Following up on the Plaxo post from earlier, I’ll say that I started this blog primarily as a way to meet people and as a way to keep up relationships I’ve already established. It helps people get to know me a little before we meet face-to-face, and it lets those I know keep up with my latest areas of interest, coverage, etc. So, for me, blogging’s all about relationships.
So I was a little surprised by Tony Gentile’s post earlier this week. In it, he remarked that he thought he maybe went overboard in giving me a hug at first meeting me, since he felt he knew me from blogging. Tony, I feel like I know you, too. It’s not so weird to feel like you know me well enough to be personal. Maybe I was just a little slow to translate that online rapport into the real world, but that doesn’t mean the rapport isn’t there.
I actually wrote a big essay on this topic for the 100 Bloggers Project. Not sure when the book is expected to be out, but I look forward to reading the 99 other entries.