Karen Speed, like many women around the world, has a Facebook page where she uploads pictures of herself and her three sons. But when this Canadian woman recently tried to log in to her account, she was surprised to find out she had been suspended for inappropriate use.

“I was kind of confused,” said Karen Speed, whose boys are 20 months, four and nine. Soon, she received emails from Facebook warning that she would be banned from the social networking site if she did not remove photographs containing nudity. The site’s administrator removed an offending photo in demonstration—one in which she was breastfeeding her son. Originally, Speed created the page expressly for the purpose of providing nursing support (she does this locally, as well). But to underscore their seriousness, Facebook also deleted her online nursing help and contacts.

Facebook explicitly states that they do not allow pictures that show “nudity, drug use or other obscene content.” They defend their decision by noting that photos of nursing mothers are allowed, as long as they do not contain nudity, which is a violation of the agreement all users “check” when signing up in the first place. In other words, you can see a baby at its mothers breast, as long as you can’t see the breast itself. For what it’s worth, MySpace does the same thing—delete “obscene” breastfeeding shots.

Not surprisingly, Facebook’s decision has drawn a mob of angry moms. In response to Facebook’s stance, and in support of Karen Speed, a new breastfeeding petition group has emerged, called “Hey Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene!” At the time I looked at the page, the group had 62,937 members. On the front page of the site, the group’s moderator asks, “What about a baby breastfeeding is obscene?” and requests that Facebook allow all breastfeeding shots. Self-described ‘lactivists‘ have uploaded hundreds of nursing shots.

So far, they haven’t changed any administrator’s mind. In an effort to call attention to their request and to protest what they deem as discrimination, oppression and injustice, the group is planning an “event”. On a new page called “M.I.L.C.” (Mothers International Lactation Campaign), coordinators are planning a full-frontal breastfeeding photo campaign, as well as real life nurse-ins. I suppose they feel that by bombarding Facebook with photos they don’t allow, they will change the site’s policy.

I am a breastfeeding mom. I do support (and occasionally practice) nursing a baby in public. I have a Facebook page with pictures of my kids. My husband has taken a few pictures of me feeding babies. But I never let him take pictures of, nor do I ever intentionally expose, the unlatched nipple. And I wouldn’t upload any of them to the internet, simply because there are some people I don’t want viewing my chest. I think that a site like Facebook, which tries diligently to keep their pages decent, needs to draw a hard line somewhere. They say no exposed breasts—for obvious reasons. If a member reports a violating photograph, the administrators take it down within an hour.

Now, most of use would say nursing shots are a different animal than a drunken shirt-raising shot, but it’s just more realistic for such a huge organization like this to say they don’t have time to make individual decisions. No boobs. I’m OK with that. I don’t really want to see someone else’s breasts, anyway. I don’t think it’s obscene, but it is unnecessary.

I know many of you breastfeed. Would you (or will you) participate in this campaign? Even if you don’t nurse or don’t want to expose yourself, what do you think about Facebook’s policy?

I remember one particularly difficult holiday season when my ex and I had both lost our jobs and found out that we would have to move from the place we were renting. This would have been hard enough to handle, but the fact that we had 4 children and that the holidays were approaching made the situation even more desperate.

That year, the Salvation Army helped us out financially and they also bought the kids Christmas gifts. I felt very humbled by the whole thing, and yet so very grateful too.

This year, when we were shopping, I saw the familiar red kettle at our local Walmart. The Salvation Army worker standing at the kettle was singing his own jazzed up version of the Christmas carols and ringing the bell loudly. My son stopped and clapped and danced alongside the kettle for a while! I gave him some change to put in the kettle and he was so thrilled! The man stopped his singing and said, ?God bless you child. Have a most wonderful Christmas.? Then he went back to singing and ringing his bell, and we continued on to the store.

I was surprised to learn that the Salvation Army is also using other methods to boost donations. In Atlanta, GA and Columbus, OH, donors can use cell phones to text $5 to the Salvation Army. Text the letters TSA to 90999 in Atlanta; in Columbus, text KETTLE to 90999.

The Online Red Kettle program allows anyone to set up a virtual kettle on their website and gather donations from friend, family, and website visitors. Facebook members can add widgets to their pages to solicit donations too. You can also follow the Red Kettle Campaign progress on Twitter. Of course, you can always go old school and donate in person like we did.

In 2007, the Salvation Army helped 29 million people in the United States alone with over $118 million it received from the Red Kettle Campaign. This year, requests for help have increased and officials are hoping to be able to help as many people as possible.

Do you think using social networking like Twitter and Facebook is a good way to increase donations? Would you donate via these methods? Have you every donated to a cause via texting?

If you’re anything like me, you probably spend some time perusing the various social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook. I’ve rekindled so many friendships using MySpace and I’ve found Facebook to be great for career contacts. In general, I find both sites to be pretty addictive and a lot of fun.

Guess what? Babies Online is on both MySpace and Facebook. You can add Babies Online as a friend and join the group both with both social networking sites. On the MySpace page I particularly like the feature that displays some of the latest Babies Online Blog posts. Now that’s cool.

Here are the links you need to get started:

• Babies Online’s Official MySpace Page

• Babies Online’s Official MySpace Group

• Babies Online’s Official Facebook Page

• Babies Online’s Official Facebook Group

I love social networking. Where else can you become friends with your favorite websites while also searching for your high school sweetheart?

Hope to see you soon!

Last night I was playing around in my Facebook account and thought it’d be fun to start a BabiesOnline Moms Group. Come join us at Facebook by following this link or searching groups for Babies Online).

Not familiar with Facebook? You should check out about.com’s Facebook Dos and Don’ts page and then create your account!