The Benefits of Blogging – Making Friends
Posted on: May 28, 2012
- In: People | Travel
- 29 Comments
“A stranger is just a friend you haven’t met yet.” Will Rogers
I set up my blog two years ago and I am so glad I did. I love blogging. The best thing about it for me, is making new friends. Finding things in common with individuals from Newfoundland to New Zealand, West Virginia to Doha and everywhere in between has been an amazing experience. Blogging has shrunk the world for me and enriched my life. The downside is that I want to meet all these wonderful people who take the time to read my blog and make comments, and that is not always possible.
My dream of meeting a blogging buddy came true last weekend when I met Alison from See My Travels. Alison is from Lincoln, England where she works as a journalist. She is also well travelled and blogs about her adventures. I first read her blog on A Hopeful Sign, where both of us have had articles published. I enjoyed her photographs and articles on England and Scotland very much. We soon decided to follow each other’s blogs, and when I read that she was planning a six-moth visit to Canada and the US, I got very excited. She arrived in Vancouver a couple of weeks ago and we arranged to meet for a coffee in Steveston.
Although we are from different countries and different generations, we found we had much in common and chatted away for two hours. It was so lovely to meet Alison in person. She is enjoying her visit to Canada very much and is blogging about it regularly. If you want to see some great pictures of my corner of the world visit http://www.seemytravels.com/2012/05/19/my-first-week-in-vancouver-why-i-love-this-city-already/
Alison left for Victoria, the capital of BC located on Vancouver Island, a few days later. I warned her she would fall in love with that city. Check here to see if she has.
I noticed A Hopeful Sign has recently posted another one of Alison’s articles. It is about the Medieval Bishops Place in Lincoln, her hometown. If you are like me, and love anything medieval, check it out.
Photo by Alison Sandilands
After meeting Alison, I hope to meet other blogging friends someday.
Would you like to meet the folks who follow your blog?
29 Responses to "The Benefits of Blogging – Making Friends"
May 28, 2012 at 6:10 am
That is such a cool post and you’re so right about our Internet friends! The members of one of my marketing groups in particular have really bonded and we so enjoy our cyber visits!
May 28, 2012 at 12:17 pm
It is surprising how much one can find in common via the internet. I find it fascinating.
May 28, 2012 at 6:48 am
How cool that you got to meet a fellow blogger. There are a few bloggers I would love to meet, but it seems weird to meet someone whose life you already know so much about, depending how much they share on their blog.
May 28, 2012 at 12:18 pm
It is surprising how much you can learn about someone just from their blog. Meeting in person adds another dimension. Thanks for visiting my blog Brianna.
May 28, 2012 at 4:43 pm
I’ve met so many interesting and lovely people through blogging – it would be fantastic to meet them all! Just going to pop over to See my travels now, I feel a new friend coming on! Great post Darleen, thank you.
May 29, 2012 at 2:45 pm
Enjoy Alison’s blog. Perhaps we could meet for tea the next time I am in the UK Barbara.
May 28, 2012 at 11:32 pm
Congrats! I want to visit everyone I have “met”, too! Sometimes, I meet a person and then I find their blog. 
May 29, 2012 at 2:45 pm
I hope someday you will travel the worls Erik and meet all your blogging fans. Perahps you will make it to Vancouver.
May 29, 2012 at 7:41 am
Very cool! I checked out her blog and Victoria photos…very nice, indeed!
May 29, 2012 at 2:46 pm
Thanks Jackie. It’s nice to see your local area from a visitor’s perspective.
May 29, 2012 at 4:04 pm
As I would like to meet you, Darlene. I lived on Vancouver Island…It is so beautiful.
May 30, 2012 at 1:38 pm
That would certainly be a dream come true to meet you in person Niamh. I didn’t know you lived on Vancouver Island at one time.
June 1, 2012 at 3:47 pm
I have met a couple of bloggers in my area, and am meeting another one tomorrow! It’s like we’re long-time friends, though we’d never met.
June 2, 2012 at 2:18 am
Your meet-up sounds wonderful, Darlene. I’m with you, blogging has made me quite a few good friends. Finding people who share our dreams is precious. I’d love to meet few of them (& you) one day, but I do worry if I might be a little awkward (as I usually am when I meet people for the first time, even if I’ve spoken to them previously … it’s a built-in condition, I’m afraid.)
June 2, 2012 at 11:54 am
Thanks for stopping by Claudine. Many people feel awkward upon first meeting someone but when you find things in common it soon passes. I would love to meet you too one day.
June 3, 2012 at 1:00 pm
I often wonder what it would be like to meet a blogging buddy.
I loved reading about your visit with Alison. Not difficult to see that you had a great time.
June 4, 2012 at 9:25 am
Lovely post, Darlene! I’m glad you and Ali got on well, I thought you might! Maybe we can all meet up when I come over to visit her in Vancouver in July – I used to work in Steveston many moons ago, would be great to have a look around! Great site by the way!
June 4, 2012 at 9:48 am
Hi Andy. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Yes, we should all meet up when you come for a visit. My hubby Paul would love to meet both of you as well. (someone from home, so to speak). Glad you like the site. Cheers!
June 5, 2012 at 1:45 am
Cheers, Darlene! Congratulations, you’ve been nominated for One Lovely Blog Award. Check it out here: http://ladaray.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/one-lovely-blog-award/
June 10, 2012 at 10:22 am
That’s so great that you were able to meet! And I agree that you really get to know people through their blogs
June 10, 2012 at 3:10 pm
It was great. Perhaps one day you will visit and we can meet!
June 13, 2012 at 8:36 am
I too have met many wonderful people through the blogosphere (including you) and I now consider them friends. And I have adopted one as an extra sister. We are so alike even though we live on opposite sides of the world. I should love to meet a few if not all, of them in person. Thanks for sharing your visit with us.
May 28, 2012 at 5:19 am
What a lovely article Darlene. It was great to finally meet you the other week and I can’t wait to write up my article on Steveston
May 28, 2012 at 12:16 pm
Glad you liked the article. Hope you get more visitors to your great blog. Congrats on another article in A Hopeful Sign.