Archive for the 'Big Group Additions' Category

BigTent Group of the Week: Momologie

Published June 15, 2010 Big Group Additions 5 Comments
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Momologie is “where family life blooms.” Founded by Michele and Gia, personal style experts who first teamed up at Martha Stewart Living, Momologie has launched a BigTent group to help strengthen the community of moms who receive the daily Momologie newsletter.

We got an opportunity to meet with Michele and Gia and find out more about their Momologie adventure:

Q. Tell us about a day in the life of your group. What’s the focus of the Momologie community?

A. The Momologie community on BigTent allows you to connect with other like-minded moms to discuss the latest in style, food, home, beauty, organizing, outdoor living, holidays, parties, travel, family and kids. By joining you are able to post messages, ask questions, find out what other moms think about a particular topic, share photos, write reviews and more.

Q. Why did you switch to BigTent?

A. BigTent’s community platform exists in addition to the editorials in our daily newsletter. We wanted to build a community where we can connect and communicate directly with our readers.

Q. What are your future goals for the group?

A. Our main goal is to grow the group with women who enjoy getting the most out of their family life. We want to share our expertise and hear about what matters to our community, so we can bring the most relevant topics and ideas to life.

Q. You’re two busy, entrepreneurial moms. What are you up to outside of Momologie?

A. Michele and I are busy juggling our daily lives. We are both proud moms of 4-year-old boys. In addition to maintaining the Momologie website and creating all of its content, we oversee our MiGi, a consumer product brand for baby and kids.

We’re used to a hectic schedule, but are always learning new ways to use our time well. It definitely helps that we’ve been business partners for 11 years.

Michelle adds: My husband and I just finished a gut renovation on a house we bought last year. No project ever turns out exactly as planned, but you gain insight from your successes and mistakes along the way.

My son is in preschool and has several activities that he’s involved in — swimming, gymnastics and art. Things are the home front are always changing.

I also started working out again. I don’t really enjoy the process of working out, but I like how I feel afterward and have seen a big improvement in my energy level — a big motivator to keep going!

¤¤¤

We at BigTent wish Momologie best of luck as they add a new community dimension to their Momologie following! Stay up to date with Gia, Michele, and other Momologie moms for free on BigTent: http://www.bigtent.com/groups/momologie

Follow Momologie on Twitter: http://twitter.com/momologie

Follow BigTent on Twitter: http://twitter.com/BigTentGroups

BigTent Group of the Week: Lima Moms Network

Published May 5, 2010 Big Group Additions 2 Comments
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Kristi Lucchese started Lima Moms Network in 2001 to provide support and pool resources among a few of her friends. News of the group spread throughout the town of Lima, Ohio, and today the group has over 350 members.

“It’s like having a whole community in your living room,” says Kristi of the group.

Kristi moved Lima Moms Network to BigTent in 2008, and since then we’ve had the opportunity to learn a little bit more about her and her group:

Q. What does your group like to do for fun?

A. Garage sales and Moms Night Out are popular activities for us. We also post local community events on our calendar.

Q. Why did you switch to BigTent?

A. Before BigTent, we had a lot of members emailing about things they were selling or looking to trade. As our group grew, not everyone wanted to get those emails. BigTent’s Classifieds feature makes it easy for members to buy, sell, and trade things in a separate area. Interested members can subscribe to Classifieds emails for the latest sale updates, while other members can filter out these messages.

Q. What are you up to when you’re not leading Lima Moms Network?

I’m a busy mom of three! I’m the past President of Lima Junior Service League, and I run my own online jewelry business, Princess Designs Online. In my free time, I enjoy reading, reality TV, and Sudoku.

Q. Any future plans for the group?

I’m hoping to form playgroups to provide additional opportunities for members to connect.

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/bigtentgroups

Lose Weight With Laura: Tying it all together with BigTent

Published December 7, 2009 Big Group Additions 1 Comment
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Get ready to get inspired by Laura Allen and her support group, Lose Weight With Laura! An avid writer,  Laura started her group to share her experiences of escaping obesity, and she encourages her readers to do the same.

