{"id":3685,"date":"2016-04-08T06:32:48","date_gmt":"2016-04-08T04:32:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/?p=3685\/"},"modified":"2017-01-20T20:52:12","modified_gmt":"2017-01-20T20:52:12","slug":"the-mum-behind-mums-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/the-mum-behind-mums-world\/","title":{"rendered":"The mum behind mum’s world"},"content":{"rendered":"

It all started with ‘Babylisten’ Lenka Otap”s first website in 2003, a year after the birth of her first child. It later transformed itself into what is known today as morsverden.dk or mum’s world<\/a>, one of the most successful discussion-based websites.<\/p>\n

There were already websites in Denmark, at the time for mothers to discuss their pregnancy, parenting experiences and even getting answered on questions they would have had about their pregnancy. However, they were all very simple, Lenka says. <\/p>\n

“The websites were more like documents. But as a forum for discussion, the websites were not very convenient,” she says.<\/p>\n

Bigger not necessarily better<\/h2>\n

Lenka\u2019s website came in, packed with the then latest features, creating a profile, profile pictures, and discussing with others in the form of a forum, with a signature under what you post. Over the years, Lenka improved her website in various ways, so it became like a Danish version of Reddit, or rather a subreddit only for mothers. But the members have a much stronger bond than most reddit threads. <\/p>\n

Then Lenka decided for a move that went against everything that everyone else was doing.<\/p>\n

“Usually you would say, OK it grows bigger, it\u2019s a good thing. But it was a bad thing, because it grew too rapidly for the old users and me. So I decided to make it subscription-based,” she explained.<\/p>\n

Stronger bonds<\/h2>\n

This was back in 2007. With the subscription-based service, she not only gets paid for all the time she spends on the website and the cost of the server, but also eliminated those who didn\u2019t want to participate inside the closely bonded social circle. <\/p>\n

Now she is happy that she could make a living out of the website. The user base has been slowly decreasing since 2008, but it still remains as a subscription based community today. The mothers within the community not only discuss with each other online, but also meet up with each other offline, although less often nowadays.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/picture><\/div>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

They met up in Odense last time, Lenka says, and they were suppose to stay there overnight, sleeping in at hotel, but Lenka partied throughout the night that she didn\u2019t even need to go back to the Hotel, instead she just took the first train back to Copenhagen. <\/p>\n

“The mothers help each other out during difficult times. The common role as a mother in the society and some rather identical life experiences resulted in this stronger than ordinary bond between the mothers inside the community of morsverden.dk. In the network we are really eager to help each other, if there is a problem.”<\/p>\n

Single mom physicist<\/h2>\n

Lenka Otap came to Denmark from Poland with her family in 1985 when she was only 8 years old. She has lived and studied in Denmark since then.<\/p>\n

She started studying biochemistry in the University of Copenhagen in 1995, however just one year after, she switched to Computer Science, because her obsession with online gaming and Computer Science was the only subject where you could get an internet access code and an email from the University at the time. Little did she know it, but this was where her 14-year-long experience as a computer science student began.<\/p>\n

Lenka Otap: “If you ask the users, a lot of them used to say that morsverden is the best thing that happened to them”.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

She eventually got her Master\u2019s degree with a thesis about her own website – \u201cmorsverden.dk\u201d in 2010. <\/p>\n

Now, Lenka is a single mother of two children and has re-enrolled as a mathematics-physics first year bachelor student at the University of Copenhagen. <\/p>\n

“The reason I started again was because that I missed the science. It feels really great, sometimes it felt weird, because I\u2019m so much older than everyone else,” she says.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"\"<\/picture><\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
L\u00e6s mere:<\/div>\n

Fieldwork with Baby Jesus on your back<\/a> <\/div>\n

\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

The fact that she is a single mother with kids to take care of, and being back at university without a full-time job, has put financial pressure on her shoulders. She\u2019s currently relying on her savings, but it won\u2019t last long if she can\u2019t find a job in the near future. The kids, on the other hand, are getting easier and easier to take care of. <\/p>\n

“Taking care of kids takes time and have a lot of obligations. Like have to cook dinner every single day when they are here,” she says.<\/p>\n

Best thing that ever happened<\/h2>\n

The internet moves fast. But the outdated appearance of the website is somewhat irrelevant, because it\u2019s the community of which morsverden.dk represents that defines the website. <\/p>\n

Go into morsverden.dk now, and you will most likely not be impressed with it\u2019s user interface and its features. It is hard to expand when there is Facebook and other social networks to compete against. If it is going to have a future, Lenka will clean up the website, giving it a fresh look and make it more accessible or just make something new that welcomes new members. <\/p>\n

