(Special)-TheNanaBlogs.com, www.thenanablogs.com, is a new online community created expressly for grandmothers who want to participate in social networking with other grandmothers, as well as blog to stay connected with their families.

It is the brainchild of Teresa Bell Kindred, a retired high school history teacher, author, magazine columnist, 53-year-old mom of five and proud nana of one granddaughter (who was featured in her nanablog, www.NanaHood.com).

"TheNanaBlogs.com is about making blogging safe - and fun - for grandmothers," Kindred said. "The NanaHood neighborhood sounds like a place Mr. Rogers might have lived, but it’s actually an online community for grandmothers and moms to log on and learn about technology, social networking, blogging, arts and crafts, scrapbooking, making Barbie doll clothes, health tips, recipes and much, much more."

The idea for the site came in part from one of Kindred’s magazine columns entitled NanaHood: The Second Half of the Motherhood Journey.

"I noticed there were lots of quality blogs for moms but sites and blogs for grandmothers were few and far between," she said.  "At TheNanaBlogs.com, moms and grandmas can create a blog at no cost and with zero effort."  

Those who don’t consider themselves tech-savvy can turn to a simple step-by-step tutorial that walks them through the process.  On the premise that all questions are good ones, e-mail support is available at no extra cost.

According to CNN, there are now about 1.5 million female Facebook members older than 55 -- roughly a 550 percent increase within the last six months.  By comparison, membership among people younger than 25 grew by less than 20 percent over the same period, Inside Facebook reports.     

"With so many females flocking to sites like Facebook, it just makes sense that a large portion of those women would be grandmothers," Kindred said.  "In that sense, this really is the Nana Generation.  TheNanaBlogs wants to help these women stay connected with their friends and family while staying informed and entertained about issues that interest them.

"Many grandmothers have children and grandchildren who live too far away to drop by for a visit, but with a blog they can share photographs and post as often as they want," she noted.

"Kids like to text, tweet, and use social networks.  If parents and grandparents want to stay in touch with their children and grandchildren, they need to be willing to communicate with them in the medium where they’re most comfortable and that they understand best.  The best part is that it’s so much easier than people think."  

To those who say they don’t have the time, Kindred quotes Scrooge: "Bah, Humbug! If you have five minutes to type a few sentences, you have the time to blog."

Like NanaHood.com, TheNanaBlogs.com is a creation of Teresa Bell Kindred.   Teresa is a wife, mom, author, and proud nanablogger.   Sign up now to get started.