Meet MommyBits Blogger - Shannan Boyer!

If you are new to social media and blogging then you really need to see all that Shannan Boyer does. Not only is she a wife and mother to two adorable boys (ages 4 & 7), she also works full-time in public relations and has co-founded two websites while also maintaining her funny and enlightening personal blog, MommyBits. I love her tag line, "Documenting Life in the Testosterone Filled Jungle I Call Home". On Mommy Bits, she blogs about her life as a wife and Mom of two boys, the benefits of living in Greater Cincinnati, a great recipe she's made and more. She started Mommy Bits in 2006 because she was "looking to connect with other Moms as well as share news with my family, which at the time, was scattered across the country." I love reading about her family's outings and she participates in a national feature called "Wordless Wednesdays" where she posts pictures of her adventures whether it's photos of the boys, a yummy dinner or a recent outing.

How does a working Mom find the time to keep up with it all? Shannan says, "I write a lot at night after the boys have gone to bed. I also do a lot of writing in the morning before they wake up. When you are living what you are writing about, it comes easy. I am lucky." Her top three recommendations for someone new starting a personal blog are "1) Be passionate about what you write about 2) Be a part of the blogging community, and, 3) Don't be afraid to ask questions, most of the time bloggers are more than happy to help."One thing she wished someone would have told her when she started her blogs is to make sure you purchase a domain name. Shannan had been writing MommyBits for several years before realizing that someone else had been "squatting" on her .com domain. Remember, you can purchase domain names under .com, .net, and .org. The best part of blogging for Shannan is "the community" and the network of friends and colleagues she has engaged with because of social media. Even though the blog world can get a bit competitive, Shannan feels that "the blogosphere is a really big place and there is room for all of us."

In addition to Shannan's personal blog, she's also the co-founder of Cincinnati Women's Bloggers (I'm also a member) and every month CWB has meet-ups where local women bloggers get together to share ideas, learn new tricks of the trade and gather for some social networking as well as hear from some fantastic guest speakers. Shannan along with Laura of Laura's Carbon Footprint and Debba Haupert of Girfriendology, started CWB a year and a half ago to bring together local women bloggers. They initially started with 10 bloggers and now have over 150 on their blog roll (you go girls). Each week they have a new featured blog of the week so you get to read about some really unique, creative and exceptional women. The blogs are always interesting and it's a great way to learn something new. Any woman who is interested in blogging, has a blog, likes to read blogs is welcome to join.

Shannan's latest addition to her blogging resume occurred this summer when she along with Amy of Amy In Ohio and Susan of Working Moms Against Guilt founded Family Friendly Cincinnati. This is a wonderful website resource that has local Moms all throughout the Greater Cincinnati area posting family-friendly things to do, movie recommendations, recipe suggestions and more. It's a great way to stay connected and fully realize all that our amazing city has to offer. Lucky for me and MasonMetu, I get to be a contributor to this wonderful resource.

If you're like me, you may be wondering what blogs Shannan enjoys. Shannan said, "there are so many great blogs around Cincinnati and so many in different niche groups. If I am looking to laugh I read Mommin' It up, Amy in Ohio, or Kaiser Mommy. If I am looking to save money I read Mommy Snacks, The New Frugal Mom or Stretching a Buck. For cooking help I go to Once a Month Mom or $5 Dinners, and for restaurant or wine recommendations I would say Wine Me Dine Me & My Wine Education. I also love Working Moms Against Guilt, Kate's Random Musings and Such a Redkatblonde. See... it's hard. I read a lot of blogs!" Yes, keeping up with all these creative, funny, and enlightening blogs can be a challenge, but it's also very rewarding since there is a blog out there for everyone.

Now, even though you may think that Shannan spends all of her time on the computer, she really does have a life beyond cyberspace. She grew up in a farm town and she wants her boys to experience some of the things she did as a child so they spend a lot of time outdoors. Camping and enjoying Lake Cumberland are some of their favorite things to do as well as visiting the Queen City and doing all the fun family-friendly things it has to offer. Her family is very encouraging of her blogging and her husband is supportive enough to wear a shirt titled, "Mr. Mommy Bits" (ah, must be true love). Her boys get excited when she's snapping pictures of them and they'll ask, "Are you going to blog about this Mom?" Or say, "You should put this on your blog Mom!"

If you'd like to see more about Shannan, please stop by MasonMetu's Women to Watch page and if you want to put a smile on your face, visit MommyBits. Oh, and if blogging isn't enough to keep you busy, check out some of these great women on Twitter: MommyBits is @mommybits, Grilfriendology is @Girfriendology, Laura is @LMDeaton, Amy in Ohio is @AmyInOhio and Susan is @ActionJackson03. You can also find Family Friendly Cincinnati @FamFriendlyCin and Cincinnati Women Bloggers @CinWomanBlogger. Of course, I didn't want to be left off the Twitter train so you can find me @kgoecke. Now, that should keep you busy for awhile.