Blog pimp

If you were ever an AOL blogger, you know what I mean by the power of community. AOL decided to screw up their blogs a few years ago, and will be killing them off entirely by the end of the month. Many of the bloggers who remained at AOL have now joined those of us who made an earlier exit. To be honest, blogging hasn't been the same. I still love having the opportunity to write and be read. I love reading other blogs, discovering other's opinions and experiences. That's been even more fun in the wider blogosphere than it was in AOL.

However, AOL bloggers were a community, a virtual neighborhood so to speak. We watched each other's lives change and their journals grow. We played games, shared sorrows, raised money collectively for charities. We made friendships that extended beyond the ether. We also had tremendous interactive discussions in our comments. Now, the big time blogs get that on a very impersonal level, but this was smaller, more intimate, very real. Questions were asked and answered, ideas and positions challenged and clarified. When I was backing up my old AOL blog, I was just stunned at some of the conversations we had going on.

With the new exodus of AOL bloggers, some of my old buddies have set up a group blog, and I'm a so minor as to be almost nonexistent contributor. Women On is providing that wonderful interactive dynamic again, and I'm loving it. Check it out and join in the conversation. It's fun.