Have been hearing about lot of blog meets these days and I’m amazed with the way people are getting real and meeting and all that…great fun I say ! Ironically haven’t found any local blogger on the blog sphere to team up with to organize the meet. But may be,just may be, with all these meeting updates I’m getting inspired to form a local group soon.. 🙂
At the meeting:Initially they must be feeling awkward and thinking what to talk and how to start the conversation apart from regular HI and HELLO. Once at the meeting probably the talk starts with discussing some silly stuff here and there…but gets interesting gradually…may be…and at the end of it ..each one from the group has friends to add into their life..a real friend with real name and real personality… Hmm..great experience in all…parting with ‘lets meet frequently’ and all that…
I thought about it…my point of view:
In this blog sphere we have met people who have indirectly become an integral part of our lives to the extent that the first thing that we do when we get up is to check the reply to the comments that we posted on their blogs and what new have they posted, to the last thing we do before we hit the bed is to do the same exercise…right ? The magic is- without even knowing the real names or the identities we are so much friendly to them and they reciprocate the same feelings..we get to know about each other’s lives and the little happenings day in day out.. I term these friends as ‘Known Strangers’. You know them but you can’t claim that you know them totally..they are as good as strangers.. they are with you in all your happy and sad moments.. virtually walking hand in hand..and you can share everything with them without thinking or regretting..that’s the beauty of blogging…
So, when we start meeting and knowing them..don’t they count as our usual friends which we already have,at work or in the locality or old college pals, in bunch ? And isn’t it the case that may be sometimes we don’t prefer sharing things with those real friends in our life ? and that’s when we resort to our blog friends…?
So meeting blog friends..are we erasing the differentiation of real and virtual ? Are we consciously doing that ? Do we want to be happy to add few more names to our friends list ? May be yes.. just may be…
Just a thought !
Stockpiling Life......for future! 
Some people I've 'met' through my blog seem to be great and I can sometimes see that I could be friends with them…there's stuff some of them get that my 'live' friends don't. I guess though, meeting would mean unveiling 'psych babbler' 😛
I have met three of my blog friends and enjoyed our meeting a lot and now we quite familiar to each other.
Sometimes I feel scared thinking about meeting 'known strangers'… Haven't met anyone yet… but from hearing a lot of blog meets and the wonderful time they had, I do wish I was there with them 🙂
i think they will always be your blog friends first…only after knowing them thru the blog, understanding that you think on similar lines, etc. you go ahead and meet right?….you aren't just going to ping some random blogger asking to meet them…so, the dynamics won't change…because they were there to hear you before, and they will be there to hear you after!
@PB: Yeah, that's what I mean..unveiling … but friends are friends and they spice up our lives right ?@Antarman: Great ! 🙂 @Elegant Chic: I can understand your feelings..that's where I was coming from…if not fear then a little bit of consciousness…@Titaxy: Actually yes ! It's right..they were there to hear you and they will be there to here you after meeting also :), I think it's right !
I've had this dilemma for eons too! And still not quite fully resolved it in my mind! I made some fabulous blog pals, and some of them eventually became my online pals, and some even good friends now, years later. Good post, like the way you've described what almost all bloggers have gone thro' at some time or other 🙂
I think after you follow a blog for long and becoming casual with them off-blog, you develop a close tie and then meeting up doesn't look so bad. I wouldn't recommend meeting random strangers. I mean..I am not comfortable. I don't even chat to people offline till I am comfortable with them. Now I know a lot of people through blogging and with many I am comfortable too. It takes time to know with whom you really can gel with.BTW I like your header, Nu.
First things first. a great new template :)For blog friends becoming real-world friends, I have a few I've not met, but talked and chatted with, and somehow felt that there are many things in common between us, especially the urge to express through writing. Though am not sure if I'd want to meet them as they are part of my very beautiful virtual world 🙂
Wowieee! Nice template there. 🙂 Where from? Me want to change look of my blog too…about the post, I second titaxy's opinion. Blog friends will be friends from blogosphere, but of course it can go beyond that once they meet in person time and again.
@JJ: Thanks so much for visiting and telling me your experience.. Hope to see you often :)@Sols: Ya I think the time spent on-line on the blog matters a lot and helps you to connect to the blogger friends.. Thanks for the header sols 🙂
@Neha: Thank you soooo much sweetie 🙂 I think you are right about the blog friends being friends but not sure of meeting them 🙂 @G: Thankoooo !! I got it from http://www.btemplates.com check there you will have good options 🙂
I second solio. I have met a few in past. Now i am more cautious. Unless and until you develop that comfort level there is no point going beyond. There is a whole big world beyond the blog you write; not sure if it is worth sharing with one and all. When you add people to your offline life it becomes different ball game together. A lot of them don't get how to keep offline and virtual life separate. If they don't get the meaning of trust; it is all gone for toss.
@BM: This was exactly what I wanted to point out.. the trust and consistent emotions once your online friends become offline friends too !
I second what Solilo has said! Exactly what I wanted to say and feel :)It takes time to go from only commenting on each other's blog to IM to phone and its only when we feel we can be friends, outside the virtual world too that we meet up with them!I have met about 7-8 of them and can say one gud thing abt the blog-world in most cases is people are just what they seem to be on their blogs and thatz what helps us in developing a nice relationship with them online and feels like we have known them forever 🙂
I've been blogging 2 years now…and never have really felt tht urge to meet anybody in person. My mom always complained tht I had too many friends in school & college. And I still keep in touch with most of them. After college it became very hard to make good friends…actually I didnt really try too much:-)).When I began blogging it was just to put down random incidents in my life…for many, many months I didnt go out of my way to meet other bloggers but slowly and I guess naturally I reached out.Even today I'm not really sure I want to meet anybody…..and its not because I dont want to meet them…its just tht there is a fear tht the image people have abt eachtoher may not….u knw wht I mean.But after having said all tht….I must admit tht I'm game for a bloggers meet…like as in a group of bloggers meeting together. I'm too scare to initiate a one-to-one kind of meet;-P
no i havent met any blog friend yet 🙂 lets see when it happens