Smalltalk: Building a Network for Parents Like You

Ours is a world of social networks. There’s Facebook and Twitter, sure, but it also seems as though we’re moving more toward smaller, more specialized services. While there are a myriad of options for everything from cultivating business contacts to online dating, Smalltalk, GeekMom’s newest sponsor, seeks to create a special place just for parents.

Care.com–a one-stop shop for families searching for housekeepers, tutors, and caregivers–created the Smalltalk mobile app to allow parents to communicate openly about pediatricians and childcare options, share recommendations for local businesses and events, and, ultimately, form their own personal parenting networks.

Smalltalk has all the features you’ve come to expect from mobile sharing services. You can comment on existing posts or begin your own conversations with just a couple of taps, upload and share photos, and, while the app uses your current location to connect you with nearby users, you can easily shift the focus to a different geographic area via an intuitive map interface.

Post are limited to 222 characters to encourage brevity and keep conversations lively, and individual posts can be voted up or down–think Reddit, sans the relentless image macros–to make the most compelling, relevant conversations more visible. Users can keep current on the conversations in which they’re involved via the ever-present “My Topics” tab, and even report posts that break the service’s rules of etiquette by long-tapping the offending entry.

Contributions to Smalltalk conversations are attributed to users via first name and last initial, but a toggle system on the compose screen enables users to switch effortlessly to anonymous mode. This feature provides an additional layer of insulation to foster frank, open discussions, even about difficult topics.

With all the features you want in a simple, sleek interface, Smalltalk has everything the modern parent needs to connect, collaborate, and even occasionally commiserate. All that’s missing is you, so download the free app now!