“People write in their own stories and we hold one another accountable,” says Laura.

Laura reaches over 3,000 fans through multiple channels, including her popular show on BlogTalkRadio. Having just launched on BigTent, our team thought it would be great to connect with Laura and learn more about her and her weight loss journey:

Q: How did your group get started?

A: I’ve lost 73 pounds since 2002, and I started blogging about my triumphs and challenges along the way. I kept getting several personal emails after each of my writings, and I realized that I needed a place for people to connect and share their discoveries on a more collective basis.

Q: Why did you choose BigTent?

A: One night, I was very tired and wrote up an email about my dream virtual support group. It was rather extensive. Someone wrote me back — I think it was Jaine — and said “We can do that.”

I love that you guys return calls. You send follow up emails. You’re like this huge machine that gets behind a dreamer and brings her vision into reality.

With the tools that BigTent offers, I know I can keep growing my group in a sustainable way. I can plan messages to go out in the future, and your system will mail them out for me on time. It means I can get sick, life can happen, but my group will keep going in a comfortable rhythm.

Q: What’s next for your group?

A: I’ve planted the seed of community with BigTent, and I hope we all continue to lose weight and grow together as a lifelong community. I just do not think you can face a giant like this on your own.

I’m also working on a book to compile all the lessons I’ve learned over the years.

Q: When you’re not focused on your support group, what else are you up to?

A: I love domestic life! I graduated from University of Virginia in 2006 and I married my college sweetheart, Anwar. We live in Charlottesville, VA, and have a two-year-old baby girl.

You can read more about Laura’s experiences as an equestrian-turned-weight-loss-blogger in a DailyProgress.com article published earlier this year.

Follow Laura on Twitter: http://twitter.com/LoseWeightLaura

Follow BigTent on Twitter: http://twitter.com/BigTentGroups

Doha Expat Mums and Kids: Growing Very, Very Quickly on BigTent

Published November 18, 2009 Big Group Additions 2 Comments
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Say hello to Doha Expat Mums & Kids (DEMK)! This group unites moms from over 64 countries  – Bangladesh, Ghana, Croatia, Iran, and more. Priding itself on its positive, friendly atmosphere, DEMK requires prospective members to attend one event before joining the group.

“We find that this encourages the idea of DEMK being a true local community, since it’s not something random people can join just by going online,” says Roxanne Davis, founder of the group.

DEMK has only been around for a year. How does it already have 500 members?

Roxanne tells us more.

 

 

Q: So, how did it all start?

A: When I moved to Doha, Qatar, in October 2008, there were individual playgroups here and there throughout the city, but no groups to connect the moms and help them all thrive in this challenging locale. Having been part of a fantastic moms group in Houston (Heights Kids), I decided to start one here.

Though there were many people who were interested in the group, I was also met with a surprising amount of resistance. I was told that no one would show up to the group’s events, no one would help out, etc. These comments really took me aback, and they motivated me to ensure the group was successful.

Q: What do you do to ensure success?

A: We’re extremely busy! Here in Doha, we’ve had to make our own fun. We have an average of three events per day, ranging from coffee mornings to playgroups to walks along the sea. Our group is volunteer-based, so members dive in and organize activities with the attitude of “build it and they will come.”

Our members have organized and/or given tours of the local organic farm, the wholesale market, the abaya souk, the fabric souk and the zoo.

Q: How does BigTent help your group?

Heights Kids transitioned to BigTent in early 2008 and never looked back. When it came time to start Doha Expat Mums & Kids, I didn’t even consider using other platforms — BigTent is positively the best one out there.

Q: Aw, thanks. We’re blushing now. Tell us about you. What else are you up to besides this group?

A: I am the mother of two kids, a 4-year-old son and a 2-year-old daughter. Our family is on our third expatriate posting; previously we lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Melbourne, Australia. My husband works for a large oil company, which keeps us on the go every couple of years or so.

Also, I used to work as a mover and long-haul truck driver for Mayflower and United Van Lines. As such, I can drive a split shift transmission, am fully fluent in trucker lingo, and know the best truckstops for Mexican food.

