I'm stuck in the blogosphere and can't get out. Don't want to either.

There seems to be a theme running through a few of my favorite blogs lately: Excessive Hanging out in the BlogoSphere. I, too, have started to notice pangs of guilt burbling up from my conscience suggesting that I get up off the chair and vacuum something, run a load of wash or well, anything besides being on the computer.

Instead, I stay glued to the chair/screen/keyboard and tell myself, "five more minutes then I'll go." "Let me just pop in for sec to X's blog then I'll start dinner." "One quick comment on this hilarious post while it's fresh in my mind, then I'm off to walk the dog." "I really should acknowledge X's comment on my post 'cause she was so nice to leave one." An hour later, I haven't moved.

So what is it about this business of blogging that I find so strongly appealing?

First and foremost, immersing myself in eight captivating blogs every day feeds my insatiable need for newness and variety, exposure to different cultures and simply learning something new. Besides the pictures are purdy. My husband frequently remarks that I have the attention span of a gnat. What better vehicle for my ADHD than hanging out with a new blog friend every half-hour?

I'm quickly forming friendships with interesting and genuinely nice people that would otherwise be lost to me. As an aside, I met my husband through the internet (my present-day husband, not the Italian). And no, it wasn't a creepy BDSM chatroom or eHarmony, but a perfectly respectable music chatroom (another post for another day). The point is that blogging shrinks the world and has brought some pretty unique and engaging people right into my living room. I can chat with B in Oxford one minute then pop up to Vancouver, BC to see what Veg has gotten herself into. I might spend a few minutes with Extranjera, a ex-pat living in South Africa who, through the veil of brilliant humor, is teaching me about life in a country that is alien to me. I can easily spent half a day looking at Julochka's photographs of her art, her studio and pictures of Denmark. I'm pretty sure I spent two hours once just looking at her kitchen.

Here are the ways that dancing in Blog World world has inspired and challenged me in the short time I've lived here:

1. I have been inspired to take a stab at writing.
2. I have been inspired to be frugal and save for a great camera to take great pictures.
3. I have been inspired to read more and be held accountable for it.
4. I have been challenged by the task of sitting quietly to read the blogger directions on how to add bells and whistles to my blog (ADHD, remember?)
5. I have been inspired to read and study other blogs with a creative eye ("ohhhh what a cute icon...I wonder if I could create my own" ").
6. I have been inspired to get out my own artwork and share it with the world (pending new camera. See #2).
7. I have been inspired to try new art forms like crocheting jackets for rocks and making hearts out of latte foam or shadow people.
8. I have been inspired to renew my passport in the event of a sudden windfall so I can go to blogcamp.
9. I have been inspired by the pure validation of having even one follower. That I have seven amazes me. How does one feel at 100, 200, 700??
10. I have been challenged by tiny comment boxes in which I have to keep my remarks short and to the point.
11. I have been inspired to do better and be better and rise to my self-imposed challenge of being someone worth reading about.

How has blogging inspired or challenged YOU?






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