I like to make friends all over the world as much as a love to share my daily life and learn about others, their habits and cultures. Since starting to blog actively in November I’ve gained a lot in that prospective. I’ve been giving the opportunity to tell about Norway and the Nordic countries, our ways of living and how we cope with the significant four seasons. Even more, I’ve got a lot of readers and blog friends who actively have commented and giving their point of views to our traditions and specialities. The more I’ve shared, the more interesting feedback I’ve recieved. This has given me the chance to see myself, my country and our way of living in a retrospective from which I have learned a lot. So therefore I thank you, all my readers – the regular one as well as the newcomers, for your visits and your comments showing your interests and compliments.
The subject line of this post refers to NOKIA’s slogan: ‘… connecting people’ and you know I use that mobile phone to take most of the pics to document my posts. This time there is more to it because my message today is to tell you about another blog meeting I had this week. I friend I ‘met’ a long time ago, Mark from the Philippines, has taken the big step to move to Oslo, Norway. So as soon as I came back from our vacation in Sweden, almost four weeks after he arrived, I met him for lunch at Youngstorget square. He is one out of over 85 million people on the other side of the globe, and I am one out of 4.7 million, but we met – because we have established a friendship through blogging:
Mark has a lot of gutts, taking this big step in his life. He is a clever, well educated, charming, outspoken and open-minded fellow. It was a pleasure to invite him for lunch and have an hour to talk about life, immigration, his land and mine, his culture, our culture, the similarities and differences as well as what we have in common. I remember he said he has never seen snow – you have a lot to look forward to:-) From his posts since he came here, you can see that he has experienced a lot of Norway already and he has even learned a lot of the Norwegian language. I admire his attitude and am looking forward to meeting him again and getting to know him better, as well as meeting some of his friends.
Back to blogging connection people; this isn’t the only blog friend I’ve met this year. Charles is another one and hi is special to me sine he did the makover of my blog. Click on the pic to visit him! Actually I’ve met him twice this year, once in Bergen and then earlier this summer in Oslo. Click here if you need a reminder for May or June.
I’ve also noticed that other bloggers post about the same phenomena. An example is a blog friend of mine from Switzerland who immigrated to Canada. Last week she met Christina in Vancouver and had a similar experience. They’ve even met a year before in Switzerland.
Challenge to my readers:
What do you think about this? Have you experienced the same? Please leave a comment and if you’ve got the same experience, give a link to similar posts on your blog! I want to see if I’m right: Blogging is connecting people?
Update:
2006.10.01. we had Mark and Knut to dinner and he has written a nice post about their visit on his blog which you can read her!
Thank you for that wonderful time and for your very kind words, Renny! Indeed, the world has become smaller and smaller, thanks to the power of blogging. Not only can we share knowledge and information at a speed faster than we can imagine, we can also gain insight from the multifarious cultures of bloggers all over the world. Each day is a new learning, and each meeting is a new experience. See you again, soon! Hello from Stockholm! I’m enjoying it here!
hi, the queer chef pimped me here
though I visit your blog regularly, he he.
so far, I haven’t met any blogger friends although I have a friend who blogs too :)
blogging rules!
Hi there!
never met blogger friends yet!
Hope I can…and hmmm who will be the first one???hehe
Hey Renny,
ty for all the wonderful comments on my blog(s). I have only just returned after 1 year’s absence and already many of my old friends are returning. I began blogging as a result of not being able to travel (new family). I have not met fellow bloggers, though there are no shortage of invites. If I find my way back to Sweden, I will be surre to take a short trip to Oslo (in the summer ofcourse)… lol
Hi, Renny, great post as usual. I love to read about your culture and your travels. :-)
And, yes, I HAVE met one blogging friend in real life, and you can read about it here:
http://lenadianejennings.blogspot.com/2006/06/met-blogging-friend-and-busy-busy-busy.html
I email several blogging friends and I have received a package from at least one blogging friend from Canada. There has been some discussion about meeting with a few more blogging friends, but that hasn’t happened yet. Distance plays a huge part in planning to meet. So far, I have had only good experiences meeting and contacting my blogging friends. :-)
Okay, that link is not going to work for me, so go into my archives to June 13, 2006 for that post, Renny.
Thanks,
Diane
I haven’t met anyone through blogging but I am in contact with many regular visitors to my blog.
Oh, and I’ve also migrated to the UK and will stay here for a few more years then move to my next destination!
wow! that’s really great. so far, the people i’ve connected to are those i’ve met years before and have connected with them again thru blogging. and for some, i got to chat or exchange emails with them. but i have not met anyone in person yet except for my real friends. but i’m sure that if i go to oslo, you’ll tour me around, right renny? hehehe :)
I love the way my blog has led me to meeting other people. SOme I have met and some live in places I would love to go. Somehow blogging has made the world a smaller place for me and I love that!!!
