The Mumsnet story: how to engage with online communities

During a nine-hour flight from London to Florida, Justine Roberts was beginning to panic. As she and her husband dashed around the plane trying to alleviate their 1-year-old-twins from an untimely malady (diarrhea) while dealing with a shortage of nappies it was beginning to dawn on Roberts that she may have severely miscalculated their first family vacation. Once they settled in to their under-staffed and over-priced beach resort, tempers were running high. This self-proclaimed “family-friendly” destination was proving to be anything but. It got Roberts wondering: why isn’t there a communal platform for parents to wade through the difficulties of parenting together and to discuss and offer advice on topics such as, say, family holidays? This article by Polis Intern Kate Leisner