The Times has soft-launched Alpha Mummy, a blog aimed at engendering a community of working and want-to-get-back-to-work mums.

The blog has enlisted some of the Times' leading writers to tackle the 'which school?' and the 'am I losing out to a nanny?' questions for Alpha Mummy, while throwing into the mix viral videos of mums changing nappies with their feet.

Eleanor Mills, Caitlin Moran, Camilla Cavendish, Sarah Vine, and Jennifer Howze are part of the contributing team that editors hope will 'speak to the web' and foster a community of mums.

"It's interesting launching a new blog like Alpha Mummy because you are trying to plan it and think it through without really knowing what it's going to be like because you don't really know what subjects the audience are really going to get interested in," said Tom Whitwell, communities editor of Times Online.

"We may not know the real point of what the site is about for a while. That may not become apparent until it has evolved a bit."

He added: "These things develop under their own steam. I'm quite confident that if you pick your niche sensibly and you have things that make you distinctive, and you listen to the audience, then you will be able to communicate with them.

"But these things don't spring up fully formed... it has to come through organic growth."

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