I’ve been actively blogging for almost a year now and though I’ve made some friends online, I’ve never actually met them in person. Still, I’m looking forward to that day. It includes meeting you! :D
You sure are connecting to people through your writing and pics! You are also lucky to meet some bloggers in real life. I doubt that I will because we just don’t travel much..it is so expensive. People in the States and Europe seem to travel much more than we do in Canada and our country is so large and diverse, we tend to travel right here because there is still so much we have yet to see.
@Mark: Well said Mark and from your posts, I know you have a great time in Sweden too!
@Jairam: I do appreciate your regular visits as I love to check on yours as well.
@yorokobee: Well, you are welcome to Oslo and Norway any time you know hehe
@FatBastard: Glad you find time to blog again then. Oh yea, pleas come over to Oslo next time you are in Sweden!
@Diane: Thanks for your compliments! Thank you also for sharing your blog meeting and with a link to your post (it works just fine!). I’m glad you had such positive experience too!
@Missy: Good contact is important too. Glad you keep us posted about your stay in the UK and I’m sure we will know when you move on to the next destination!
@tin-tin: How great to find back to good old friends through blogging – that’s another good example of blogging connecting people you know! For sure I will tour you around in Oslo and Norway when you are coming – anyone else want to join? :-)
@Maribeth: Well said Maribeth – exactly the same I am feeling.
@jhay: Your day will come too and remember, you are always welcome to Norway!
@MotherOfInvention: You don’t necessarily have to travel a lot to meet other bloggers. The two I have met was visiting Oslo you know. So your chance might come sooner than you think!
hey Renny – thanks for the mention about me.. Actually I’m just a full on expat. My last stop was switzerland and now I’m immigrating to Canada. But I was somewhere else before Switzerland.
I actually never got to meet Christina before last week or so but we did know each other from our blogs for over a year. I had met another blogger while we were in Lausanne where he lived.
It’s great meeting bloggers. I want to meet many more and well if I lived back in Switzerland, I’d probably have met a handful of them. While I lived in Switzerland, I met a few friends via yahoo groups which was a cool thing. I love how the internet can bring people together!
Hi RennyBa,
I only know the bloggers who were my real life friends to begin with.
In the past though, I was big in ICQ. When I got a chance to work in Germany I had a big party in an old train station and all my friends travelled from all over Europe to celebrate with me. There are pics of it on my blog in Voyeur Pics and Flicks in the Timeline slideshow.
I got a job through internet connections, and made a best friend and got a roommate.
It’s always nice meeting fellow bloggers and yes, In feb/2005, I invited 7 of my blog friends for an eyeball that was held in my place & to celebrate my son’s 1st b-day as well.Most of them stayed with us two nights & three days.Our house was totally full that weekend even our hammock in our gallery was occupied hehe My husband was hesitant with the ‘eyeball’ idea at the beginning, it is risky he said ,which is true & understandable esp. if they all will stay in your place.BUT that plan pursued without any second thought to my part I was just relying on my ‘gut feelings which am so glad that I DID:)
That eyeball in 2005 was followed in March 2006
here’s the link:
http://moderately-confused.com/?p=125
and:
http://moderately-confused.com/?p=123
Lastly,just one piece of advice to everyone when meeting bloggers:Trust your gut and follow your heart :D
i have not been fortunate enough to meet any fellow bloggers in real life but i look forward to being able to do just that one day. there are a few i am quite close too in terms of friendship, if not geogrqaphy.
as for mark never having seen snow it reminds me of my days in university. i spent much time with the foreign students and i always enjoyed seeing the ones from tropical nations experience their first snow. they had such different reactions to it but it was always fun to see. we always tried to make sure new friends had proper warm clothing too.
What do you think about this? Have you experienced the same? Please leave a comment and if you’ve got the same experience, give a link to similar posts on your blog! I want to see if I’m right: Blogging is connecting people?
Renny- when I first started to blog i targetted my friends and family overseas to save on individual e-mails and posting pictures so many times. then someone had made a comment, an outsider and I clicked her link then I discovered the beauty of blogging by just visiting the links and like you said connected to different people by just linking and leaving comments when topics touched or provoked me. For me now, blogging is connecting to family, friends and beyond (additional friends you meet and connect with). Have a great weekend from downunder and am please to meet you through the queer chef’s blog.
thanks for visiting me..
yup! I’ve experienced the same… While preparing for my world youth day trip last year and announcing it on my blog I met a priest, Fr. Stephen commented and we met up at Bonn Germany then he toured us around Rome and we remain friends till now…
Connecting people yes, and I would also add giving you a sense of belonging in my case. I have found people who accept me as gay via my blog. Blogging is great.
