About 5 years ago when I started reading blogs there was a great sense of community among the mommy bloggers. We were moms at home with small children. We were looking for friends and information to help us through those days where we longed for sleep and a nice hot shower. We breathlessly waited for comments and wrote lots of comments to others.

Then we saw the possibility of pay. Could it be? Could we stay at home and make money even if we didn’t have time to shower? We started making our voice known, doing reviews, and looking into ad networks. We got together at conferences to share our information. There we were told that we should have a niche. We should specialize; we should patronize brands; we should become businesswomen.

Big name companies figured out what small companies already knew. Women are more liable to believe a friend than a model on TV. We still had the foundation of community that was fostered when blogs were just online journals and not businesses; and we believed our friends.

Social media exploded and it became a popularity contest. Now we were not making friends; we were collecting numbers. Disclosure was required and it became harder to believe what we read. But friends met at a conference across the country are still more believable than the ad in the Sunday paper.

Along with all the growth came a move to return to our roots; to plain-spoken honesty and integrity. We boo the celebrities that hire someone to write their tweets and praise the ones that personally respond. Gary Vaynerchuk encouraged us to blog our passion with his book “Crush It” and his obvious success. Many have realized that we don’t have to sell out to a company to be important or make money.

Team sites are growing – forums, memberships sites, ning groups, etc. They give busy moms an easier way to connect or grow a site without having to do all the work alone. Companies are wise to have a team. In case one person leaves they won’t lose their place in the online world. The rest of the team keeps working and a new member steps in.

Some companies have huge social media campaigns while others are just figuring out what SEO stands for. The mom bloggers are turning to consultation work because they already know their way around the online world and can help a company avoid pitfalls. That naturally leads to more local oriented sites, and it seems like more and more bloggers are helping local businesses.

There will always be competition, but look at it as a healthy thing and not an enemy. No longer can we have one blog and remain in the game. We have to diversify and be a visible presence on many sites – even have some videos online.

Companies will continue to try to measure the ROI of social media. It’s like trying to measure the affects of the smile you passed on in the grocery store. It could be forgotten in 10 seconds or it could be passed on to brighten the day of many people. No one will know the true results.

Even with all of that, the theme of simplicity is popping up a lot. Many moms that wanted to stay at home were momentarily giddy with the idea of making money and being connected to a big name brand; but after a taste they remember that there was a reason they wanted to stay home. There were reasons they left that type of work to stay home with their family.

No longer are moms just sitting at home, pouring out their thoughts and feelings in posts and comments – and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. It’s just amazing how many more choices there are now. Women are blogging on the go while they represent a company that is several states away. They are doing freelance writing or virtual assistant work. They are forming LLC’s and doing consultations with big and small companies. They are lowering the unemployment rate by supporting their families.

The internet has made it possible for you to reach the stars. Stretch for the one you want. Go for it in 2011!