Yes. They. Do.
I had already had the experience of meeting people at a blogging conference and clicking and then continuing the relationship online. I met blogging buddies (whom I refer to as “my Iowa gals”) Paula and Jody, at Blissdom in February, and they continue to be my buds.
Last weekend at Type-A-Mom we re-connected again and had the most amazing evening together at a fabulous downtown Asheville restaurant called Market Place. It ‘s a restaurant that runs on solar power and only serves food that comes from within 100 miles of the restaurant. We landed there on a whim and had the best time.
Paula and Jody at Market Place
And even though we come from very different worlds, (I often tease Paula that her hilarious Boogers and Burps stories, which feature her 3 boys, are like my own private birth control) we still cheer and support each other.
But these were relationships started offline, albeit a blogging (online activity) conference.
What would happen in the reverse situation?
This was my fear as I prepared for the conference last week. Julie of Writing Roads and I had become very close online buddies, but we had never met in person. Would we like each other? Would our online personalities mesh in the real world?
There is a section in Chris Brogan’s book Trust Agents, (I wanted to find the exact page, but of course I couldn’t, I am pretty sure it is somewhere in Chapter 3, ‘One of Us’) that talks about how many online relationship might be closer than offline as people tend to share more intimate details with people that are their “friends.”
I should not have been worried. It was like meeting a long lost soul sister…only the things was…she brought friends! Not only did I connect with Julie in person on a very profound level, but I also met two other women, Alisa, another online buddy of Julie’s who she had also never met in person who came to the conference to meet her; and Anne-Fitten, a local Asheville journalist (and blogger) who was co-paneling a session with Julie.
All woman from different parts of the country, in different situations, yet with an incredible amount of similarities in terms of personalities. We are all foodies, like things that are green, organic, sustainable, we like to write – although all three of them are “real” writers, were I just aspire, and we had the same general attitude about a lot of topics.
With the exception of my awesome dinner with Jody and Paula, I spent every other meal with these ladies, blessed because Anne-Fitten is (a) a foodie and (b) a local, so we went to some delicious places! Yum!
I am not one for social activity, I am an introvert, one who comes out of her shell every couple of months to get her “fill” and then slips back into her hermit ways, to be drawn out from time to time by my best friend. But I feel like if these ladies lived around the corner, I might be hanging out with them quite a bit…they are my kind of people, I think I found my tribe.
I am blessed with the people I share my online life with.
Who’s up next?
Do you have any stories about online relationships you developed that turned into offline ones?
Related posts:
- Out of my shell for a few days I wrote this post a head of time because I...
- Wordless Wednesday #31 You know you are in the South when you see...
- Going with the flow When traveling, it is important to maintain zen. So many...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
{ 2 trackbacks }
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
We totally found our tribe. I WISH you all lived around the corner from me…oh, that would be way too good!!!
Amen sister. You ladies rock. And Andi–you are already a writer. Own it.
sometimes, the relationships move so far off line we forget we actually “met” online – especially w/ fellow oklahoma bloggers. my friend tr built his entire friend network online after returning to oklahoma after 25 years being gone!
What a lovely post!!!
Smooches,
Sassy Chica
Several of my very closest friends I met online…and you’re right you tend to share more with friends online than you would share with people in your real life. My girlfriends from all over the country kept me sane in a time when I was going thru a divorce from a marriage of 20 years, and walked me thru the dating scene and alot of other new changes to my life…this was 10 years ago and we are closer than we’ve ever been….I now live very close to alot of them, so we try to get together once a month, but we still talk online more than we do in person due to our busy lives…that is why I love this blogging community – there are so many awesome women out there with wonderful stories to tell….you, Andi are definitely one of them…I love checking in with you to see what you’ve written….Have an awesome evening!!
Since I started blogging a little less than one year ago, I have developed a few very special online friendships. I have not had the chance to met any of them in person yet. But a few of the female movie bloggers that I have met on Twitter have formed an alliance– and believe it or not 4 of us live in the same city. We are planning to meet soon. We are all different ages, races and even blog about different film genres. It will be an interesting meeting.
@Clarabela – I want to hear a report after you have your meet-up – I would love to be apart of that conversation, being a total movie nut!
@Cathi – I am so glad to hear that you have maintained your relationships for so long – I hope I experience the same!
Hi, I enjoyed your writing style very much. I could sit down and read a book of yours! I’m just starting blogging and only have 8 followers, so haven’t made any online friends yet…but one of my BF from college inspired me to start blogging, does that count?
Came over from SITS, happy Saturday Sharefest!!
I have often wondered about the blog friends I’m meeting and would we like each other in person. Interesting to hear your experience with it. I hope to some day have the chance to meet some of the lovely ladies I have met through this medium.
@ Miss Mustard Seed – are you going to SITScation in two weeks in Vegas?