A couple of years ago my son went to a New Media conference called South by Southwest Interactive or SXSWI as it's called by those in the know. The conference takes place every year in Austin, TX. In case you haven't heard, Austin is "weird" and proud of it. You can buy shirts that say "Keep Austin Weird" and I'm not making this up. So I think that's why they meet there. Anyway, I usually keep up with him by exchanging email and reading his blog. That's motherhood in the 21st century. His blog said that he would not be checking email while at the conference, but that he would be available on Twitter. Oh, great. Just about the time I thought I had learned enough about social media to get me by in most situations, here comes another thing. I got a Twitter account so I could follow him at SXSWI. "Following" someone on Twitter means that you can view their short (140 characters) posts and if they so choose, they can view yours. I further embarrassed my grown son by signing up with the screen name "wadesmom" so everyone in his inner circle knew that his mother was checking up on him. I followed Wade through the conference and then started following a few of the more interesting people on his list. Then, much to my surprise, some of them started following me back! I was feeling pretty important until I found out that some Twitterers (I call them Twits) have their accounts set up to automatically follow anyone who signs up to follow them, so I guess Barack Obama didn't say, "Hey look, it's Wade's Mom; she's so cool." I was crushed.

So now I have my own little circle of Twitter friends, and I've become quite fond of them. There is Deb Puchalla, Editor in Chief at Martha Stewart's Everyday Food. Erin Kotecki Vest posts as The Queen of Spain and she has podcasts called "inquisitions". Aliza Sherman is a legend on the Internet. She is the original Cybergrrl. Now she lives in Alaska, but I don't think she's all that crazy about it. Last week her baby was running a fever and the advice was flowing in from moms all over the country. The Stirrup Queen blogs about the emotional roller coaster of infertility tests and treatments. I've been there and done that, so I totally relate. I have to thank one of my favorite authors and speakers, Dan Pink, for introducing me to two fabulous women, Franke James and Gretchen Rubin. Franke's "green" blog is not only entertaining, it's visually stimulating because she is a fabulous illustrator. Gretchen's Happiness Project is a joy to read. SoCalMom was my first Twitter friend. I can't even remember how we "met". Her name is Donna Schwartz Mills and she blogs about being a mom over 50. I say, "Better her than me!"

Now I'm hooked. Every morning after I check my email, I check Twitter. I worry when my girlfriends aren't posting - where could they be? Is everything all right? Did anyone hear from Aliza; how is the baby? I can't wait to read Gretchen's regular Wednesday post and happiness tip. And, of course, there is the awesomely talented and irreverent Heather Armstrong and her popular blog Dooce.com. Her readers expect something funny or poignant every single day, and she rarely disappoints. A lot of these women gathered in San Francisco last month for the BlogHer conference. I was so jealous. When they asked for votes about locations for next year,  I said "Please, please come to Vegas." Wherever they meet, I'm hoping to be there. Next month is the second Blog World Expo and it is here in Vegas. I went last year and tried to act like I understood what everyone was talking about. This year I can at least appear to be somewhat knowledgeable and I can say "why yes, I have a blog and of course I'm on Twitter". Maybe I will meet some of my online Girlfriends. Will they be like I imagined? Will they be shocked to learn that I'm old enough to be their mother? I could hide under the cloak of anonymity - one thing I've never posted on Twitter is my picture!