Remember when blogging was in its heyday and it was an awesome way to connect with people, learn each other’s stories, and make new (possibly life-long) friendships?!
That’s what happened to me. To this day, the majority of my closest friends (that I communicate with daily, send gifts to, see in person, etc) are people I met through blogging. For example, people always think Gina and I went to college together or something. Nope! We met through our blogs in winter of 2006 while I was in college in Italy and she was a young professional in NYC. We decided to meet up in person in August of 2010 and the rest is history. Gina and fam even own a second home in my family’s vacation town now! Crazy cool.
Anyway. Blogging changed when influencers became a thing. A lot of people decided to stop telling stories and start hawking products and advice no one wanted, or left the platform completely to microblog on social media. Or people just lost interest in the hobby. Or what have you.
So that connection and friendship making stopped. Out of all of my close friends I met via blogging, one blogs regularly, and one blogs every once in a while and that’s it (which is totally fine, we text, email, meet up, etc.)! I cannot remember the last time someone “new” commented here, and I made a new connection. And I really can’t remember the last time I started reading and commenting on a new blog I found.
Which I was fine with. I love having this blog to document my life and stories, and still find it to be a useful and entertaining tool for me, even though I no longer connect with *new* people (I love connecting with all you old time commenters, thank you!).
Very long story long, I think my public rock Instagram account is becoming what blogging used to be for me, regarding making new connections. And I wonder if I have been missing out on that on Instagram all this time (I think yes) because I keep my personal account private, and only accept follows from people I actually know (in person or online).
I’ve made personal connections with a few local painters, tons of painters across the US, and painters in the Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Israel, the Netherlands, South Africa… and probably a few other places I am forgetting. How cool is that? When I started that account in December, at the suggestions of my snis (thanks, Snis!) I never expected it to be what it is. I thought it would just be a place to store my painted rock photos and get ideas for what to paint next. Instead it’s my happy little corner of the internet, where I go to feel good, and apparently, make new friends! Awesome!
No related photo, so here is Starbuck mid yawn.
Fun fact about Starbuck – she rarely gets called her actual name, and has the most nicknames out of all the cats. We mostly call her Pew Pew. She is also controlled by a worm named Steve. <— Just seeing if you made it this far! Ha.
Yes, I totally remember those days! And you are the last woman standing as far as all those people I used to follow via their blogs – everyone slowly switched over to FB at a certain point, which is not the same as reading someone’s blogs on a regular basis. So the connections have faded quite a bit.
I am glad you are finding your sense of connection with Instagram! I tried it but it just didn’t seem to be my thing, so I stopped using it.
Is the worm named Steve because of some connection with Stephen?
Oh yeah, Facebook is so different! I have a really hard time reading something long on FB.
Thanks! I totally wasn’t getting it on my personal one. I was mostly following famous, huge accounts. I unfollowed a lot of those. LOL.
Yeah. She’s so skinny so we asked if she has a worm and she said it’s named Steve, after her dad. Sigh. Steve is a really bad influence on her.
I am one of those bloggers who gave up- but that’s better than keeping going just to sell stuff right? I’m SO glad you are still blogging. The only blogs I still read are the ones where people share their everyday lives. The invitation still stands to come visit Maine!
Ha, you know what? I do think stopping is better than shilling crap or giving bad advice. And really, it’s totally okay to stop! Hobbies are not meant to be forever!
And thank you! And thanks for reading.
I totally want to visit!!!!! We were just talking about how we have airfare credits to use…
I still blog daily and miss the old blogging days (it’s how we met, after all!). Right now Facebook is where I keep in touch with many of the old bloggers I befriended… but I am not meeting anybody new there. Oddly enough, my blog gets more visitors than it ever did in its heyday… most all from Google searches. I guess that’s bound to happen when you’ve been putting your life on the internet for 21 years! 😀
I miss them too! I am glad Facebook works for you for keeping in touch – you are really good at it!
Oh yeah, that does make sense, but feels a bit delayed, right?! 😉
I have made so many friends though online means; social media and gaming. In this year of lockdown it was really the only way to connect with people….especially new people and it kept me from feeling so isolated. Now, because of that, there are people in my life I cannot live without and my family just doesn’t understand it. Is it a generational thing? It seems like the generation ahead of us doesn’t understand how you could connect with people online and actually feel and form real bonds. I’ve even gotten comments about it being dangerous. To me, it just feels “normal”. It is a little nerve racking when you actually meet in person for the first time but that fades so quickly because wykyk.
Yay! I am so glad you have! And good point – it’s especially a great tool while people are purposefully socially distancing. I keep wondering what my life will be like when we start spending time with people again and I don’t have so much time to myself (if I will still do all the social media things).
It’s very normal now. I mean, look at online dating! And more and more people connect via the social media they use. I bet it’s partially generational, and partially being afraid of change and the internets. I know older people who are great at social media and love to connect with new people, so it’s not everyone! I am sorry your family is not being supportive 🙁
As you know I stopped blogging after 12 years and you are so right – it was very different in the early (and middle) days. So many bloggers to connect with and read their stories; I remember having to limit myself to an hour reading/commenting in the morning before trying to get something done…and then I’d go back to reading some more. I didn’t realize it at the time how special it was.
