Jul 25

Written by: Kat
7/25/2009 8:27 AM

This week I spent some time at a fabulous petting zoo of sorts – I met almost every single one of my favorite bloggers. I pet their perfectly magnificent hair, I touched the lovely silk on their dress sleeves, I shook their perfectly moisturized hands, and I grasped their shoulders in an authentic hug. It was like being at a wild animal park where bloggers can run free in their natural habitat and then some are set aside behind bars where you can walk up and look at them and point and talk about them and still yet, others are in a corral where you can reach out and touch them with the thrill that their mighty roar might tear your chest in half or their bite may rip your arm off. I LOVED it!

My reaction to the women whose lives I’ve spent hours peering into over the last few years was very different from how some of my new buddies reacted. They were timid and unwilling to jump up and introduce themselves; they’d point out different people that they enjoyed reading about and say they hadn’t worked up the courage yet and then others would say that they had indeed finally introduced themselves to this person or that person.

Meanwhile, I would walk up to the person and introduce myself, ask about their dog or their job search or their new home. The reason I read blogs is because they are real and the people are real. If this is the case, why wouldn’t that person want to meet me and why wouldn’t I want to meet them? They aren’t any better or more fabulous than I am otherwise I would read about them and not of them. Most of the bloggers were warm and a pleasure to meet and for that I will continue to peer into their lives and pour out my own.

I didn’t really meet any of the unapproachable, “better than sliced bread” kind of women I’ve heard so much about. Perhaps it’s because of the quality of person I choose to connect with online. Not to say that there weren’t plenty of women who looked to be unapproachable or snooty but I didn’t introduce myself and neither did they. There was no need, I don’t read their blogs and since we didn’t have a connection in Real Life, I won’t for the time being. However, there’s always next year in New York!

As much as I ohh’ed and ahh’ed over these “internets,” the mega bloggers were equally ohh’ing and ahh’ing over Carson Kressley and others. Carson and the gang did nothing for my curiosity or enjoyment; it was all about the bloggers!

To the lovely ladies at Blogher 2009; I am not sorry I treated Blogher as a zoo (at least I didn’t compare it to a freak show!). I’ve enjoyed every opportunity that I’ve taken to interact with you In Real Life, I’ve appreciated the moments that you became a human to me and that your stories became authentic and tangible. Thank you.

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