Q: Now we’re hungry. What are your future goals for the group?

A: DEMK is growing very, very quickly, and it has turned into a full-time job for me and several friends. A new website which will support our own advertising is in the works.

We’re also planning to offer a discount card for sale to members, which will get them better rates at hotels, salons, restaurants, specific events, etc. It’s very exciting to see the labor of my love expand to include income opportunities!

Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/bigtentgroups

How to Shop for Free featured on Good Morning America

Published October 29, 2009 Big Group Additions 6 Comments
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Kathy Spencer shows off her stockpile of toilet paper - all of which she got for free

Congratulations to Kathy Spencer and the How to Shop for Free team! Today, Good Morning America aired a segment where Kathy put her coupon expertise to the test, completing trips to Shaw’s and CVS for mere pennies on the dollar. The Massachusetts mother of four even set a personal best shopping record at Shaw’s.

If you watch closely around the :30 second mark (4:00 minutes remaining), you’ll see a cameo appearance from How to Shop for Free on Kathy’s laptop. Kathy moved her group to BigTent in 2008, and a year later the active online community has grown to nearly 9,000 members and sends hundreds of messages daily.

How to Shop for Free

The Good Morning America clip highlights four of Kathy’s tips for stretching your dollar at the register. To join ongoing discussions about the latest store deals and get advice from an experienced coupon community, be sure to sign up for How to Shop for Free. Also, leave a comment below to give kudos to Kathy!

Cheers,

The BigTent Team

Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bigtentgroups

BigTent welcomes FlyLady and FlyBabies!

Published September 16, 2009 Big Group Additions 66 Comments
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flylady-logoflylady-marla-cilley

A big BigTent welcome goes out to the FlyLady community! Starting today, Wednesday, September 16, BigTent will begin hosting the communications that connect over 500,000 FlyBabies around the world.

FlyLady and her team chose BigTent for its ability to send timed newsletters, and the opportunity to strengthen their community through two-way discussions and organized subgroups.

If you currently receive FlyLady emails, you will continue to receive emails without having to make any changes. Your current email delivery options (daily digest or individual emails), will also be preserved with the switch to BigTent.

If you currently receive FlyLady emails and would like to see how FlyLady is set up on the BigTent Web site, please check your email today for a special invitation to join BigTent. The message will come from “no_reply@lists.bigtent.com”, and we recommend you add this address to your email “Safe List” to ensure delivery. To learn how to update your Safe List, please read our help article.

To join FlyLady as a new member, please visit the FlyLady BigTent page and fill out the form provided.

Welcome to BigTent! We are so excited to have you join us.

Best,

The BigTent team

About BigTent
Big Tent Design, Inc. is where trusted groups connect online.  The free platform for family-friendly organizations strengthens group involvement and simplifies group management. By combining the best of today’s social networking features with group management tools, Big Tent helps real-world communities share, communicate and organize online and in-person. Founded in 2006, the company is headquartered in San Francisco and currently hosts parents groups, PTAs, preschools, clubs and other community groups nationwide. Learn more: https://www.bigtent.com
About Saving Dinner
Saving Dinner’s goal is to bring families back to the dinner table with healthy menu plans, grocery shopping lists and recipes. Leanne Ely, the founder of Saving Dinner, is considered the expert on family cooking and started Saving Dinner by sharing healthy menus with families. Now, tens of thousands of kitchens across the world are busy creating simple, delicious meals with her weekly Menu-Mailers, freezer dinner kits, and best-selling cookbooks, Saving Dinner: The Menus, Recipes and Shopping Lists to Bring Your Family Back to the Table, Saving Dinner the Low Carb Way, Saving Dinner for the Holidays, Saving Dinner the Vegetarian Way and Saving Dinner Basics: How to Cook Even if You Don’t Know How. Learn more about Saving Dinner from their website: http://www.savingdinner.com

About BigTent

BigTent (Big Tent Design, Inc.) is where trusted groups connect online.  The free platform for family-friendly organizations strengthens group involvement and simplifies group management. By combining the best of today’s social networking features with group management tools, Big Tent helps real-world communities share, communicate and organize online and in-person. Founded in 2006, the company is headquartered in San Francisco and currently hosts parents groups, PTAs, preschools, clubs and thousands of other community groups. Learn more at www.bigtent.com.

