A couple days ago, my only friend who lives near enough to swap babysitting with moved. We’d like to move too, but haven’t found the right house to buy.
I’ve lived in at least 23 different places, and I confess sometimes I ignore my neighbors, because, well, they probably won’t be my neighbors for long. Other times, though, friends are just there, ready to mock you when you fall off the treadmill or to bring chili when you’re afraid you’ll miscarry.
Blogging, for better or worse, fills a lot of that friendship need (except the babysitting). I joined the BlogHer Adnetwork because June said she’d gotten new readers through the headline circle thingie. I’ve gotten new readers, and new blogs to read, and, most important, new friends who sometimes I wonder if we were separated at birth, as Tara and I were.
Blogging’s also about writing, and I wonder how many bloggers hope to write something different or something more some day. Blogging’s great for developing writing habits and getting instant feedback, but is it the only thing you want to write?
I’m not exactly sure where BlogHer fits in there. Is it friendship or writing, or both? And how serious do you have to be about blogging to actually go to a conference about it? How serious about making friends and writing do you have to be to join a party about a conference that you’re not attending? I’m not sure, but I do know that whenever I meet someone (in real life or online) who speaks to me, I’m compensated, a million times over, for the worlds not conquered and the kids still whining.
Which is why I’m excited to join Pensieve’s BlogHop ’08. If we were getting together for real, I’d make these Molten Lava Cakes for you:
If you seemed approachable and chummy, I’d mention my weekly Things That Must Go post, and encourage you to go share your Things That Must Go because this weekend I’m giving away an LLBean Tote Bag. And if you were really sympatico, I’d probably confide that I recently wrote my first fiction post, called WonderWoman Meets Her Match.
And before the evening was well over, I’d be anxious to get home so I could check out your blog and see for myself, in pixels and in words, who you really are.
Tags: blogging, bloghop 08, conferences, friendship, writing
Subscribe by email
Oh wow, Molten Lava Cakes? My, my, my. Those look delicious!!!
Glad you joined the party. Thanks for inviting us in for visiting.
Oh Jane – let’s both go to a conference next year. Thing of the fun we could have, the trouble we could get into, and the bloggers we could ridicule. Looks like you’re giving people links to some of your best posts – everyone will love you!
Taras last blog post..BlogHop ’08
Oh Man, I HATE being late to a party. Okay, I’ve got an impromptu slumber party at my house so my post will be coming sometime around 10:00 tonight after the giggling girls fall into a pizza induced trance. I wonder if I can find anything to wear?
Beths last blog post..Look At Me Grow!
That was a lovely post!
Nice to meet you!
Rebecca (Ramblings by Reba)s last blog post..A few bits of bloggy business…
It’s about writing, it’s about friendship, it’s about finding our voices as women. Nice to meet you!
zchamus last blog post..Their party vs. Our party: BlogHop 08
Molton lava cakes! I’m there. I agree about writing. To me, blogging is usually a small taste of what I hope to someday write.
World’s Greatest Mommys last blog post..The BlogHop ’08 Party Post…
I’m sorry, I forgot everything you wrote once I saw that cake…
traceys last blog post..Nobody reads a Saturday post, anyway. Right?
Those look delicious. Your thoughts on blogging and writing are very interesting to me. Please stop by sometime.
Blog writing is for friends, you say (almost), but “real” writing is more elevated, you suggest (I think). In my writing classes, the prof always pointed out that we were to keep the reader in mind at all times. Jane Austen, I assume, kept her readers in mind on a rather chummy level, hoping to amuse them into accepting some rather pointed satire. Leo Tolstoy’s readers were not individuals, but mankind itself; if an individual reader didn’t accept that then they could take a hike. J. Evanovich writes for her beloved characters as if we, the readers, didn’t exist. I’ve lost my thread of thought, but suffice it to say that one can write how one jolly well pleases as long as the prose, or verse, is intelligible and contains some degree of delight or humor, or any old kind of interesting epiphanies.
That cake looks heavenly.
I went to the conference to learn more about the blogger world, connect with women in person and expand my horizons. And I think I did some of all of that.
And I missed my family a lot.
the mama bird diariess last blog post..blogher is blogover
I love the parenthesized (is this a real word?) title of this post. Wouldn’t it be great if you could get real life babysitting from other bloggers? It’s nice to connect with bloggers from all over the country. I love molten chocolate cake! Can I have a scoop of vanilla ice cream on it with chocolate magic shell? I get your feed, I’ve been lurking, and have decided to come out of lurkdom.
Mrs. Bubbas last blog post..Wonder Woman Success!!!
Nice to meet you! I think I’ll go check out “Things that must go.” I’m still trying to make the round on the bloghop guest list. If you have a chance, my party post is here: http://forgetfulone.blogspot.com/2008/07/bloghop-08-party-post-and-giveaway.html
Forgetfulones last blog post..Weekend Update
First of all…cake looks amazing. If you were serving that at a real-life party, I’d totally be there.
Second, blogging totally fills that void. And I think it is kind of a nice way to have friends because if you don’t like someone, you just don’t return to their blog. Of course they might keep pestering you with comments…
But then my big problem is I get so attached to so many blogs that I can’t keep up. Then I start to get that same guilty feeling when I don’t call an IRL friend on their birthday…so much responsibility.
Julias last blog post..About Time for Some Pics
Molten Lava Cake? ! ! ! Oh, YUM! May I share this on The Chocolistas site for The Chocolate Recipe of the Week?
thechocolistas.blogspot.com
Deborahs last blog post..Hop, Hop, Hop to the Party!
It’s about all of the above as far as I’m concerned
. I began writing as creative outlet, but it’s turned into something more than that. At times, it’s “too much”, but at times, my blogging friends know how to reach me better than friends IRL because they walk to the same drumbeat 
.
Thank you for an introspective party post, dotted with YUMALICIOUS CAKE! Hope to see more of you…and forgive my lateness in arriving at your spot, lol. The party was much bigger then I imagined.
Next year? I’ll be prepared!!!
Robin ~ PENSIEVEs last blog post..Under normal conditions, tiramisu and water bottles have nothing in common
I just joined Blog Her and I admit I’m still trying to figure it all out! But at least I’m getting to make new friends!
Ginas last blog post..Saturday Summer Savings #6