page. It is very clear what this this web site is aimed at: connecting mothers. Besides the fact that the site itself is titled Cafemom, the banner underneath the navigation communicates the purpose of the site. In large text is the statement: "Welcome to the Meeting Place for Moms." This is a very understandable statement that summarizes what the web site does. I found this extremely helpful, as it requires no searching or clicking around to discover who this site is aimed at or what it is meant to do. In addition, I like how the website has a search bar in the top right hand corner. This makes it very easy to find a certain article or link one might be looking for. Sites that have a search are automatically ahead of other web sites. Personally, I find I can easily become impatient when looking for something on a web site. With the ability to type in a search, it is much more convenient to find what I am looking for. The last reason why I like this web site is because of it's organization. There is clearly a lot of information being offered through Cafemom.com, but the site is able to group it into larger sections. Underneath the main banner are three large boxes titled: Conversation, Advice, Entertainment. These three boxes are a great way to categorize the information. 

I noticed the advertising that is on this web site. Toys R Us adds are at the top, sides and bottom of the web site. While adds are never pleasant, one can appreciate that these adds at least pertain to the audience. Moms are likely to purchase toys for their children, and therefore Toys R Us is an appropriate store to be advertising it's products. In addition, I noticed how the web site had a segment on Michelle Obama's campaign appearance. This is a very smart inclusion of information. As women, mom's are likely to be interested in the First Lady, the women figure representing our country. This also ties politics into the web site, which many mom's may be interested in but not normally find the time to discuss due to the business of parenthood. 

The one adjustment I would recommend is to combine some of the links at the top of the page under, "in the spotlight." It would make for a less busy navigation, which I think would be beneficial. Not that it is overly crowded, but shortening the number of links could help neaten the navigation up more. Even without this change, I would recommend people go here (and by people I suppose I am automatically talking to mom's). The audience is clearly targeted as mother's, there is no confusion there. And the web site seems to offer some generally interesting and helpful information. If you are a mom and looking to connect with other mom's, Cafemom.com is a great place to go to. As a (hopefully) future mother, I could see myself using this as a potential recourse. So it's got my vote!

http://www.cafemom.com