Who can be lonely in the blogosphere? Not only do we meet people from all over the world (sometimes I think it's all over the Universe)... by blogging to and with them, we bump into them in our business travels. Sometimes that's on purpose - other times a surprise. Gosh, just like real life!

The good professor has, as many do, overlooked the social Divas and Davids who use their network for connecting others - like you, Toby. You've connected me to dozens of people I would never have met on my own.

Prof Keren should come to Blogher. And, he should join the conversation over at my blog - have you chimed in, Toby? Mind the Gap by Lena West just begs for your comment.

Interesting...I wonder what grade a student would get from the professor for reading 9 fiction books and then concluding that all books were works of fiction written by fiction writers. Or the accuracy of a sample size of 9 to explain the behavior of 8 million Americans.

Marianne

I’m honoured to be mentioned, Toby, and I agree with your thoughts: it’s community and sharing, not rebelling, that brought me to the blogosphere in the first place.

Toby:

Thanks so much for the mention! I agree with every word of your post. I'm far from lonely and am firmly entrenched in the real world.

Excellent post and letter you Diva! I echo Marianne's sentiment and if this author were to spend one week in my busy and fulfilling work life, blog life and NYC fun life he would see that I'm not lonely. Quite the contrary (and I'm not sure he'd be able to keep up with all the social activity).Yeah, send the professor my way for a week and he'll likely reexamine his hyphothesis.

I blog because it's enriching both professionally and personally--in fact, many of my (offline) friends are a little miffed at me because I've had to cut back on some hang-out time as I dedicate it to blogging and marketing programs that build community (like the Book Club). These programs serve to bring more colleagues and friends my way...how can that be lonely? Especially given that I now (happily) need to make time for all the new and old friends in my life. Doesn't lonely mean that one has a lack of people in their life?

Which begs the question: how does one write on a subject matter or activity that they haven't engaged in? Hmm.

Thanks for your comments. I realized that I've met CK, Fard, Marianne and Yvonne in person. Jack one day I'll get to NZ! So one might say, I've integrated my online with offline worlds.

"Prof Keren doesn't have a blog .. or if he does I couldn't locate it."

Just so I know the story here....

Are you telling me that this guy, who doesn't blog, wrote a book about blogging, and as his research for said book, talked to NINE bloggers?

I had to click-through to the article to see for myself, and one of the nine in his sample was a "Canadian woman living in the woods in a cabin in Quebec."

And a publisher actually PAID him to write this?

Wow. That's the type of gig I need!

Buon giorno Toby:

I've been reading your blog for a while and think that now is the perfect moment to introduce myself. In my foray into the blogosphere, which I consider an extension of all the other offline activities, I have met some of the most skilled and generous practitioners I could not possibly have met in years of walking rooms at events.

CK was a rare find, and so were the numerous other friends I am making slowly by getting off the ePage, so to speak. Perhaps the professor is stuck at the point in time when blogging was that online journal tool -- and even in that, he might have missed the rich posts of friends who took a sabbatical and corresponded from the road.

What I noticed is that most of the bloggers who write about business, began to do so with greater focus in this last year. In that case, is one whole year missing from the Professor's calendar? I've heard of beautiful calendars being lifted from places. I just got a call from Michigan State University to report just that with a request for another of our popular wall calendars.

The best way to learn is by joining the conversation.

Toby, thank you as always for sharing. I think the good professor needs to take a class in market research. If 9 bloggers are the extent of the research for his book, I assume that he is publishing for tenure and cares less about the quality of his work.

My latest book reviewed hundreds of articles, white papers and books, and I could have researched hundreds more but one needs to stop somewhere and begin writing. Good writers research and then write with a point of view. It seems the good professor chose to skip the first part.

Blogging sometimes is melancholic. In my experience, a lot of writing is. And last time I checked, you do it alone.

But that's not the point, is it? It's what happens after the posting that's so connective.

Nice post, TB!

Some people seem to get it .. and some people are not ready to jump into the future. One of my favorite lines from the FedX Superbowl commercial is "No one ever said being a pioneer is easy." And that's what I feel we all are .. pioneers in a new communication world.

"One of my favorite lines from the FedX Superbowl commercial is "No one ever said being a pioneer is easy."

Which brings me to one of my all-time fave lines: "Vision ain't so grand for the visionary." I paraphrase and use "ain't". Do excuse me Diva ;-)

Just now getting caught up enough after my Taiwan travels- which I did of course blog about. And... I was contacted via the blog by another bike industry guy who happens to be in Taiwan full time. Now, when I return in March, I have somebody new to have a beer with. That happened because of the blog. Poor lonely me.

I have new friends in Italy, Australia, Taiwan, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Japan and other countries all because of the blog.

I have countless new friends all over the US thanks to the blog. There is hardly a state where I don't know somebody now. Some of the very most bestest friends I have are people from the blogosphere and I cherish them as if they lived down the street. I've sipped wine with the Diva even... poor pathetic blogging me.

Clearly Prof. Denial hasn't actually spent any time doing anything more than a cursory glance of blogs. I wonder what would happen if I talked to 9 Canadians and then proclaimed the entire country populated with idiots? (Well, there is at least one idiot anyway.)

I hope he'll reexamine his flawed theories and premise. It would be a shame for him to make such an ass of himself.