I don't think that people who know each other online wanting to meet face to face is a new phenomenon! doesn't this date from BBS days?

here's some pics of an early Seattle weblog gather.

It can be worth a special effort to also get to know those who are in the same area. You may find you have things in common with them beyond location!

Seattle bloggers have a group at Community zero.

[voice style="farmer:elderly;"] Don' hafta be *new* to be *good*...[/voice]

Yeah, old news. Rebecca Blood and jjg met through their weblogs, IIRC, and are now married. Steve of Nowthis.com and I met through our weblogs in 1999, then met in person in 2000. We're now married. There are others...

You mean that there's still hope for me?? :-D

I've made some really great friends online since before Blogging was ever thought of - before the web actually.

I still keep in touch with some people I met on Prodigy back in '88 or '89. And I regularly chat with a group of women I met through a Highlander (movie & TV series) mailing list.

Something about meeting through the mind first rather than the normal route - meeting people face to face first - seems to make a stronger bond IMO

I know I've certainly met more kindred souls online than anywhere else.

I agree with you one hundred percent, almost. Almost because I feel that too much time is spent lately whining and complaining through blogs, aches and pains and suffering. This is fine (kind of) as long as it does not get out of hand. There must be some kind of balance if people are going to be able to use blogs as an effective catharsis for pent-up energies of both the slightly negative as well as the very positive kinds.

out of hand? what is this "out of hand"?

still looking for that teleportation chat-room plugin.

no seriously, i do see the blogging connections more and more leading to meatspace meetings. let's all meet at blogcon (blogcon.org for more info on that).

I think by your definition, Kiffin, I am 'out of hand' already...but I can't (make that won't) change. In my eyes, without emotion, we are nothing but ephemeral characters made up of letters and punctuation. The emotions bring a corporeality to us, allow us to care for each other and make the kids of friends and connections that we have here.

For the record, I met my significant other online in '99. The only people that remembered my birthday were online friends. Tells me something.

Wow. Makes me wonder if someone such as myself is writing under false premises when I weblog. I find it very unlikely that I'll meet any weblogging friends offline. Not that I don't care for the people, just the way I am.

I am taken back a bit.

I forgot to say in earlier comment, I envy those of you who have connected with others through the Internet.

Well, just because you write online and live near others who do the same doesn't mean that you'll share any other interests. But have you really ruled it out? or are you shy? (I'm shy when not on familiar territory, but now my subconscious mind counts all of Seattle as familiar territory.)

That there is physical distance between us may help jumpstart these relationships. Bear your soul, go from there. Then distance frustrates for all the reasons Shelley P. blogs here. I haven't reconciled it yet. Maybe never will. But I'm going to keep trying.