I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the internet is a fantastic place to socialise, chat and meet new people. What Zoe Williams may think of as “pointless messing about” is, to me, about building new friendships and maintaining existing ones. If lomography.com didn’t exist, I would never have met a whole host of splendid folk who have since become good friends, including Beth and G. If it wasn’t for Twitter, I’d never have met wonderful people like Rae, Em and Cat. And if it wasn’t for what used to be called the blogosphere, I would never have met Lyle, Sevitz, Gert, Ann and now Gemma.
I forget when I started reading Gemma’s blog, Retro Chick, but it always brings a smile to my day. Whether she’s discussing the misleading sizing of clothes sold by high street stores, the meaning of vintage, or simply posting photographs of her lovely hairstyles and outfits, it’s a pleasure to read and is always accessible. Some fashion bloggers keep writing about massively expensive items that they got free – things I sadly cannot afford to buy – and some focus far more on photos and videos than good old fashioned words. Retro Chick has a good balance of text to images and always provides me with a healthy dose of inspiration. Many fashion bloggers forget that readers are more easily retained when they think that, one day, they too could be as awesome as you.
Gemma is as lovely in real life as I expected her to be from her blog and was excellent company, despite being slightly worse for wear following much hi-jinx The Chap Olympiad. Thanks to her, I have now started my week with a smile and an added dollop of inspiration.
Hear, hear!
Not only have I met some amazing people (yourself, naturally, included) via Twitter & forums, but I've also increased and sustained my interest in so many hobbies and subjects.
My feminist reading is much broader, I'm exposed to a wider set of political and social viewpoints than is the case in my offline social groups, forcing me to evolve and defend my own views, and my crafting habits have been fed and have consequently multiplied like gremlins in a pond.
I derive enormous pleasure and value from all of these things – I've no idea what there is to belittle in that.
You're so right! I completely missed out the parts about hobbies and political discussions. Without my internet chums I have no one to motivate me when I need it, and my interest in and knowledge of politics would be considerably less. And you phrased it much more eloquently than I would have done. Just one of the many reasons I'm glad I know you 🙂
Great post. I would also like to thank Gemma for leading me your way – I love the interlinking that twitter is capable of, it's like an adventure of great discovery. 🙂
Ah ha! I have interwebular access properly!
It was lovely to meet you! Hopefully next time I will be on proper sparkling form and we can partake of some sparkling beverages that aren't Diet Coke.
I do really love the way the internet makes it possible for me to “meet” and then *actually* meet people I otherwise wouldn't.