Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Blog Camp Bloggers

You've heard about Blog Camp, you've seen the previews, many of the preparations and some of the details in the Blog Camp blog, as well as first impressions in the camper's blogs here, here, here, here and here. Julie has already started posting a series on what happened, so I'm not going to do the same, unless I discover that we have completely different versions!
Blog Camp 1 was the first time that I'd met any fellow bloggers in real life and I jumped at the chance from the beginning. But then, I got nervous, first about what they would think of me, and then, just a little bit, about what they'd be like.
Bee had told me that, in her experience, bloggers tend to be like their blogging voice. This was true... and, at the same time, it wasn't. Having the person in front of you instantly changes your idea of them, or at least it did for me. Suddenly, they weren't only words and photos on a screen. They were people, with their personal gestures, voices and mannerisms. I very quickly adjusted, we all did, and commented on how we all sounded very much like our blogs but later we wondered: Do we really sound like our blogs? Or have we changed our preconceptions of each other in light of the real us?
Were there any surprises? Only good ones. Ours was a eclectic blogger group. Some have been blogging for a long time, while others have just started. Some will post every day and will touch lots of different topics, others will post when they feel they have something to share about a particular book or film. Some talk about life, others about hobbies, pets, or relationships. Some are positive and others are sarcastic. Blogging shows many sides of you, but rarely the whole picture... You choose certain topics to blog about, and we of course all go through phases where we have less time or less energy for blogging.
So, yes, we discovered that Extranjera was "actually quite pleasant" (her words) and could crochet and knit, and that Polly is a model in the making, and much more funny in real life. Who knew that Seaside Girl would actually like to marry a Danish man and that Kristina would come sans Vigdis? Julocka? Actually, no big surprises there, she really is like her blog!
I'm not saying that you can't get to know someone through their blogging, because you certainly can, and we did before Blog Camp and we'll continue to do so. But you see many other sides of someone face to face. Which is, of course, why there is a Blog Camp UK in the making, and a Blog Camp 2 in Denmark to come!

11 comments:

  1. Happy it went well for you B (imagine how awful it would be if it hadn't !)
    I'm sure it was a very interesting experience and one to treasure. x

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  2. OK I am so happy and jealous all at the same time. What an experience!!
    So who's up to host Blog Camp USA???

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  3. I'm so happy too that all is well and no heads got chopped off :)
    Ali- I think the US blog camp needs to be in the Mid-West...

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  4. Knowing that everyone was as great as their blog or better makes me even more jealous than ever! I can't tell you how many times I checked in with your blogs over the weekend just to see what was happening--and what I missing! Someday...

    All great stuff! Thanks for sharing!

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  5. sounds like you had a great time! i´ve had a great time following along:) besos!

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  6. all very true (but we did talk about this)

    and just to clarify, all the posing was in preparation for he iwanttomarryadanishman dot com and once that's up and running I'll stop posing because let's face it I would make a rubbish model

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  7. Oh, well-said.

    I do think, on reflection, that everyone (consciously or unconsciously) adopts a sort of blogging persona . . . but I also think it reveals more about us than we might think!

    Anyway, I look forward to Blog Camp 1.5 at my house . . . and getting to see all of this for myself.

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  8. How beautifully written, just lovely....looking forward to meeting you! x

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  9. It is kind of weird that I can actually picture you sitting at your mac, lost in thought, either reading or writing blogs. Weird but good!

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  10. I can't believe I came without Vigdis either :-) But if I had come without my camera it would have been really weird.

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  11. It must have been quite an experience to meet in person fellow bloggers! However personal, a blog is never about the blogger's life as a whole, and being face to face to the whole blogger-person must be interesting. What are your conclusions?

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