Blogroll

I was reading Edamames in a Pod today and learned that M's friend has been nominated for a Brilliant Blogger award. I love Scott's blog, his kids are adorable and reading his blog gives me a preview of what's in store for me with Olivia (his kids are about a month and a half older than Olivia.)

I didn't really read any baby books. I mostly got information on what to do with Olivia from the information packets at the pediatrician's office and by Googling various baby care topics. In the process, I found some other 'Momblogs' written by some really clever and interesting people. What's really interesting is that Moms who blog seem to have formed various web communities and friendships between themselves. What's even more interesting is that these communities seem to have grown organically without Facebook, MySpace, or some other intermediary. People who blog about common subject just seem to find each other.

Being interested and involved with technology and social media, it led me to wonder what leads a community of people to form online. Other than the commenting technology, Blogger is pretty single-user. I think what's interesting about blog communities is that people express their personality online, and people who find their personality interesting will open a discussion. While people do kind of have a high level interest in common (cars, travel, parenting, food,) it's the personality that leads people to connect. It's like meeting someone interesting at a bar (minus the tasty drinks.)

I don't see myself becoming actively involved in blogging communities, and I'll probably stop posting to this blog once Olivia turns 1. But it is fun to be a voyeur into random people's friendships and lives through their blogs.