But like you said, between people starting to shill anything and everything on their blogs, and then moving onto Instagram where it’s all shilling and also, they call a long Instagram post a blog (no it isn’t, and with no paragraphs, it’s horrible to try to read), I don’t even look at the IG’s of people who I used to have decent connections with. Now it’s pretty much Fiestaware, knitting, humor, and in-person friends. I’m glad you’ve found a fun new way to connect with people via your painted rocks – no politics, no shilling, just sharing rocks. Sounds really pleasant. 🙂
Is Starbuck getting pushed out of the feeder by the other kitties? I ask that because my son’s girlfriend’s cat, Julep, was getting thin because my son’s cat, Goose, would hog the automatic feeder. Julep is now wearing a microchip collar that opens a different feeder only for her. It’s hilarious to watch the videos of Goose trying, but getting denied, to eat her food.
I did not realize how special it was either! I used to have to carve out time to read and comment. Back in the day I even bought a special small computer so I could do it on my commute (when I went in every day). It’s so different now!
I am similar to you on Insta. I tried to be friends who those folks but when it was shilling and how tos it just turned me off. And no thinks to paragraphs of text there too. I am there for the pics. If I read your text it’s kind of a bonus. Ha.
We were worried that was happening but it isn’t! She is doing well at the food bowls by herself. She just can’t keep on weight. We have to give her extra secret meals (cause Steve the worm eats all the food I guess?). LOL. I totally want to see Goose in action. Is it helping Julep get her food?!
I think many of the running bloggers I used to follow have moved over to “micro blogging” on twitter. Occasionally they post pictures and short run/race recaps. That’s now my main way of keeping up with the local running community. I’m sure many are on Instagram, I just have never signed up. Maybe someday. I also miss the old days when the blogging was in it’s heyday!
Oh right, I forgot about Twitter! Do you like using that tool? It sounds like it! 🙂
Yes, I do like it. Twitter is definitely the main social media platform that I use nowadays. Not only do I follow the tweets of runners, but also old and new friends as well as interesting famous (and not so famous) people.
Ooh, I love this topic so much! As you know, I still have a personal blog and I love having my little space on the internet. Thankfully, I still know a good amount of people who have personal blogs, too, so it makes everything feel a lot less lonely. I just like having the creative outlet and a place to talk about my life.
The influencer life just feels so tiresome. And you open yourself up to so much more criticism (some of it well-deserved). It’s not for me!
That is great you still have so many personal blogs you like to read! Do they tend to be life blogs (that is how I consider mine, ha), or are some focused on books? I love the space for that same reason too – it gives me a place to talk and tell stories. I don’t really get to do that too often irl.
Yeah, it’s not for me either. I cannot imagine being on and thinking about content ALL THE TIME. It doesn’t feel genuine (for most, I am sure it is for some). And it feels chaotic.
Hey, I feel like we made our connection through blogging (found you through Stephany’s blog last year). I am and oldtime blogger too… have been blogging (and making connections) since 2004. 🙂 It’s still my favorite social media tool, to be honest, but yeah, most people completely moved over to Instagram.
Yes, you’re right! You are probably the last person I found that way! Sorry to not remember when I wrote this (I was legit running through people in my head trying to figure out who it was! It was YOU!).
I am here with you for the long haul. I can’t do all the words on Instagram.
No worries. I am just happy to connect with people who still love the old time blogging… who haven’t become influencers or full-time bloggers with sponsored posts and a gazillion ads on their websites 🙂
I LOVE reading your blog. I am not a daily – or even regular, by a schedule – blogger. And, I’m still having a bit of difficulty figuring out how much to share of my life. I’m working on it, though!
I have always loved blogs for all the reasons you cite – I feel a connection in some way with the writer, even though I tend to be an infrequent (if ever) commenter. However, I’ve tried to be better about that in the last year or so as I realized that the positive feedback might help bloggers who are still active realize that there ARE readers out there… we just might be, well, silent visitors.
What I find fascinating is how the blogs I follow have changed with my life. I started with infertility blogs (you can probably figure out why…), then moved (sigh) to “clean eating”, then to more running / fitness focused (vs. food focused) blogs, then to blogs about real life and BOOKS.
BTW, I found at least one new blog to follow through the comments on this post. Ha. 🙂
Aww, thank you! And you will figure out what works for you!
Side note, how was I NOT following your blog in Feedly?! I know I was before, but when I clicked on it just now, there was a ton I had not seen! Ugh. Sorry about that. I re-added it to my feed!
I appreciate you leaving comments! Even though this is mostly documentation for me, the feedback is a wonderful bonus and fosters those connections!
That happened to me too with my blog following journey. And I am so sorry about the infertility 🙁
Oh fun! Who was it?
I still keep in touch with a few bloggers from back in the day! You are included in that! I love that you’ve found that community feel with your rockstagram account! All the exclamation points apparently!
Yay! I am happy to be included in that! And love all your exclamation points! I just never expected to find that on Instagram since I hadn’t before. It’s fun!
I love that you have found new friends and community through rock painting. And what a good suggestion from your sister; I remember that she encouraged you to try it. What a good sister who knows you so well!
One thing I don’t miss about the hey-day of blogging was feeling obligated to comment on so many people’s blogs. And yeah, that’s on me. Why did I waste time doing that? (Especially when, in retrospect, many people did that just to increase links to their blog and viewership. Gross.) I’m glad to see from the comments on this post that there are so many people who still blog and/or enjoy reading the non-money-making ones.
She really does! I was just too stubborn to listen at first. LOL.
Oh yes, I was the same way! I remember being stressed at work that I could not comment and buying a small little laptop to comment on during my commute to and from work (this was WAY back in the day). Crazy, right? And it was mostly for the purpose you mention. I am glad there is still a small community out there 🙂