Post by Adam B on Aug 4, 2008 7:23:24 GMT -5
Meet the bloggers: Online community reaches beyond the Web
By Elizabeth Kim
Staff Writer
Article Launched: 08/04/2008 01:00:00 AM EDT
Direct Link: www.stamfordadvocate.com/ci_10089648
STAMFORD - On a balmy Thursday night, Diana Taft, a 43-year-old attorney, timidly made her way toward a group of strangers on the dining patio outside Monster B's Bar and Grille on Glenbrook Road.
She scanned the table of diners, eventually locking eyes with a thin, wispy-haired brunette who looked familiar.
"Are you . . . Jennifer?" she asked with uncertainty, extending her hand. "I'm Diana."
The woman gave her a blank look.
Taft tried again. "I'm Connecticut Mom," she said, referring to the name she uses on her blog, www.ctmom96.blogspot.com.
With that, the ice was broken. Manager Mom, known in real life as Jennifer Lambert, promptly embraced her.
Taft was officially in, grabbing a chair and joining the dozen or so bloggers who refer to themselves on Facebook as the Lesser Fairfield County Blog 'n' Grog Appreciation Society.
The blogosphere has become a full-fledged social networking scene where acquaintances can be struck through the chatter of posted comments. In Stamford, bloggers are forging a real-life community out of a virtual one - they are closing their laptops, stepping out of their pajamas and taking their online friendships offline.
The monthly gatherings, which began last June, were arranged by two Stamford residents - Kristine Redlien, a 33-year-old Greenwich middle school teacher who dishes news and gossip at www.stamfordtalk.com, and Lambert, a 37-year-old marketing executive who writes a wry and unflinching perspective on motherhood at www.managermom.blogspot.com.
Redlien said it was "surprisingly easy" to form a community of bloggers. She said she moved to Stamford seven years ago and knows how lonely the city can be.
"In a way, I'm re-creating the life I had in college, where there was a lot of free time to meet people," she said.
The group keeps growing, bringing together a mix of people that otherwise might never have met.
On Thursday night, for example, the attendees included Adam Bernard, a music journalist who blogs about the state of hip hop; Kevin McKeever, a freelance writer who offers his humorous take on being a stay-at-home father; Nate Dean, a computer programmer who mulls over topics in philosophy and math; and Chris Schoenfeld, an entrepreneur who rants about inefficiencies of Metro-North Railroad.
To differing degrees, the bloggers are celebrities among themselves.
As newcomers dribbled in and introduced themselves, McKeever, 40, sipping a beer, needed only to utter his online alias, Always Home & Uncool, to elicit recognition.
"Oh, you're Home & Uncool? I love your blog!'" shrieked a blogger and mother.
Many had never met, but the awkwardness seemed minimal.
McKeever said about their first meeting in June, "We got along swimmingly."
But as Lambert said, they already knew each other in a deeply personal way.
"You could see the roots of who they were in what they were writing," she said.
Schoenfeld said, "The fact that we're bloggers means that we have a lot more in common than we don't. Our spouses don't understand us. Our friends make fun of us. No one is especially encouraging."
Members discovered that blogging transcends geographic boundaries. For instance, Taft, who works in Hartford and lives in Ellington, drove two hours in rush-hour traffic to make it to last week's get-together.
McKeever, after contributing to a blog called DadCentric, struck up a brief e-mail correspondence with a fellow blogger in New York City. The two discovered they were fans of the same New York baseball team. Two weeks ago, McKeever received two Mets tickets, worth $110, in the mail.
"From a guy I've never even met before," he said.
- Staff Writer Elizabeth Kim can be reached at elizabeth.kim@scni.com or at 964-2265.