But she has no regrets.<\/p>\n

“If you ask the users, a lot of them used to say that morsverden is the best thing that happened to them”. <\/p>\n

universitypost@adm.ku.dk<\/p>\n

Do you have a good story? We would like to hear from you<\/a>. In the meantime, sign up for our weekly newsletter<\/a> for news, like us on Facebook<\/a> for features, guides and tips on upcoming events and follow us on Twitter<\/a> for links to other Copenhagen academia stories.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A single mom of Polish origin has run one of the most successful websites for mothers – ‘Morsverden.dk’. Now she is back at the University of Copenhagen, as a physicist<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":3686,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","expression-news_article"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe mum behind mum's world<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/the-mum-behind-mums-world\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The mum behind mum's world\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A single mom of Polish origin has run one of the most successful websites for mothers - 'Morsverden.dk'. Now she is back at the University of Copenhagen, as a physicist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/the-mum-behind-mums-world\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"University Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uniavis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-01-20T20:52:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/lenka_otap_infront_of_her_desk_reduced_0.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"680\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Uniavisen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Uniavisen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/the-mum-behind-mums-world\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/the-mum-behind-mums-world\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b4df0b22f9be3943039e58e94c400606\"},\"headline\":\"The mum behind mum’s world\",\"datePublished\":\"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-01-20T20:52:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/the-mum-behind-mums-world\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":924,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/the-mum-behind-mums-world\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/04\\\/lenka_otap_infront_of_her_desk_reduced_0.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Education\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/the-mum-behind-mums-world\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/the-mum-behind-mums-world\\\/\",\"name\":\"The mum behind mum's world\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/the-mum-behind-mums-world\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/the-mum-behind-mums-world\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/04\\\/lenka_otap_infront_of_her_desk_reduced_0.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-01-20T20:52:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b4df0b22f9be3943039e58e94c400606\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/the-mum-behind-mums-world\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/the-mum-behind-mums-world\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/the-mum-behind-mums-world\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/04\\\/lenka_otap_infront_of_her_desk_reduced_0.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/04\\\/lenka_otap_infront_of_her_desk_reduced_0.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":680,\"caption\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/the-mum-behind-mums-world\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The mum behind mum’s world\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/\",\"name\":\"University Post\",\"description\":\"Independent of management\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b4df0b22f9be3943039e58e94c400606\",\"name\":\"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b6c147fc36e92c08c95515aba962dbc89107ed33613c690182f7e243d0c0a2ab?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b6c147fc36e92c08c95515aba962dbc89107ed33613c690182f7e243d0c0a2ab?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b6c147fc36e92c08c95515aba962dbc89107ed33613c690182f7e243d0c0a2ab?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/author\\\/migrated_articles\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The mum behind mum's world","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/the-mum-behind-mums-world\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The mum behind mum's world","og_description":"A single mom of Polish origin has run one of the most successful websites for mothers - 'Morsverden.dk'. Now she is back at the University of Copenhagen, as a physicist","og_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/the-mum-behind-mums-world\/","og_site_name":"University Post","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uniavis","article_published_time":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-01-20T20:52:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":680,"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/lenka_otap_infront_of_her_desk_reduced_0.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Uniavisen","twitter_site":"@Uniavisen","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/the-mum-behind-mums-world\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/the-mum-behind-mums-world\/"},"author":{"name":"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#\/schema\/person\/b4df0b22f9be3943039e58e94c400606"},"headline":"The mum behind mum’s world","datePublished":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2017-01-20T20:52:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/the-mum-behind-mums-world\/"},"wordCount":924,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/the-mum-behind-mums-world\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/lenka_otap_infront_of_her_desk_reduced_0.jpg","articleSection":["Education"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/the-mum-behind-mums-world\/","url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/the-mum-behind-mums-world\/","name":"The mum behind mum's world","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/the-mum-behind-mums-world\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/the-mum-behind-mums-world\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/lenka_otap_infront_of_her_desk_reduced_0.jpg","datePublished":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2017-01-20T20:52:12+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#\/schema\/person\/b4df0b22f9be3943039e58e94c400606"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/the-mum-behind-mums-world\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/the-mum-behind-mums-world\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/the-mum-behind-mums-world\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/lenka_otap_infront_of_her_desk_reduced_0.