Does blogging keep you in touch?

How does it feel to be 'present' online? Is blogging a good way to stay in touch? And if so, is 'Being in Touch' important? And in touch with whom? Family and friends back home, fellow travellers, strangers, or own self?

These are some questions that I have had since I started reading Travelblog and I would like to hear your own views.

Niki Reply to this

It is the medium I have been looking for - I only wish I had found it years ago! Now, I'm trying to catch up on all the things I should have written, before I forget any more details. Mostly, my friends and family have subscribed. I started out writing about Germany, where I'm living now, but then I thought it might be a good way to share aspects of the Turkish culture with my family - my husband's Turkish - because they only know what I tell them. And then, why not share that with anyone who wants to read it? By chance, a section of one of my entries was translated into German and printed in a German newspaper. It was a section about food, but they printed a passage about how rude I found the "rules of engagement" at the grocery store. They gave the link to my blog... and very quickly, 500 some odd people had viewed the post. It is the best thing that could have happened - I think it's important for people to know how outsiders see them. I never thought anyone but my familiy would read, but now that random people are reading (and sending comments), I try to tailor my entries to make them more fit for public consumption. As important as anything, though, is documenting this life journey of travel for myself. It's way more fun than writing a diary in a book! Reply to this

Did anyone start out writing for family and friends and then realise that more and more strangers are visiting?

Did it change your style? Reply to this

I started mostly writing entirely for family and friends, and was quite surprised when I found out people I didn't know were reading and enjoying my blog. It might have changed my style slightly, I take care to explain things more, rather than assume what everyone knows I am talking about, but other than that my writing style is the same. Reply to this

Hello, I'm new here at TravelBlog and still "looking around," checking out the forum and listings of entries. Yes, I really believe that blogging keeps me in touch, not only with family and friends but from total strangers. In fact, I get thrilled whenever I receive an email or comments from people I do not know. I already have two blogs at yahoo360 and eponym.com, but somehow I feel that my blog here will be totally diffrent. I'm a professional free-lance travel writer here in the Philippines and I'm passionate about traveling, writing, photography and blogging. It's my therapy. It keeps me sane and whole and also affords me the experience of sharing my thoughts, feelings and experiences with other people. However, I learned not to be "too personal" in my blog entries because some people get the wrong impressions about me, like when I wrote something about my "long-distance cyber love affair." Some people simply don't understand that for a writer like me, blogging is a way of expressing myself. I truly enjoy communicating with folks from all over the world, especially with fellow writers and single parents. God bless!
Mabuhay! Reply to this

Hi

We use the site mainly for keeping family and friends up to date with where we are and what we have seen. One of the biggest surprises though was when people we know and work with then send this on to others we all know......a bit of a surprise really, but possibly the nicest thing is getting messages while we were away and then coming back to have people tell us how much they enjoyed the blog because they felt that they were there with us.

Cheers to Travel Blog! Reply to this

In 2005, I had a friend head out for six months in Southeast Asia. He kept a travel blog and I learned a lot from his experience.

First, as a reader, I learned just how inspiring and interesting it is to have a friend doing such a thing. His blog kept me up on his affairs, gave me a vicarious experience, and--most of all--made me jealous (which, in turn, inspired my own current world travel and blogging plans).

Then, after returning from Asia, he shared his own perspectives on the travel-blogging experience with me. As a writer, the blog kept him in the writing habit (the importance of which cannot be over-stressed), it also encouraged him to experience his travels more fully: looking outward and inward with intent and intensity (what I mean is that by writing everyday he payed greater attention to things both internal and external, and "lived" more). Also, as a traveller, his blog enabled him to create and to intersect with new opportunities abroad. Writing about his travels in a forum that allowed anyone to read and anyone to make contact led him to encounters with friends, family, and other travelers. (And fans of his blog, one of whom travelled all the way to Thailand to meet him!)

So, when I made my travel plans, I decided that a blog would be essential (for the family and friends that will be my readers, for the writer inside me, and for the traveller that I will become).

I intend to use this blog for my readers as a storytelling-forum in which to relate my experiences and insights. I intend to use this blog as a writer to practice my writing and to keep in the habit. Most importantly, I intend to use this blog as a traveller, to keep in touch with friends, to make new ones, and to connect with people overseas. That last bit is the most important, as just beginning this blog has already made me aware of friends who will be visiting some of the same places as I. Because of the blog, we may just be able to meet up over there! (Or, at least, we can share tips and contacts along the way.)

This thing's already helping me keep in touch, and I haven't even left yet! Reply to this

This is the first time I've had a blog and I'm loving it. At first I started it for my friends and family, but I'm pretty sure none of them read it since I don't get responses back or anything. But it's okay because now I write it for myself and to entertain those that happen to glance at it. I love to write, so the blog for me is more of a release of all my excitement, questions, concerns, and adventures that I have. I guess maybe when I return home I'll find out if my blog was read by friends and family. It's also a great way to preserve moments that you wish you could relive forever. Keep writing everyone, and peaceful travels! Reply to this