Online and offline
The Lesser Fairfield County Blog 'n' Grog Appreciation Society includes:
- Diana Taft, known as Connecticut Mom, at www.ctmom96.blogspot.com
- Jennifer Lambert, or Manager Mom, at www.managermom.blogspot.com
- Kristine Redlien at www.stamfordtalk.com
- Adam Bernard at www.adambernard.blogspot.com
- Chris Schoenfeld at www.Stationstops.com
By Elizabeth Kim
Staff Writer
Article Launched: 08/04/2008 01:00:00 AM EDT
Direct Link: www.stamfordadvocate.com/ci_10089648
STAMFORD - On a balmy Thursday night, Diana Taft, a 43-year-old attorney, timidly made her way toward a group of strangers on the dining patio outside Monster B's Bar and Grille on Glenbrook Road.
She scanned the table of diners, eventually locking eyes with a thin, wispy-haired brunette who looked familiar.
"Are you . . . Jennifer?" she asked with uncertainty, extending her hand. "I'm Diana."
The woman gave her a blank look.
Taft tried again. "I'm Connecticut Mom," she said, referring to the name she uses on her blog, www.ctmom96.blogspot.com.
With that, the ice was broken. Manager Mom, known in real life as Jennifer Lambert, promptly embraced her.
Taft was officially in, grabbing a chair and joining the dozen or so bloggers who refer to themselves on Facebook as the Lesser Fairfield County Blog 'n' Grog Appreciation Society.
The blogosphere has become a full-fledged social networking scene where acquaintances can be struck through the chatter of posted comments. In Stamford, bloggers are forging a real-life community out of a virtual one - they are closing their laptops, stepping out of their pajamas and taking their online friendships offline.
The monthly gatherings, which began last June, were arranged by two Stamford residents - Kristine Redlien, a 33-year-old Greenwich middle school teacher who dishes news and gossip at www.stamfordtalk.com, and Lambert, a 37-year-old marketing executive who writes a wry and unflinching perspective on motherhood at www.managermom.blogspot.com.
Redlien said it was "surprisingly easy" to form a community of bloggers. She said she moved to Stamford seven years ago and knows how lonely the city can be.
"In a way, I'm re-creating the life I had in college, where there was a lot of free time to meet people," she said.
The group keeps growing, bringing together a mix of people that otherwise might never have met.
On Thursday night, for example, the attendees included Adam Bernard, a music journalist who blogs about the state of hip hop; Kevin McKeever, a freelance writer who offers his humorous take on being a stay-at-home father; Nate Dean, a computer programmer who mulls over topics in philosophy and math; and Chris Schoenfeld, an entrepreneur who rants about inefficiencies of Metro-North Railroad.
To differing degrees, the bloggers are celebrities among themselves.
As newcomers dribbled in and introduced themselves, McKeever, 40, sipping a beer, needed only to utter his online alias, Always Home & Uncool, to elicit recognition.
"Oh, you're Home & Uncool? I love your blog!'" shrieked a blogger and mother.
Many had never met, but the awkwardness seemed minimal.
McKeever said about their first meeting in June, "We got along swimmingly."
But as Lambert said, they already knew each other in a deeply personal way.
"You could see the roots of who they were in what they were writing," she said.
Schoenfeld said, "The fact that we're bloggers means that we have a lot more in common than we don't. Our spouses don't understand us. Our friends make fun of us. No one is especially encouraging."
Members discovered that blogging transcends geographic boundaries. For instance, Taft, who works in Hartford and lives in Ellington, drove two hours in rush-hour traffic to make it to last week's get-together.
McKeever, after contributing to a blog called DadCentric, struck up a brief e-mail correspondence with a fellow blogger in New York City. The two discovered they were fans of the same New York baseball team. Two weeks ago, McKeever received two Mets tickets, worth $110, in the mail.
"From a guy I've never even met before," he said.
- Staff Writer Elizabeth Kim can be reached at elizabeth.kim@scni.com or at 964-2265.
Online and offline
The Lesser Fairfield County Blog 'n' Grog Appreciation Society includes:
- Diana Taft, known as Connecticut Mom, at www.ctmom96.blogspot.com
- Jennifer Lambert, or Manager Mom, at www.managermom.blogspot.com
- Kristine Redlien at www.stamfordtalk.com
- Adam Bernard at www.adambernard.blogspot.com
- Chris Schoenfeld at www.Stationstops.com