About FlyLady

Founded in 1999 by Marla Cilley, FlyLady is a mentoring group that uses the “Sidetracked Home Executive” (SHE) system to help members organize their homes and lives. Marla adds humor, spunk, and a dose of common sense to her advice. When members join FlyLady, they receive daily FLYmail with FLYing Lessons around setting up routines, removing clutter, and Finally Loving Yourself. The public is invited to join this group at https://www.bigtent.com/groups/flylady

Meet the queen of coupons on BigTent

Published August 31, 2009 Big Group Additions 32 Comments
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Kathy Spencer grew up with a passion for saving money and finding great deals. Today, the Boxford, Massachusetts, married mother of four shares her savvy with thousands of followers in her BigTent group, How to Shop for Free.

Following a bevy of coverage in WalletPop and other blogs, The Boston Globe,  and a call in segment on Denver radio station Alice 105.9 (click on “Wanna Save HUNDREDS on Groceries? Here’s How…”), consumers have flocked to Kathy’s group in hopes of slashing their grocery bills. After hovering around the 1,500-member mark, How to Shop for Free has welcomed 4,000 new members this month. Way to go, Kathy!

The BigTent team had an opportunity to interview Kathy after she started her BigTent group in July 2008:

Kathy Spencer shows off her stockpile of toilet paper - all of which she got for free

Q. We’d love to know more about you. When you’re not managing How to Shop for Free, what else are you juggling?

A. I have four kids, ages 3 to 18, so life is never dull in my house. I LOVE and I always will love, to save money and find great deals. I also run an Ebay store, which has enabled me to dress my kids in designer clothes like Limited Too and Baby Gap for free, and I can help others do the same.

Q. Why did you switch from Yahoo! to BigTent?

A. Our group talks about so many different stores and subjects, it was challenging to keep things organized by categories. BigTent has been such a huge time saver, and the group runs so much smoother now. I love it!

Q. What makes your group unique?

A. We do group meetups where we all meet to exchange coupons. Then we help newbies get through the grocery store, with a cart of super-cheap goods.

Our group chat also has a language of its own, with our talk of cats, Ecbs, onyo’s, tearpads, and blinkies. There’s also an imaginary friend, KWIM. Most newbies think we are nuts, but within no time they’re sharing coupon codes — and mentioning KWIM.

Q. Why does it cost $1 to join the group?

A. The fee is just there to make sure we build an active community that keeps out spammers and is full of people who really want to learn the secrets to coupons.

Q. What are your future hopes and plans for the group?

A. I would like to focus more on charity work with the group. We all have large stockpiles of items, and many members already donate to family, friends, churches and soup kitchens. I know we could do more as group.

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/bigtentgroups

BigTent had a blast at BlogHer

Published July 31, 2009 Big Group Additions , Big Thoughts Leave a Comment
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Over 1,500 bloggers ventured to Chicago last week for BlogHer ’09. Donna Novitsky, BigTent CEO, and I were thrilled to be part of this record attendance crowd! We learned about the latest trends of business and blogging, and met with mom bloggers and the throngs of advertisers interested in reaching their community. For an extra dose of BlogHer buzz, we also joined the three-day unfolding of events on Twitter.

BlogHer

A great opening keynote conversation with Lisa Stone (one of BlogHer’s founders), Tina Brown (Founder and EIC, The Daily Beast), Donna Byrd (Publisher, TheRoot.com), and Ilene Chaiken (executive producer of The L Word), set an energizing tone for the event. It was uplifting to hear how each woman has brought her successful, offline media career into the social media world.

BlogHer then gave participants a chance to explore every niche of blogging imaginable. Sessions ranged from WordPress geek labs, a personal favorite of mine, to discussions on changing FTC guidelines for bloggers.

In the thick of Tweeting, crowds, and flashy swag filling every corner of the Sheraton Chicago, Donna and I enjoyed catching up with some of our friends and leaders of groups on BigTent, including Silicon Valley Moms Group and Manic Mommies.

