A Little Bit of "Meet the Bloggers" Article

Meet the bloggers: Online community reaches beyond the Web
By Elizabeth Kim, Stamford Advocate, 08/04/2008

STAMFORD - ...The blogosphere has become a full-fledged social networking scene where acquaintances can be struck through the chatter of posted comments. In Stamford, bloggers are forging a real-life community out of a virtual one - they are closing their laptops, stepping out of their pajamas and taking their online friendships offline.

The monthly gatherings, which began last June, were arranged by two Stamford residents - Kristine Redlien, a 33-year-old Greenwich middle school teacher who dishes news and gossip at www.stamfordtalk.com, and Lambert, a 37-year-old marketing executive who writes a wry and unflinching perspective on motherhood at www.managermom.blogspot.com.

Redlien said it was "surprisingly easy" to form a community of bloggers. She said she moved to Stamford seven years ago and knows how lonely the city can be. "In a way, I'm re-creating the life I had in college, where there was a lot of free time to meet people," she said.

The group keeps growing, bringing together a mix of people that otherwise might never have met.

On Thursday night, for example, the attendees included Adam Bernard, a music journalist who blogs about the state of hip hop; Kevin McKeever, a freelance writer who offers his humorous take on being a stay-at-home father; Nate Dean, a computer programmer who mulls over topics in philosophy and math; and Chris Schoenfeld, an entrepreneur who rants about inefficiencies of Metro-North Railroad.

To differing degrees, the bloggers are celebrities among themselves.

As newcomers dribbled in and introduced themselves, McKeever, 40, sipping a beer, needed only to utter his online alias, Always Home & Uncool, to elicit recognition.

"Oh, you're Home & Uncool? I love your blog!'" shrieked a blogger and mother.

Many had never met, but the awkwardness seemed minimal.

Members discovered that blogging transcends geographic boundaries. For instance, Taft, who works in Hartford and lives in Ellington, drove two hours in rush-hour traffic to make it to last week's get-together.

- Staff Writer Elizabeth Kim can be reached at elizabeth.kim@scni.com or at 964-2265.