Meeting, Greeting, Moving...

A long time ago in a blog galaxy far, far away, I happened upon Michele's blog. Unlike most blogs I had read up until then - and since, frankly - hers was different. The focus was never on herself. Rather, she turned the lens on her visitors, and encouraged them to reach out to each other. Her blogger's ethos was always about community-building, and it inspired me and a lot of others to incorporate similar thinking in our own online lives.

Every weekend, Michele would hold something called the Meet 'n Greet. It was through this avenue that I met a lot of the folks who've become must-reads. Most of my blogroll is populated by folks I've e-met this way.

Sadly for all of us, Michele is bowing out of her community-building role. Understandably, she's moving in a different direction, something all of us understand because we all wrestle with the same questions about balancing online and offline activities. At some point, it makes sense to leave the keyboard alone while you head outside for a walk in the real world.

Fortunately, Tanya, otherwise known as NetChick, has picked up the baton, and from here on out will be hosting the Meet 'n Greet at her site, This Chick's Life. Like Michele, Tanya is Canadian. Like Michele, she's also a generous, honest, literate and kind soul who throws herself into community-building on a number of levels (to wit, if you find yourself in Vancouver, you owe it to yourself to attend Third Tuesday, an event that wouldn't happen without her drive.)

If you haven't had the opportunity to cross her path online, you owe it to yourself to drop by and say hi. I suspect that you, like so many others, will hang around for the discussion that ensues.