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/lenka_otap_infront_of_her_desk_reduced_0.jpg","width":1024,"height":680,"caption":""},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/the-mum-behind-mums-world\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The mum behind mum’s world"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/","name":"University Post","description":"Independent of management","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#\/schema\/person\/b4df0b22f9be3943039e58e94c400606","name":"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b6c147fc36e92c08c95515aba962dbc89107ed33613c690182f7e243d0c0a2ab?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b6c147fc36e92c08c95515aba962dbc89107ed33613c690182f7e243d0c0a2ab?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b6c147fc36e92c08c95515aba962dbc89107ed33613c690182f7e243d0c0a2ab?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"MIGRATED_ARTICLES FROM_OLD_SITE"},"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/author\/migrated_articles\/"}]}},"advancedCustomFields":{"layout_group":[{"acf_fc_layout":"Headline","use_post_title":true,"headline":"","style":"default","highlighted_words":"","text_size":"medium"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Image","image":{"ID":3686,"id":3686,"title":"lenka_otap_infront_of_her_desk_reduced_0","filename":"lenka_otap_infront_of_her_desk_reduced_0.jpg","filesize":74200,"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/lenka_otap_infront_of_her_desk_reduced_0.jpg","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/the-mum-behind-mums-world\/lenka_otap_infront_of_her_desk_reduced_0\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":" ","caption":" ","name":"lenka_otap_infront_of_her_desk_reduced_0","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":3685,"date":"2017-01-19 03:30:32","modified":"2017-01-19 03:30:33","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1024,"height":680,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/lenka_otap_infront_of_her_desk_reduced_0-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/lenka_otap_infront_of_her_desk_reduced_0-480x319.jpg","medium-width":480,"medium-height":319,"medium_large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/lenka_otap_infront_of_her_desk_reduced_0-768x510.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":510,"large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/lenka_otap_infront_of_her_desk_reduced_0.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":680,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/lenka_otap_infront_of_her_desk_reduced_0.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":680,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/lenka_otap_infront_of_her_desk_reduced_0.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":680,"featured-soft":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/lenka_otap_infront_of_her_desk_reduced_0-290x193.jpg","featured-soft-width":290,"featured-soft-height":193,"featured-hard":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/lenka_otap_infront_of_her_desk_reduced_0-290x180.jpg","featured-hard-width":290,"featured-hard-height":180,"narrow":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/lenka_otap_infront_of_her_desk_reduced_0-700x465.jpg","narrow-width":700,"narrow-height":465,"extended":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/lenka_otap_infront_of_her_desk_reduced_0-990x657.jpg","extended-width":990,"extended-height":657}},"style":"screen","text_placement":"metadata-below","image_link_url":"","image_link_title":"","caption_prefix":"","enable_alternative_caption":false,"alternative_caption":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"Standfirst","subject":"","text":"A single mom of Polish origin has run one of the most successful websites for mothers - 'Morsverden.dk'. Now she is back at the University of Copenhagen, as a physicist","use_post_excerpt":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"Byline","is_author":false,"contributors":[{"use_registered_user":false,"user":false,"contributor_name":"Yifan Liu","contributor_title":" ","contributor_image":false}]},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p>It all started with ‘Babylisten’ Lenka Otap”s first website in 2003, a year after the birth of her first child. It later transformed itself into what is known today as <a href=\"http:\/\/morsverden.dk\/\" target=\"_blank\">morsverden.dk or mum’s world<\/a>, one of the most successful discussion-based websites.<\/p>\n<p>There were already websites in Denmark, at the time for mothers to discuss their pregnancy, parenting experiences and even getting answered on questions they would have had about their pregnancy. However, they were all very simple, Lenka says. <\/p>\n<p>“The websites were more like documents. But as a forum for discussion, the websites were not very convenient,” she says.<\/p>\n<h2>Bigger not necessarily better<\/h2>\n<p>Lenka\u2019s website came in, packed with the then latest features, creating a profile, profile pictures, and discussing with others in the form of a forum, with a signature under what you post. Over the years, Lenka improved her website in various ways, so it became like a Danish version of Reddit, or rather a subreddit only for mothers. But the members have a much stronger bond than most reddit threads. <\/p>\n<p>Then Lenka decided for a move that went against everything that everyone else was doing.<\/p>\n<p>“Usually you would say, OK it grows bigger, it\u2019s a good thing. But it was a bad thing, because it grew too rapidly for the old users and me. So I decided to make it subscription-based,” she explained.