I asserted in a recent post on the Nature Blog Network blog that the relationships we build offline drive our online success. Do you agree? Share your most memorable meetings with other bloggers here or at the original post.
Photo from the first time Corey, Charlie and I went birding together… hilarity ensued
Mike is a leading authority in the field of standardized test preparation, but he's also a traveler who fully expects to see every bird in the world. Besides founding 10,000 Birds in 2003, Mike has also created a number of other entertaining but now extirpated nature blog resources, particularly the Nature Blog Network and I and the Bird.
Wish you guys were at ScienceOnline2011 this year (or are you?). It’s a testament to this very idea. A real life happening that draws strength from and builds online communities.
http://scienceonline2011.com/
For me it’s been the reverse: online relationships leading to offline ones.
Of course hilarity ensued! Three guys out in nature, no nagging wives or kids… betchya had a great time!
In this age of technology, we become more and more isolated. So it stands to reason face-to-face relationships would be more satisfying and the people would bond better and faster.
I miss actual LETTERS, as opposed to emails!
I agree with John. A few people from my offline life read my blog (hi, Mom!) but most of my readers are people I never would have met without the internet — including the illustrious 10,000 Birds core team.
@Jason – I mention SciOnline in the original post for exactly that reason. Events like that exert a tremendous positive impact on entire blogging communities. We don’t have an analog in the nature blogging niche, but we’ve made excellent headway in organizing blogger events at birding festivals. Again, too bad you won’t be at Space Coast for the Noon Blog blogger lunch.
@April – e-mails are way better that letters! I don’t fully believe that, but do appreciate how much easier it is to keep up with friends across the country.
@John & Carrie – that’s actually my point. Meeting bloggers offline leads to more opportunities online. For example, after hitting the trifecta (or running the gauntlet as the case may be) and birding with me, Corey, and Charlie, Carrie earned her wings as a 10,000 Birds Beat Writer. It’s kind of like being hazed into a secret society 🙂
I agree Mike. Relationships start online, are nurtured offline, which leads to greater collaboration online.
Every great thing that’s happened to me as a result of my blog was precipitated by an offline interaction at some point. There’s really no substitute for being out in the field!
Online contact, for me, serves mostly as a form of keeping the flame alive when face-to-face (or binocular-to-binocular) contact isn’t available or convenient with that person at that time.
Safe to say, we each use technology in our own way.
Maybe develop a networked enabled pair of binoculars that live streams the focal point. Or attach an iPhone to a spotting scope. So online and offline exist in the same space/time.
@All: so when are you all coming to Germany so we can extend our online relationships?
Offline is better but the online community is becoming stronger. As the new technology reaches all corners of the earth, online relationships will continue to flourish. For example, a year ago my internet connection was so slow that it took 3 minutes to load the 10000birds home page. Today it takes about 15 seconds thanks to a large dish I installed on my terrace that amplifies the weak cell phone signal I get inside the crater to get internet. I still cannot see videos and chatting is not smooth but I can begin to surf the web with a better feel. But.. I am old fashion and nothing beats a hand shake and day of birding together to establish a relationship.
@Jochen, I’m looking forward to it!
@Renato, there’s nothing old fashioned about connecting on a personal level. Plus, birds don’t count if you only see them online!
@Mike, how about “birds don’t count if you only see them alone”?
@Jory, that change could either destroy organized birding or take it to the next level!
@Mike, organized birding? I never thought of it that way.
Birding reminds me of an enormous Easter egg hunt, with millions participants spread across the globe searching for zillions of “eggs”. These eggs often disappear for no apparent reason. You don’t get to eat any of the goodies you find (if you’re not a photographer, you end up with nothing more than a memory and tick on some obscure list). I will restrain myself from pursuing this analogy.
Nonetheless, birding is beautiful chaos.
@Mike: and you’re welcome 24/7!
In March I’m going to Ecuador. It will be the first time I’ve been birding with a group of people. It will also be the first time I’ve been out birding with a list. It will be quite an experience as I have become so accustomed to going out by myself. 40 years ago I would go out with my father but since he died, I go alone. I’ve lived in the Canadian Rockies my entire life and really enjoy our birdlife but never thought of keeping a list. But after joining and reading many blogs, I’ve given more thought to it. Maybe I’ll start it in the fall, after the golden eagle migration. There are always so many other raptors moving through the valley at the same time.