On Revisiting a Reader Project and Leaving Marks

Probably one of the more successful community-building projects that I launched here at ShaiCoggins.com is the “Tell Me About You” project. In fact, a few people actually decided to use this idea in their own blogs and I’m really stoked about it. And, at the time of this writing, there are about 100 comments on that page. Most likely, the most number of comments I’ve ever received in one blog post. And, it often receives more every few weeks.

Thing is, I promised that I’ll do my best to visit every single blog of the people who left an introduction there via comments. And, if possible, even write about them here.

Well, it’s been almost 22 months since I launched that project. And, I’ve been doing my best to deliver my promise. I’ve been visiting blogs, emailing folks, and even started writing about some of these readers. But, I’m way, waaay behind.

So, I thought I better get going on this again, seeing as I have masses of folks to catch up with. Let me work my way through the comments order…

• The first reader I “revisited” was Frank, who introduced himself as a student of MFA in Fiction who was then living in California and was about to move to New York. Apparently, he “met” me through my then-About.com site on Web Logs. Since he said he learned a lot of things on blogging from me, he called me his blog’s godmother (or Great Aunt). Unfortunately, when I visited his blog today, I found out that his last entry was written last April 2006. It looks like he has stopped blogging for over a year now. At least, on that blog anyway. It’s always sad to see a ‘dead’/'neglected’ blog, but hopefully, Frank’s all right.
• The next reader/commenter I visited was Dr. Emer of Parallel Universes. He introduced himself as a doctor-blogger from the Philippines. And, his intro/comment was short and sweet. And, it looks like the doctor’s doing really well. Not only is he still blogging actively, he’s even been featured in the media and received various awards for his blog. Well done, Dr. Emer!
• Next comes Suzy of Floating World Views who apparently found my blog through blogger-mum extraordinaire, Karen. When she left a comment on my blog, she was a British-Australian living in Tokyo, as a student/writer/sub-editor. Well, it looks like Suzy just moved back Down Under (in Sydney). So, welcome back home. And, yeah, visiting her blog did feel homey. Enjoyed it a lot.
• Andrea is a Singapore-based blogger who also found me through Karen. And, she appears to be a really hardworking, passionate person. She just seems so full of life – what with a wide range of interests (from sports to cooking). And, really, I am just in awe of anyone who’s got masses of determination and dedication.
• And finally (for now, anyway), there’s Jo of Jo’s Precious Thoughts. She’s a Canadian blogger who was born in the Philippines. And, in her very brief intro comment, she said that that was her very first visit and that she found my blog through Junnie. And, even if she put herself down as being “not a good writer”, I still think that she’s a great storyteller of her life and the world around her.

So, there you go. Five people I’ve “met” by inviting them to leave their mark in my life through this blog. I would’ve never known of them, if they didn’t leave a comment and introduced themselves. I never would’ve heard part of their life stories.

Admittedly, out of these five folks, Jo is the only one who continued to keep in contact with me via comments (and even added me to her blogroll). But then, that’s how life goes, right? We meet people. We part ways. We move on. But, there are a few who linger… who continue to keep in touch… and eventually, develop relationships.

Anyway, I hope Frank, Dr. Emer, Suzy and Andrea are all well`and good. And Jo… well, thanks for staying in touch for almost two years now.

So, who have you invited to leave a mark in your life lately?