There have been two significant deaths in my little blogging world recently. One came out of the blue as a surprise, and one, while he'd been sick and absent for awhile still came as a shock. I'd even just reached out to check in the day after he died (but before the news was shared).
Both were men I really knew nothing about but once a week, if not more, I would get a glimpse into their life and what they were doing, where they were exploring or just a weekly chuckle at a shared joke or meme.
So it is a little strange how connected I felt, only realised by how sad I was to hear of their passing.
More bloggers announced retirement this week, and so the blogging world keeps shrinking.
The landscape has changed significantly since I started. My real connections are much smaller than they were yet my numbers are way up, higher than ever before (but I can only assume that is bots crawling all over the words, rather than eyes of real readers).
The dead internet theory seems more and more realistic these days, and yet, I don't lose my desire to write. A friend shared the 4 pillars of meaning (in a reel by Haileypaigemagee on Instagram), and the fourth one was Storytelling - how you have a narrative of who you are and how you got there. I guess that's what the blog is for me. Sorting out my thoughts & sharing the things I love in the world. Even if eventually it's just a personal diary lying bare to the bots, genuinely a lone voice screaming into the void...
However, that may be a few years off, in the meantime, I'll keep enjoying the fragile universe I share with people around the globe that once a week I mix with - looking at their world and sharing mine.
Linking with #SeniorSalonPitstop #TalkaboutitTuesday #WWWhimsy
your efforts are greatly appreciated
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy your perspective. I've had many of the same thoughts, and view my own blog as kind of a personal photo-diary and place to document my hikes. I too had a fellow blogger pass a while back, and though we never met, I was very sad and felt badly I never got to say goodbye.
ReplyDeleteI think only other bloggers can really understand the loss we feel when we loose one of our own; my husband looked at me like I was crazy when I mentioned I was sad at a fellow blogger's passing but it's hard to explain how connected you feel after reading about their lives for so long... even if it was only once or twice a week.
ReplyDeleteHi Lydia, wow - your posts resonates very strongly with me today. When you've read my post you'll know why. I'm sorry to hear you've lost people within your blogging world. I know how that feels. There's been a couple of bloggers I knew 'virtually' quite well that passed away suddenly and it really shook me. Through our words and photos we get to know each other really quite well, and so the loss is very real. Hugs to you and thank you for being a regular contributor to #WWWhimsy each week! xo
ReplyDeleteHi Lydia I'm sorry to hear of the loss of your blogging friends. Like you, I count the bloggers I interact with as friends. In some ways we are closer than real life friends, because we tend to share out lives, perhaps more that would be usual in real life. I've noticed many of my blogging friends have disappeared. I tend to get upset when that happens and find myself wondering if they are ok.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad when people who we 'know' via blogging and social media die. It just shows we do feel real bonds via this kind world we inhabit. Take care. Denyse x
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear of your blogging friends passings. I know what you mean. I often find myself thinking about how my blogging friends feel like real family and how the love and connection is just as real for me.
ReplyDeleteVisiting today from Esme's.
Sad to read off your blogging buddies. As bloggers, I feel we are friends, even only online, but friends nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteThank you for linking to SSPS 379 See you again Monday