The Day After
The day after a blogger meetup is fun. Where else do you get the story from so many different perspectives? It's a little bit like reading the same novel multiple times with each from the perspective of a different character. The Great WKRN Blogger Party (tm) last night is a prime example. Sounds like a good time was had by all. Darth Vader even took time away from crushing dissent in the outlying systems, and kicking puppies to put in an appearance and have a beer with the homeless guy.
So why didn't I go? Well.... several reasons, and none of them are as good as the ones Adam Groves came up with. (except #5, Blake Wylie is The Man)
The main reasons I didn't go are the cash bar (bloggers need free beer too WKRN) and prior plans with some friends. But I started thinking about whether I would have gone if I hadn't already made other plans, and it caused flash backs to the high school homecoming dance. I would have been in a room full of people whom everyone has heard of, and if anyone had noticed me it would have been to say "Who's that guy with only the initial on his nametag?" or "Does that guy have a blog or is he just stalking Aunt B?". The only difference between that situation and high school is that all you bloggers are interesting because of the things you write about, not just because you're a football player or cheerleader.
I've been reading blogs for a lot longer than I've been writing them and I've made a lot of observations. The blogosphere is a strange thing. It's a lot like any other niche community of hobbyists or people in the same profession because everyone is brought together by their blogging. But it's different because the one thing everyone has in common isn't their hobby, it's how they share about their hobbies, their opinions, and their life.
What I actually wanted to do when I sat down to write this post was comment on all these blogger friendships that have sprung up. You can see it happen if you read the same blog for an extended period of time. A lurker turns into a casual commenter. The casual comments blossom into intellectual curiousity and the in jokes that every blog has. So it's very great to see all these conversations and friendships develop right before your very eyes.
The most interesting thing about this process is that it doesn't seem to have happened to me. Only one person actually responds to anything I say. (Well occasionally two people, but only if I annoy Brittney.) My non-digital life is fullfilling enough for this phenomenon to not seriously bother me, but I can't help but speculate on the cause. My basic theories involve me being boring/not saying anything new or interesting, or me being just to annoying.
The internet has done some revolutionary things to life. It helps you put regular people into the same category as celebrities. You read about people so much you know a lot about them, but you don't actually know them. The only difference is that you get your information from the source, instead of People magazine.
Oh yeah, also Katherine Coble looks nothing like I expected and I thought Rex L. Camino would be taller.
So why didn't I go? Well.... several reasons, and none of them are as good as the ones Adam Groves came up with. (except #5, Blake Wylie is The Man)
The main reasons I didn't go are the cash bar (bloggers need free beer too WKRN) and prior plans with some friends. But I started thinking about whether I would have gone if I hadn't already made other plans, and it caused flash backs to the high school homecoming dance. I would have been in a room full of people whom everyone has heard of, and if anyone had noticed me it would have been to say "Who's that guy with only the initial on his nametag?" or "Does that guy have a blog or is he just stalking Aunt B?". The only difference between that situation and high school is that all you bloggers are interesting because of the things you write about, not just because you're a football player or cheerleader.
I've been reading blogs for a lot longer than I've been writing them and I've made a lot of observations. The blogosphere is a strange thing. It's a lot like any other niche community of hobbyists or people in the same profession because everyone is brought together by their blogging. But it's different because the one thing everyone has in common isn't their hobby, it's how they share about their hobbies, their opinions, and their life.
What I actually wanted to do when I sat down to write this post was comment on all these blogger friendships that have sprung up. You can see it happen if you read the same blog for an extended period of time. A lurker turns into a casual commenter. The casual comments blossom into intellectual curiousity and the in jokes that every blog has. So it's very great to see all these conversations and friendships develop right before your very eyes.
The most interesting thing about this process is that it doesn't seem to have happened to me. Only one person actually responds to anything I say. (Well occasionally two people, but only if I annoy Brittney.) My non-digital life is fullfilling enough for this phenomenon to not seriously bother me, but I can't help but speculate on the cause. My basic theories involve me being boring/not saying anything new or interesting, or me being just to annoying.
The internet has done some revolutionary things to life. It helps you put regular people into the same category as celebrities. You read about people so much you know a lot about them, but you don't actually know them. The only difference is that you get your information from the source, instead of People magazine.
Oh yeah, also Katherine Coble looks nothing like I expected and I thought Rex L. Camino would be taller.
posted by W at 9:13 AM
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