[[Welcome to my weekly writer’s diary where I’ll share my “Woot Woot!” moments and the not so “woot woot” moments of my writing world. And, yes, I might even share the occasional musing or two about reading and writing, two of my favorite things!]]

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Dear Diary,

            It’s Thursday ~ 10/18/12 ~ and…

Have I mentioned how much I love social networks — okay, today I love them 🙂 — and the friendships I’ve made across the country, hmmm, the world?  With a click-clack of my keyboard, I can keep in touch with new and old friends I would probably never have met any other way.  I’ve been riding Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads for a long time. Before that, I had a huge bunch of friends on MySpace.  This blog has been a staple of my day for several years now.

I’ve made thousands of friends.  Yes, they are friends. I talk to everyone daily.  I share jokes, writing triumphs, boohoos, wonders and “huh?”s.  I commisserate, encourage, and celebrate with my friends. And sometimes, when I’m really lucky, I get a chance to meet one or two in person.

And, you know what?  It’s not like I’m meeting strangers.

Right now (this posts tomorrow), I’m sitting in a hotel room almost 100 miles from home waiting for one of those friends to get out of her class. She’s flown to Colorado from Memphis to take these classes, and the first thing we did when we knew she was coming was start making plans to get together while she was here.  Oh, we have met once before…when I went to Memphis to conduct a workshop for her chapter.  But, that was almost two years ago and we talk daily on Facebook. Thanks to Facebook, we’ve become more than teacher/student in a one-time meet. We’ve become friends.  When she gets here, I will have this blog ready to post, we’ll grab some dinner and sit and chat…just like we are old friends who haven’t seen one another in a while.

And this morning (still writing this for tomorrow 🙂 ) after my Memphis friend runs off to her class, I’ll pack up my things and drive a few miles to the home of another really good friend I met online…on MySpace.  Hey! Told you I’d been on the social scene a while! She and I met on a reader’s group that focused on one of our favorite genres, paranormals, etc.  We talked there daily for several years before she mentioned she was moving to Colorado, less than 100 miles from my house in Denver.  The first time we met when she came to my house, it was like we’d been friends forever too. No awkwardness. Just plain fun.  I’ve been remiss in getting to her house for a return visit so we’ll grab some lunch and talk books and writing. She’s picking up her keyboard to pen a novel! How cool is that?

These are two very dear friends I wouldn’t have gotten to know if it hadn’t been for social media like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, even this blog  I wouldn’t have missed the opportunity for the world!

Whenever I find myself railing at the way a network is behaving or the amount of time it sometimes takes to wend my way through the timelines so I can find what I want, I remind myself of the reason I go to each digital playground.  Several times daily. These are my friends and the networks are the only way I’ll ever meet most of them.  And, if I’m really lucky, there comes a day when I can hug one of these friends up close and chat like we do each and every day.

Toddling off to play now. Have a wonderful day, my friends. Would love to meet you all someday!

See you next Thursday for another rousing entry in Karen’s Diary Drop-In….