This week, Shayla and I are discussing networking, and today’s question is: Do You Network with Other Bloggers/Readers? How?
Well, if you’ve been reading my blog for a while, then you already know my answer! Yes, I most definitely network with other bloggers and readers, and that’s one of the main reasons I began this blog last year. Shayla and I became fast friends after taking a blogging class, and stayed in touch after the class ended. We finally took the leap and began this collaboration in February, and now it’s a part of our weekly routine.
I’m also involved with Blog Trends, a resource for bloggers that holds a weekly Twitter chat on Monday nights at 8 pm CST. Anyone is welcome to attend, and we discuss a different blogging-related topic each week. It’s fast-paced and fun, and I’ve been fortunate enough to meet some wonderful bloggers who have become great friends in real life, Miss Donna and Lindsay. If you told me last year that I would soon count two fashion bloggers as my friends and neighbors, I would have laughed like crazy, but now it’s true! Both of them live close enough that we see each other regularly, and I’m so incredibly thrilled to have them in my life.
Through blogging, I also met Sandra from Raincoast Cottage, who has become a blogging mentor to me. She really encouraged me to attend Alt Summit in January, where we finally met in person. I was able to attend her roundtable discussion, and she inspired me to host my own blogger/creative get-together, which opened the door to several more new friendships, all related to blogging.
So I’m a big believer in networking, in whatever capacity you can manage. Leave comments on the blogs you love, email your fellow bloggers, find ways to make connections, and you will be rewarded for your effort.
One of my big blogging goals, which now reaches into real life, is to meet Shayla in person one day, and I know we’ll find a way! When I attended Alt, and whenever I attend a local event or host my own, I always think how awesome it would be for her to be there, too. Thankfully, we have this weekly discussion, which is so fun and inspiring.
I’d love to hear how you network, whether as a blogger or a reader, so feel free to tell me in the comments. And check out Northern Exposure for Shayla’s response, too.
(Discovered on a park table this week. I love Journey.)
This week was fairly quiet, and I attended a lovely blogging class led by Ms. Donna, my neighbor and fellow blogger. Here are a few things that caught my attention this week.
A fascinating article about singer Lila Downs.
Don’t Mess with Texas. The popular campaign is back in a big way. (Seriously y’all, just find a trash can!)
Jane Goodall came to Georgetown.
My hometown was named among the ten worst dressed big cities in the country. Please. It wasn’t until I moved to Austin that I ditched the hose and wore open-toed shoes to work. San Antonio girls know how to dress.
And, please forgive me, but this rant about Jon Hamm and his, um, manhood is too good not to share. I promise you’ve heard it all before. (Season Six of Mad Men starts Sunday!)
The boys need haircuts and we might make a trip out to Marble Falls to see the remains of a recently demolished bridge. Such is the life of a boys’ mom. Have a wonderful weekend!
When we moved into our house seven years ago, we were warmly greeted with regular pranks from the two young boys next door. One day, while hanging plants on our patio, Ryan and I were repeatedly shot with a squirt gun, and there was also an incident with a BB gun while Ryan was mowing the lawn. Instead of picking up after their dogs, the neighbor boys would just throw the poop into our yard. I’m not ashamed to say that I would promptly throw it back, often aiming for their pool. (I did use a shovel.)
All of this drove me absolutely insane for years, but not as much as one little fact. The boys, and their dad, almost never wore shirts, even in cold weather. They ran around naked from the waist up, so all of their shenanigans (which now seem pretty harmless) constantly reminded me of Lord of the Flies, the classic novel in which a group of schoolboys are stranded on a remote island after a plane crash, and must fend for themselves as anarchy ensues. I began using the title to describe what I saw next door, often telling Ryan that it was “all Lord of the Flies over there.”
Well, you know what happened, don’t you? Those boys grew up into what we hope are fairly normal adults, and Ryan and I now have two little boys of our own.
I like to think that my boys will be sweeter and more responsible than the boys next door, but then I witness scenes like this one.
(My own little Lords of the Flies.)
Since Ryan works from home three days a week, he normally takes the boys outside to play after lunch while I clean up and catch my breath for a few minutes. One hot afternoon recently, I walked past a window and was literally shocked to find all three outside, dressed in jeans, and stripped of their shirts as they played. That’s when the irony of the situation hit me like a ton of bricks, and I grabbed the camera and snapped a few pictures.
I used to get so frustrated with the guy next door, because his boys were little hooligans, and now I’ve got a pair of my own.
Talk about coming full circle.
Lucky for our neighbor, we don’t have a dog. At least, not yet.