You are right. Blogging is a great way to meet other people in real or in cyberspace.
Blogging is fun. I have not met anyone I blog with but probably would if the chance arose…
Since moving to our new home, almost all of the people we consider friends were first met via my blog. It’s crazy! And wonderful! We also like to travel to meet up with bloggy friends, but don’t get to do that as often as we would like.
Thank you for visiting my blog, and your greeting from Norway. You are so right about connecting via blogs, so many nice people have came to visit me too.
Thank you so much for coming over to my blog and leaving a comment…I love meeting new people:-) I’ve been reading a lot of your posts and find have found them so very interesting!! I haven’t met a blogging friend in person but I have met 2 penpals…one from Belgium and one from Newfoundland. It is wonderful to meet someone face to face after writing to each other for so long!
@ExpatTraveler: Thanks for sharing your experience and I know you are a real globe trotter. You know I love the same so please tell me next time you are in Europe!
@Lynn: Great to hear, I have the same experience from the past. You really seams to take advantage of the power of the net in networking!
@CheH: Thanks for sharing your experience – some great examples! In Norway we say: if there is room in your heart there are room in your house too and you really fit that description.
@Lime: You will meet some one day I’m sure!
I’m looking forward to see Mark covered in snow this winter too:-)
@VICKY: You describe blogging the very best way! For me an important thing is to connect with my family in the US. Have a great week ahead down under:-)
@gaiL: See, it works – thanks for sharing your experience too!
@imphaldiary: Thanks for sharing yours too and I am glad you have such great experience!
@Sidney: How great to hear from you!! Are you back home from Belgium?
@Grish: You will have your chance one day!
@Carrie: Both crazy and wonderful – thanks for sharing!
@CandyDuell: Your welcome and how good to hear that you have had blog visitors too!
@PEA: Your welcome and thanks for the compliments! Your so right: after building up a good relationship through the net, it is great to meet people face to face.
Hey…
Blogging is wonderful – God Bless Blogging :)
I have met and made a couple of wonderful friends through blogging and I hope this journey continues…
Next of my list to meet dear Arete…and thats only the beginning…
Noojes
What’s so funny and wonderful about this post, Renny, is that I met
Christina in Germany in January (and then twice since then) and will meet Expat Traveler in Vancouver in October. It really is a small world after all. Too bad I didn’t know you when we stopped in Oslo on our cruise at the end of May. Maybe we could have met :) But because of THAT post, we did meet, because that’s when you first commented on my blog :)
Renny,
It’s great to have friendly bloggers like yourself around. Keep on doing what you are doing so well. Someday I hope to visit Norway. I’ve been to Sweden and Denmark but missed Norway on the way. So it is always nice to hear about your country. Greetings from Los Angeles, California.
I’d love to meet you too Renny. I am planning to visit Norway next year!!! I got a friend named Brede there, and now, The Queer Chef and you!
Only if you are interested.
Blogging has been a godsend for me. I work mostly at home and don’t have many friends. (Not because I’m hideous or mean, just because I’m busy.) So I count all the bloggers I read every day as new friends. That includes you, Renny! God forbid you should ever find yourself in Philadelphia, but if you do, I’ll treat you to supper.
@Noojes: Yes, a great journey with a lot of lovely people. Please keep us posted about your meeting with Arete!
@Ginnie: Thanks for sharing your experience with a blog link as another great example!
Please keep us posted when you meet a good blogger fellow Expat Traveler.
Really sorry we did not met when you where in Oslo, but next time!
@JR Woodward: Thanks and by all means, please chose Norway next time. My wife is from the US too, so we know all of what’s interesting about Norway to an American.
@Aceian: Sounds terrific – of course I would love to meet you too and let’s include Charles (my blog designer!) and maybe other mutual friends in Norway too!
@AnneJohnson: Thanks for your comment and I’m glad and feel honoured to be counted in as I do to you of course. Good to know there is free supper waiting when I get over – thanks:-)
I was just returning the blog visit, and then read this post…I had just blogged on that very thing!!
Here is the post.
This is a lovely, chatty blog. I will be back (if only for the food pictures!)
@Lori: Thank you so much for sharing and that long after I posted! Maybe over a year this might be the proof of the pudding – bloging really connecting people:-)