The parties, which included unicorn cake*, weren’t bad either.

BigTent is excited about the role we can play in helping bloggers evolve their conversations with readers and build strong communities. See you in New York in 2010!

Best,

Caroline & the BigTent team

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/bigtentgroups

*unicorn cake:

unicorn cake at BlogHer 09

BigTent groups make headlines

Published March 3, 2009 Big Group Additions Leave a Comment

Everyone at BigTent is very proud of the news coverage our groups have received in the past week! From feature stories about neighborhood crime watch groups in California and Maryland, to an article in Qatar’s best-selling English newspaper profiling an international expat/mum’s group in Doha, BigTent really is everywhere!

In no particular order, check out all this great news about some of our groups:

East Deer Park Neighborhood Watch Group in Gaithersburg, Maryland – leader Gail Norris

Fremont Neighborhood Watch Group in Fremont, CA, *and* Neighborhood Leadership Collaborative – leader Philippa Slayton

Doha Expat Mums and Kids in Doha, Qatar – leader Roxanne Piper

Any groups out there interested in brainstorming ways to get your story out to the media? How has using BigTent improved your group? How has BigTent changed your life?  Let us know. Your success is our success.

Thanks,
Caroline (cbarlerin@bigtent.com) and the BigTent team

Saving Dinner Launching on BigTent

Published February 12, 2009 Big Group Additions 18 Comments
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Saving Dinner

Update: Here’s a link to the Saving Dinner group on BigTent: https://www.bigtent.com/groups/savingdinner

We’re excited to announce that beginning February 27th, BigTent will be Saving Dinner’s new online community!

Saving Dinner is making the switch to BigTent so they can deliver their newsletters more efficiently, and to take advantage of BigTent’s robust online community tools.

If you’re already receiving newsletters from Saving Dinner, here’s what you need to know:

  1. Your Saving Dinner newsletters will continue to get delivered without you having to lift a finger.
  2. On February 26th you will receive an invitation to activate your account on BigTent. You do not need to activate your account to continue receiving your newsletters. However, activating your account will allow you to change your subscription settings and participate in the “soon-to-be-launched” Saving Dinner community. (Add no_reply@lists.bigtent.com to your email safe list. This is the email address that the invitation will be sent from.)
  3. On February 27th the Saving Dinner Newsletters will begin being sent from the Saving Dinner BigTent community. The newsletter sender email address will still be LeanneEly@savingdinner.com.

That’s it!

If you have any questions about Saving Dinner’s switch to BigTent or questions about activating your account – feel free to send us an email at support@bigtent.com.

BigTent also has a very strict privacy policy and does not sell, rent or give user information to third parties. Go here (https://www.bigtent.com/privacy) to learn more about BigTent’s privacy policy.

We look forward to the upcoming launch.

- The BigTent Team

About BigTent
Big Tent Design, Inc. is where trusted groups connect online.  The free platform for family-friendly organizations strengthens group involvement and simplifies group management. By combining the best of today’s social networking features with group management tools, Big Tent helps real-world communities share, communicate and organize online and in-person. Founded in 2006, the company is headquartered in San Francisco and currently hosts parents groups, PTAs, preschools, clubs and other community groups nationwide. Learn more: https://www.bigtent.com

About Saving Dinner
Saving Dinner’s goal is to bring families back to the dinner table with healthy menu plans, grocery shopping lists and recipes. Leanne Ely, the founder of Saving Dinner, is considered the expert on family cooking and started Saving Dinner by sharing healthy menus with families. Now, tens of thousands of kitchens across the world are busy creating simple, delicious meals with her weekly Menu-Mailers, freezer dinner kits, and best-selling cookbooks, Saving Dinner: The Menus, Recipes and Shopping Lists to Bring Your Family Back to the Table, Saving Dinner the Low Carb Way, Saving Dinner for the Holidays, Saving Dinner the Vegetarian Way and Saving Dinner Basics: How to Cook Even if You Don’t Know How. Learn more about Saving Dinner from their website: http://www.savingdinner.com

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