Site Aims to Help Mothers Make Local Connections

June 26, 2007 — -- Social networking sites have stormed the Internet in recent years, bringing connections to former classmates, friends and co-workers as close as a mouse click. But for all of cyberspace's vast offerings, Erica Rubach and Joani Reisen still believed something was missing.

The two women, who met while working at a Philadelphia TV station, bonded over their common challenges as working mothers.

For years, they lived near one another in the Philadelphia area without knowing it, which sparked the idea to connect other mothers and provide local resources through the Web.

Their site,Momspace.com., was born last March.

The creators see Momspace as a utility Web site with social networking components. It's a place where mothers can find information on local businesses and rate them; meet other mothers in the area; find out about area social events and give other women feedback on common motherly issues.

"Really, the idea of Momspace came through necessity," said Rubach, 32. "We wanted to create a place online where women can share space with each other."

Reisen, 41, said that when researching the other sites available, the two women noticed a void. Most of the pages were simply social networking sites, with no added content.

Reisen said she found many sites with national content, but nothing that offered local information on spending money and making dollars for mothers. She said Momspace focuses on localized content and even allows users to share their "favorites" list, so mothers new to the area can see what is available.

"We want to provide a local resource where people could get local information," said Rubach, the mother of 9-year-old Maya and 2-year-old Ally.

The two found a lot of sites catering to moms in niche groups, such as working moms, or the mothers of children who share something in common. Momspace was designed to be a resource for all mothers.

"I think our focus to create a site for moms of all types," she said.

The site, which is free of charge, isn't all child-rearing and relationship advice. It also features automotive, finance and travel information.

"Women have a lot of different functions that they play," Rubach said.

Momspace also allows members to sign up to be a "focus group mom," who give online feedback to affiliated companies. Reisen said the site is really trying to put mothers in touch with businesses that offer products specifically for moms.

Women in the household make more than 80 percent of the purchasing decisions in their homes, and Rubach sees Mompace as a way to help with those decisions.

Rubach and Reisen figured there was one source all mothers would trust for information.

"Moms trust other moms," said Reisen, mother of 6-year-old Adam and 4-year-old Jared.