Tag Archives: Wordpress

Two Bloggers Walk Into A Bar….Or Onto A Road

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WP on highway

Scene: Two WordPress bloggers meet somewhere on the information superhighway. Or, rather, on the pedestrian section of the information superhighway. We don’t want anyone run over by speed demons. You know, those bloggers who churn out posts at lightning speed, sometimes multiple times a day.

Random Blogger: Oh, hello MOSY! How have you been?

MOSY: Ah, okay, I guess.

RB: Haven’t seen you about much lately. What have you been up to?

MOSY: Oh, I’ve been a bit busy, actually. With the three R’s.

RB: Wow. Have you gone back to study?!

MOSY: Er….noooo. Three R’s? Running, Rowing and Recovering.

RB: Rowing and running?

MOSY: Yeeees. Sometimes I row and then run. One after the other. Hence the third R, of course.

RB: So, you’re telling me you’re insane.

MOSY: I’m not insane. My mother had me tested.

RB: Oh dear. Has it been that bad for that long?

MOSY: Really? You don’t know a quote from The Big Bang Theory when you hear one?

RB: The big what?

[MOSY rolls her eyes and sighs]

MOSY: Don’t you have a photo challenge to write about or something?

RB: Nah. I don’t really like the theme this week.

MOSY: Oh.

RB: You know, I do recall seeing you somewhere lately. On some blog or other.

MOSY: Well, yes, I’ve tried at least to keep up with other people’s blogs. Put my two cents worth in. Although, given the exchange rate lately, it’s more like one and a half cents worth on those Northern Hemisphere blogs.

RB: That’s right. You were making some bizarre comment about banana daiquiris or something. It was kind of amusing.

MOSY: Yeah, well, it’s easy to be witty in small doses.

RB: Witty? Was that what you were trying to be?

[MOSY stares at RB]

MOSY: Are you sure you don’t want to do this week’s photo challenge? I heard they’re offering prizes. [MOSY crosses her fingers behind her back]

RB: REALLY?? Oh, I’d better get right on that! I think I’ve got something from a few years ago that will be perfect!

MOSY: Yes, you’d best get on to that. You’re definitely in the running.

RB: Are you sure you’ll be okay? Will I see you again?

MOSY: Oh, you know me. Always hanging around like a bad smell. Or a bad electronic presence anyway.

RB: But you’ll post something soon, right? I mean, you know that if you don’t post regularly people will stop reading your blog?

MOSY: Right. [MOSY sighs]

Closing scene: The Random Blogger rushes away to trawl through photo archives while MOSY pulls out her laptop, stares at the New Post page for a few minutes, sighs, then puts it away and sticks out her thumb for a lift.

 

 

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The Blogosphere – Living In Another Dimension

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Image by David Cowan (www.freeimages.com)

Image by David Cowan (www.freeimages.com)

Is the Blogosphere real? Are bloggers real people?

Well, of course they are. What a ridiculous question.

However…

I am willing to bet any blogger who has ‘met’ another blogger in the Blogosphere, were they to meet in person, would be apprehensive. Is the person I know in the Blogosphere the real person?

I’ve got to know some fabulous people through this blog and was particularly touched by the care and love sent my way when my father died recently. The Blogosphere actually became a place of sanctuary for me when things got difficult. And yet I wouldn’t know many of you if you came and knocked on my door and tried to sell me fertilizer. Mainly because I probably wouldn’t open the door. But if I did, I still wouldn’t realise who you were until you introduced yourself. How weird is that?

Two of my blogging mates – Joanne and Maggie – recently decided to meet up in person. Both admitted to some nervousness. Would the person they ‘knew’ from their blogs be the same in the flesh? Fortunately, they got along in the ‘real’ world just as well as they do in the Blogosphere. (You can read about it here and here.)

I’ve shared some hilarious and stimulating conversations with my mate M-R – she of the soon-to-be-separated book blog and ‘other’ blog (link pending when she gets her act together) – through the comments of our posts. Lately, they’ve got so out of hand we’ve occasionally had to delete the comments so as not to confuse other commenters. She has become a dear friend. And yet we have never actually met.

Today, in order to assist with a technical matter without clogging up the comments on her blog, we agreed to talk on the telephone. (It was a quicker and cheaper option than jumping on a ‘plane which I briefly considered.)

Was I nervous? A bit.

Would we get on ‘in person’ as well as we do out here in Virtual Land?

Of course we did.

M-R in person – well, in ‘voice’ – was still the person I know in the Blogosphere.

I hope she found the same.

In thinking about this other dimension I ‘live’ in and who I am within it, I realise I am most probably more me here than I am in many other parts of my life. I have always found it easiest to communicate via the written word than the spoken. Some friends who know me in person will attest to my penchant for sending “oh, I should have said” emails after we have conversed. In a world where all my communication is done via my fingertips on a keyboard, I get all the necessary words out.

Still, as much as I love to hang out here in the Blogosphere with you all, one day I do hope to travel to all the places you are and meet you in person because I’m willing to bet the person you are out here is the person you truly are within and I know we’d get along bloggishly.

Also, free accommodation.

 

 

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Still Venturing… One Year On

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Mosy One Year

One year ago today, I started my blog. Reluctantly. On the what-I-saw-as-slightly-dodgy advice of a friend.

I went back and read that first post just to see whether I’ve ended up where I thought I would. Not really. Kind of. Maybe.

I certainly didn’t end up giving the writing a “red hot go”. Pursuit of publication took a back seat. The back seat of a 55-seater bus.

Did I write about what I said I’d write about? Hm. Not much about writing, that’s for sure. That seems to have waned after the first few posts. There’s been some parenting in there, a bit of social justice, very little about travel (damn it). But the “random weird stuff”? Oh yeah, got plenty of that.

So, what went into the blog has not quite been what I was expecting.

But here’s the big learning: What I got out of it was so much more than I was expecting.

I found a new community. New ‘like minds’. New friends.

It no longer matters that I’m not writing about my up-and-coming new novel. It doesn’t matter that I am a mere blip on the WordPress radar.

In the end, life is about connecting. And learning.

I’ve connected with different people in different parts of the world who are leading different parts of life.

I’ve learned that it’s okay to feel like an alien in a house full of boys. I’ve learned that loss and grief is both personal and universal. I’ve learned that maybe snow is not so exciting when you have to live with it every winter.

I’m an introvert and a common myth is that introverts don’t like to talk. This is not true, as anyone who has shared a bottle of wine with me will attest. What introverts can’t do is ‘small talk’. ‘Meaningful talk’ they can do for hours. Hanging out in the Blogosphere has been like being at a dinner party with friends who are on the same wavelength but with wildly differing views to offer, all putting their oars in on matters wide and wonderful. I’ve revelled in the opportunity to join the discussion, as many bloggers on whose posts I have commented will no doubt agree, perhaps ruefully.

Who can be lonely when you have the world to invite to your table?

Being the flighty Jack of All Trades I know I am, I wasn’t sure how long this ‘experiment’ would last. I’m impressed that I’ve made it through a whole year. Mind you, I have a bit of a pattern of about 2 to 3 years before I get bored so let’s see if I’m still here in two years’ time.

If you’re all still here, I’m pretty sure I will be too. I wouldn’t miss this dinner party for the all the book contracts in the world. (Hm. Well, maybe for one real one.)

 

 

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