<\/p>\n<h2>Stronger bonds<\/h2>\n<p>This was back in 2007. With the subscription-based service, she not only gets paid for all the time she spends on the website and the cost of the server, but also eliminated those who didn\u2019t want to participate inside the closely bonded social circle. <\/p>\n<p>Now she is happy that she could make a living out of the website. The user base has been slowly decreasing since 2008, but it still remains as a subscription based community today. The mothers within the community not only discuss with each other online, but also meet up with each other offline, although less often nowadays.<\/p>\n<div class=\"dme-image dme-image-center dme-image-preset-0\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/old_files\/lenka_looking_ahead_to_the_distant_future_reduced.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/div>\n<p><em><\/em><\/p>\n<p>They met up in Odense last time, Lenka says, and they were suppose to stay there overnight, sleeping in at hotel, but Lenka partied throughout the night that she didn\u2019t even need to go back to the Hotel, instead she just took the first train back to Copenhagen. <\/p>\n<p>“The mothers help each other out during difficult times. The common role as a mother in the society and some rather identical life experiences resulted in this stronger than ordinary bond between the mothers inside the community of morsverden.dk. In the network we are really eager to help each other, if there is a problem.”<\/p>\n<h2>Single mom physicist<\/h2>\n<p>Lenka Otap came to Denmark from Poland with her family in 1985 when she was only 8 years old. She has lived and studied in Denmark since then.<\/p>\n<p>She started studying biochemistry in the University of Copenhagen in 1995, however just one year after, she switched to Computer Science, because her obsession with online gaming and Computer Science was the only subject where you could get an internet access code and an email from the University at the time. Little did she know it, but this was where her 14-year-long experience as a computer science student began.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Lenka Otap: “If you ask the users, a lot of them used to say that morsverden is the best thing that happened to them”.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>She eventually got her Master\u2019s degree with a thesis about her own website – \u201cmorsverden.dk\u201d in 2010. <\/p>\n<p>Now, Lenka is a single mother of two children and has re-enrolled as a mathematics-physics first year bachelor student at the University of Copenhagen. <\/p>\n<p>“The reason I started again was because that I missed the science. It feels really great, sometimes it felt weird, because I\u2019m so much older than everyone else,” she says.<\/p>\n<div class=\"dme-external-teaser dme-external-teaser-3\">\n<div class=\"image\">\n<div class=\"dme-image dme-image-center dme-image-preset-0\"><a href=\"http:\/\/universitetsavisen.dk\/node\/24908\" title=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/old_files\/casper_and_julius_cropped_0.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"title\">\n<div class=\"label\">L\u00e6s mere:<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/universitetsavisen.dk\/node\/24908\">Fieldwork with Baby Jesus on your back<\/a> <\/div>\n<div class=\"teaser_text\">\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The fact that she is a single mother with kids to take care of, and being back at university without a full-time job, has put financial pressure on her shoulders. She\u2019s currently relying on her savings, but it won\u2019t last long if she can\u2019t find a job in the near future. The kids, on the other hand, are getting easier and easier to take care of. <\/p>\n<p>“Taking care of kids takes time and have a lot of obligations. Like have to cook dinner every single day when they are here,” she says.<\/p>\n<h2>Best thing that ever happened<\/h2>\n<p>The internet moves fast. But the outdated appearance of the website is somewhat irrelevant, because it\u2019s the community of which morsverden.dk represents that defines the website. <\/p>\n<p>Go into morsverden.dk now, and you will most likely not be impressed with it\u2019s user interface and its features. It is hard to expand when there is Facebook and other social networks to compete against. If it is going to have a future, Lenka will clean up the website, giving it a fresh look and make it more accessible or just make something new that welcomes new members. <\/p>\n<p>But she has no regrets.<\/p>\n<p>“If you ask the users, a lot of them used to say that morsverden is the best thing that happened to them”. <\/p>\n<p>universitypost@adm.ku.dk<\/p>\n<p><em>Do you have a good story? We would like to <a href=\"http:\/\/universitypost.dk\/article\/how-share-stories-university-post\" target=\"_blank\">hear from you<\/a>. In the meantime, sign up for our <a href=\"http:\/\/universitypost.dk\/newsletter\" target=\"_blank\">weekly newsletter<\/a> for news, like us on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UniversityPost\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a> for features, guides and tips on upcoming events and follow us on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/UniversityPost\" target=\"_blank\"> Twitter<\/a> for links to other Copenhagen academia stories.<\/em><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"ArticleEnd"},{"acf_fc_layout":"OtherStories","headline":"","hand_picked_posts":false,"references":false,"category":false,"theme":false,"number_of_posts":"4","style":"default"}]},"taxonomyData":{"category":[{"term_id":42,"name":"Education","slug":"education","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":42,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":661,"filter":"raw"}],"post_tag":[],"post_format":[],"expression":[{"term_id":15,"name":"News Article","slug":"news_article","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":15,"taxonomy":"expression","description":"","parent":0,"count":11492,"filter":"raw"}],"translation_priority":[]},"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/lenka_otap_infront_of_her_desk_reduced_0.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3685"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3685\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31356,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3685\/revisions\/31356"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}