My husband is beginning to know names. Which makes it easier when I’m talking about events and conferences coming up and funny stories and tidbits that involve my SOCIAL MEDIA FRIENDS.
Oh yes… my husband knows them…
Yes, they’re real. And I’ve got blog posts and tweets and facebook messages and photos from blog conferences to prove it.
It’s funny, my friends from childhood and college and even some of my present-day-mom-friends all ask me about these other “women bloggers online.” I think on some level it’s intriguing because here I am connecting and bonding with other women – not all mothers, either – right here through social networking. It’s an amazing thing. It really is.
And even though a good percentage of these women haven’t actually met me yet… they know me. They know that I have 4 boys. They know where I used to live and what I used to do. They know my goals for Mom Generations. They know when I’m planning a vacation. They know when I’m having a good day or a not-so-good day. They know what shows I watch on TV. And my favorites authors and journalists. They are the first to know when one of the boys is sick – usually because it’s easier to text or type what’s going on rather than call my friends on the phone and tell them.
This social media world. It’s incredible.
And there are some women online whom I know, if they lived down the street, I would be at their houses nearly even afternoon… whether they would like it or not!
Working in this world. Running MomGenerations.com and being online every single day – on blog and Twitter and Facebook and Skype and so many other sites… it’s a very big world out there. And it is beyond amazing to be able to find other women (and some men!) – bloggers, boutique owners, executives, PR/marketing gurus – and become friends.
7 years ago while working in NYC, my “work friends” were women and men on the 15th floor of my building. Now – they are all around the world. I’m loving this blog thing.
Day #6 of Fashion Advice for Moms – For an instant slimming trick (come on, we all love these!) choose a jacket that is single-breasted rather than double. Single-breasted jackets have a much narrower overlap, and the single-row of buttons slims you horizontally. It’s easy. And it works!
This is so true, Miss Audrey. Sometimes I forget my real-world friends don’t know my blog friends, and say “So and so says…oh, right, you don’t know them.” LOL. It definitely adds a whole new dimension.
How true! My husband knows these friends by their online names…I have “met” so many wonderful friends online – though I have met a few disengenous backstabbers too – the good far outweighs the bad.
Glad to see us non-female friends get a mention! 🙂
What’s the best is when you meet an online friend IRL (in-real-life for you non-Twitterers). It’s hard to describe the feeling of going to an event like a PodCamp or a Tweetup (Twitter meetup) and already knowing people you’ve never met. It’s like a reunion or old-home week.
For many people like myself who aren’t good at “working a room”, social networking is a great way to meet new people who are interested in the same things you are, but to do it gradually in a very low-stress, safe environment.
It’s true. Blogging (now Twittering and yes, Facebook) have opened up my world tremendously.
I’ve only been on FB about a week and one of my IRL friends wondered how I had so many FB friends. “Oh, those are my blog buddies.” It’s been great to meet so many of them in person at BlogHer, Camp Baby and other events. My husband still calls them my imaginary friends, though.
I couldn’t agree more!
My husband knows my media friend too! i love that connection to the outside world from there comfort of your own home!
Perfect when you have a young family and don’t go out much1
Audrey, so true! I’ve forged friendships online in social media that are amazing…that’s what I love about the “work” we do. I put quotation marks there because while I earn money, it never feels like working.
So many passionate people passionate about helping others succeed professionally and personally.
LOVE IT!
This is so very true! I could have never imagined the strength of the relationships that I have formed through social media. I can honestly say that the women and men that I have met through social media really “get” me and have become very close friends. 🙂 Oh, and my hubby is starting to learn everyone’s names as well! It’s so funny!
Oh, same here! Isn’t it awesome?
Actually I have even showed your hubby’s picture to my Matt and said “see, her husband’s name is Matt too, I bet you’ll meet him someday, because I love Audrey, Jane and Sharon”.
i have made so many new and wonderful friends that is totally amazing, including you. I think I even feel closer to my online friends because there are so many discussions, personal & business, that are so authentic…and you can “see” their actions on the things they say and what the actually do.
Great write-up.
I know the feeling. Hubs is just now learning who everyone is but my BFF who is not into social media knows everyone now because I call everyone my online friends. I cant’ wait though because this year I’ll hopefully meet some of them at conferences and events!
I love social networking! It’s the highlight of my day . . .well except when my kids are awake or home from school. I have learned a lot from my online friends and have made lasting friendships. I love it!
Of course they are real! Oddly, no one looked at me strange when asking “who are these people” in the Christmas cards hanging up.
Wait, let me take that back, they only commented on the one blogger I actually had met a few times, not on the others…
I love the blog/twitter thing too for exactly that reason! It’s made a big huge world a bit smaller!
I often find myself saying, “I was reading my friend’s blog the other day…” only to realize that I’ve never met many of my blogging “friends.” It’s true that FB, twitter, and blogging open up a whole new world. I love it. My husband doesn’t get it, but then he’s not social IRL either. Oh, but he is on FB now.
It’s an amazing thing, like having pen pals that you can exchange letters, conversations, within minutes instead of weeks. My online friends usually know me better than others, simply because sometimes the hardships of life can only be written about instead of talked about.
So glad to have met you and your sis and mom, a trifecta of brilliance. 😉
Ooooh! Great post!
Sorry for being such a deliquent blogger! Miss your blog and posts. Will try to hop on over here like I used to…which was all the time.
C XOXO
P.S. This post is sooo true, Audrey! I couldn’t agree with you more!
Hopefully one day we will be able to all meet up in person. I mentioned that to your Mom! I’d love for you to meet Little One!
There is something so very special about the friends you meet from the blog. In some ways I share things I wouldn’t normally do with the friends I have IRL. It sounds weird, I know.
Audrey, I seriously made my husband read this post. So very true!
This only makes me look forward to meeting you even more! I will see you soon, my friend.
Thanks to social media and blogging, some of my dearest friends are women whom I’ve never even seen, let alone met or heard their voices. Does that make them less special to me? Absolutely not!