Why IRL Blogging Friends Are Vital.
Blogging pals. Blog squads. Your gal pals. Whatever you call them, blogging friendship groups is a real thing. The majority of them are formed on Twitter, those people you start off gravitating toward in chats, the ones you tweet a lot, the ones who leave a comment on every blog, the ones you think 'God I bet if we met in real life we'd have a lot in common.' Ya know how you just get a vibe from someone; it's very much the same on Twitter.
But.
IRL blogging friendships. That's a whole new kettle of fish.
IRL blogging friendships are good for the soul, I've come to realise that quite quickly. The squad with no name, the slugs, the #BloggerPitP organisers kinda fell into a friendship group before we knew we even were one, Sarah brought together this motley crew of lifestyle bloggers and suddenly we're migrating from DMs to Whatsapp and planning a long weekend away.
And the Whatsapp group is great, it gives me LIFE. The hilarity, the absolute nonsense, the memes, the GIFs, the support, the blogging wisdom, the bujo inspiration - it's everything. But IRL (and I full extend this to Effi and Nina and the other amazing gals I met through the picnic), that shit is gold.
IRL blogging friends are like a whole new dynamic, a whole new group of pals you wouldn't have made anywhere else. You know how you make your school friends, your uni friends, your work friends....your blogging friends are the next set and they are special.
Who else is going to explain the new rule changes Google have implemented?
Who else is going to keep you up to date with the latest Twitter war?
Who else is going to take outfit photos of you without batting an eyelid?
Who else is going to stop every 10 yards cos there's an Instagram opportunity?
Who else is going to take photos of your food?
Who else is going to gee you up when you lost out on that brand collab?
Who else is going to share every single damn one of your posts?
Your blog squad is.
Trust me, a day, an afternoon, a weekend, in real life, in person - spending time with your blogging friends does wonders for your soul, for your mental wellbeing and for your blog.
Spending time with people who just get it , those kindred spirits who understand what you mean when you talk about Google Analytics or no follow code. It's face time, it's real tangible give them a massive squeeze when you see them kinda time, it's vital.
Online friendships are fabulous. The blogging community is at it's best when we're on Twitter, on Insta, on blogs reading and sharing and making connections and making friends. I firmly believe you can make as great friends with people on social media and on blogs as you can from being thrown together at school.
But if you get the chance, make those friendships into IRL as well as URL. They'll be there for you, they'll have your back, you can talk on Twitter and on the phone.
Those girls you speak to every day online? Forgo the distance, save the pennies, spend the pounds so you get to see them IRL too and trust me it's so worth it. It's anxiety provoking, it's nerve wracking but honestly when you can just hop in the car and drive to London to spend a day with them, the fun and the motivation and the inspiration and the memories is always worth it.
I fully intend to invest in my IRL URL blogging friendships.
