Chris beat me to it. I’ve had this little post in my draft box for a couple of weeks now, so I guess now is a good a time as any to finish it off and publish it.

I’ve been thinking about this for a while now. This past year has seen me be online a great deal more than I’ve ever been in my life. In that time I’ve learnt soo much about how the web works, what the current trends are in web design, I’ve read an emmense amount of information, posts, comments, articles. The one thing that I enjoy the most out of this whole experience however is the amazing group of people that I interact with nearly every day.

It takes a while but eventually you start feeling like you know each other. There used to be a time when I was meeting someone new nearly every other day, due to work, or extra activities. It’s not as common as it used to be, but the web has kind of brought me in touch with a great number of people who I actually consider friends.

Friendship comes in a number of different forms, and the relationships you build with people differ according to the circumstances you meet them in. I remember a good while back there were two guys I met on a forum whom we used to ‘converse’ for hours via e-mail. Yeah it was slightly weird since this was during the early days of the internet and there was an added bit of precaution to anything you did on the net because it was so new, but Kieron and Ludovic were great guys, I haven’t ‘spoken’ to them in 3 years but I can still remember their names.

One thing that I will say is that it helps a lot more when the online person actually presents a part of himself. That’s when a connection is established. I remember Ludovic moving from Canada to Paris. I remember Kieron looking for a new job. I remember when Chris announced that his wife was pregnant. I remember when Matt changed jobs. Presenting a part of themselves, as friends do on a regular basis. I speak to Joshua quasi regularly and the man is a rock. Always there when I’ve asked for any help whatsoever. Michael and Joen in my mind go hand in hand.

And the list keeps on going and expanding (there are loads more, and I’d be here all night, and I’ve got stuff to do); and that thought comforts me. It’s truly amazing to see the effects of how blogging actually builds a sense of community.