Social media and the online world make pretty easy targets these days. Blamed for all kinds of social ills and quite a few of the world’s problems or at least it seems. It is true that it can be overwhelming and impersonal, often displacing face-to-face interaction with our neighbor next door but I am here to say that there are plenty of good things that come from the world-wide web and social online experiences and I would love to share two examples from my most spectacular summer.
One of the things about having a blog and writing online is that you don’t do it in a bubble. Sure, the work technically happens in front of computer screen somewhere but if you want others to see your work, you have to put yourself out there to the internet. And you have to do this to more than just your friends and family that know you in “real” life and want to support what you do. Unless you have thousands of in-person friends and I can’t imagine most of us do.
That is where the internet steps up. One way to spread the word of you blog is to connect with others who blog in a support network. Many of these support networks happen on places like Facebook and I have the fortune of being a part of several really great blogging support groups. We share our posts and then in turn share each others’ posts with those people in each of our own personal networks. We chat about blogging successes and problems, like reaching a certain number of visitors to the website or when share buttons seem to disappear off a page with no reason. Things that our friends and family really would not relate to but you just need to have someone to share with.
But this post isn’t about the world of blogging. It is about friendship.
I have made a lots of connections in these networks. Just like in real life, some can be superficial but it turns out that some can actually be very meaningful. In the past year there are a quite a few lovely people who I know from the online world that I really hope to meet in person some day.
Take my friendship with Josy Austin over at A Walk And A Lark, for example. We met in a blogging Facebook group last fall and connected because we both write about hiking and aside for specific outdoor blogging groups, there aren’t a lot of us out there (most bloggers write about life in general). Since meeting, she has been not only an amazing connection for my blog, it has been simply fun sharing hikes that we each might one day like to hike. She is a truly nice person and I feel blessed to know her. She even had some great advice for my trip to the United Kingdom and asked all her UK friends on Facebook for castle suggestions!
Turns out that although Josy is from the UK she now lives in Vancouver, BC, Canada, a few hours north of me. For several months we talked about hiking together so in July when I knew I was going to be in Canada for trail work on the Pacific Crest Trail, I added an extra day to my trip and suggested we get together for a hike.
And it was amazing!
Her and her husband Marc had me over as a guest, cooked me a delicious halibut dinner and we spent the most fabulous time hiking at Garibaldi Provincial Park. I even got to meet her cat, Monty, who is such a character.
You can read the whole trip report here at: Elfin Lakes and The Gargoyles. I can not tell you enough how much these pictures make me smile and how this hike was a highlight of my summer. And not just because of the beautiful scenery.
But this post isn’t just about me.
My son has an “online life”, too. Although I wish he spent a little less time online playing video games, I have to appreciate that there is a community there similar to the one I have with my blogging friends. His friends enjoy doing what he does and chat about their “real lives” while they are playing games and he has several online friends he counts among his in person friends.
So much so that when we were making our plans for visiting Britain, he made the connection that one of his friends, Michael, lived in England and it might be an opportunity to meet him in real life.
And so we did.
In a Welcome Break near Sheffield on our way back to London, we stopped at met Michael and his family for lunch. Michael brought his girlfriend and their beautiful baby Grace and we got to know each other while lots of busy travelers rushed around us.
Afterwards as we drove away, my son shared how happy being able to meet his friend in person made him. He was all but glowing. Sure, we came to Britain for castles. But along with those memories, he would be taking home the confirmation that what he and Michael had online was in fact “real”. It was nothing short of priceless to a young man who often isn’t sure of his place in the world.
I think we are going to continue to see more and more blurring between what is considered real life and online, and I have to say I think it is a good thing. The world is a very big place that includes the neighbor next door as well as the neighbor a continent away. There is a lot to be learned and shared all over the globe and why limit ourselves to what is contained in our limited physical surroundings?
I hope some day to meet in person several of my other online friends but even if we don’t, my connection to them enriches my life in many ways. I don’t have to rely on stereotypes and the generalizations found in media to tell me what people are like in other parts of the world. I am slowly meeting them online one by one and finding out for myself how wonderful most people who I share this planet with really are with the gift of the internet.
Editor’s Note: Have I mentioned I also met my wonderful husband online? Yes, the internet is a pretty amazing place. Also, my son is named Mitchell and his best friend since grade school who lives across the street is named Michael. Mitchell, Michael and Michael. Coincidence? I think not…
What are your internet connection stories? How has the world-wide web brought you closer to someone you would not have normally encountered in your neck of the woods?
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