Online Scrapbooking Friends

I’m relatively new to this online thing. We just got internet at home for the first time in January 2007. Yes, I know, horribly shocking! Prior to that, I used the internet at the library or at work if I needed to look up something quickly and that was that. We didn’t need any extra household expenses and I worried about the impact of the internet on my family. With all my years working in law enforcement related jobs, I had heard SO MANY horror stories. And then…I quit a horrible job and needed to find another one. Come to find out, in this day and age you basically cannot look for jobs nor apply for them effectively without the internet. So I had to break down and install it in our home.

Now, I won’t go on about the negative impacts it HAS indeed had in our home. I want to talk about a very positive thing I’ve noticed: What a great online community that scrapbookers have! Although I do now have 2 part-time jobs, I still use the internet daily to look for other part-time jobs and consultant work. But about 90% of the time I now spend online is related to scrapbooking. I read a blogs (famous scrappers and just normal ones like me), visit the shopping sites (I browse but don’t buy, LOL), I belong to several scrapbook-related Yahoo groups, and daily I go to my mainstay, the Creating Keepsakes Message Board (CKMB). I have been so amazed by the friendliness of the scrapbookers I have “met” in all of these places. Everyone is supportive and it really is a pleasure to spend time chatting with them. SB bloggers consistently read each other’s blogs and leave comments. CKMB’ers leave lovely comments about each others work in the Image Gallery. Scrapbookers are very supportive of their Scrap Celebs, leaving hundreds if not thousands of comments on any given blog entry. We are also a competitive group, always entering sweepstakes, challenges, or layout entry contests.

What prompted me to write this entry was seeing a POST ON THE CKMB about two ladies from the board who had just met in person, spending a day together having lunch and scrapbooking. You could tell from the photos they posted that they truly enjoyed each other and their time together. One of the ladies said she was thrilled when she used “slab” in conversation, and the other lady knew exactly what she was talking about. Like those who share other hobbies, we scrapbookers have our own lingo and we feel right at home with those who understand it. I have met a few of the famous scrappers in person, and a “secret sister” at CKU, but I haven’t met any other online scrapbooking friends in person yet. I hope to do that someday. Have you met online scrapbooking friends in person? Tell us about it in Comments…