The Blogosphere

Yes, it is a thing. Blogosphere, as a word, was coined in 1999. Wikepedia states: "The blogosphere is made up of all blogs and their interconnections. The term implies that blogs exist together as a connected community."

This community is becoming increasingly more important to me. I began National Blogging Post Month (NaBloPoMo)this month, dedicating myself to the idea of blogging everyday for the month of November.

Initially I did this to increase readership on my blog, and to stretch myself by writing daily, but by the 3rd of November it had become so much more.

There are hundreds of bloggers who have registered on Blogher and we are all encouraged to share our daily posts. There are already well over a thousand posts to read.

I am fascinated by how quickly I have found numerous bloggers that I resonate with and want to keep following. It seems as if like finds like. Often the blogs I find are written by women who are mothers, who battle depression, who have poetic souls, who find humour in daily happenings. Often they are women of faith.

In other words, I find my community.

The news over the past two weeks has been horrific and yet as I read the daily blogs I am inspired and hopeful. The blogs are about people striving, trying to figure it out, putting themselves and their stories out there.
And after reading a few dozen I feel calmer, more hopeful, more understood.

I know there are nay-sayers out there that dis the blogging movement, but I think it is brilliant. We can't all be journalists with our own editorial columns, or authors of great fiction, but we can all tell our stories, sharing our point of view.

A view that is unique and yet familiar, and in that familiarity there is an opportunity to reach out and support someone, to not feel so alone, or lonely, to allow that still small voice to have a moment, when it is quiet, to be heard.

So this is a shout out to all you bloggers out there.

Thanks for putting your thoughts down and out into the blogosphere.

This is also a shout out to all the readers.

Thanks for listening, and commenting, and coming back.

Here are some blogs in my community you might want to check out:

Rubber Shoes In Hell. She is amazing, and funny, and real, and awesome. I am an unabashed fan - check her out - I think you will be glad you did.

Life with Roozle. This is a new blog to me, and I have been reading through the archives. Her tagline is "Two Moms. One Roozle. Life Rules". This blog rules. As a mother of a queer daughter I love the blogs I find in the LGBTQ community.

One more - because I like to do things in threes -

The day I found this blog I so needed what she had to say. I was a fan after the first post.
Momastery

Feel free to share blogs that help you find community in the comments below.

We are in this together.