Life behind the hyperlinks

One massive positive that has come from social media in the last few months for me has been meeting some of the lovely people behind the squares of instagram or linked to blogs I read. It has been highlighted by a number of people on social media sites such as insta, Facebook and through different blogs I have read just about how positive this little community here in Northern Ireland can be. Having attended a few events since starting my blog is has been so nice to meet up with similar minded people who really go out of their way to include you in things

There can be a lot of negativity surrounding social media with people maybe showing  items they have been gifted or taking part is paid advertising that seems to get others worked up; as if they are flaunting it. Each to their own I say and in some cases people make a living out of their blogs so to ridicule them for that seems uncalled for….but again, just my opinion…if I could make my millions from this blog then I would be shouting it from the rooftops too 🙂

The first event I attended was a little (that turned into a massive) Country Bloggers Retreat organised by Emma from Amble and Ash and you can read about the day here. I was fortune enough to already know some people before I went along but it was fantastic to see so many new faces come together and the biggest complaint of the day was that there simply wasnt enough time to speak to everyone that I wanted to…not a bad complaint to have I suppose!

The second event was a ladies event at Donaghys which I have detailed here. Again this time I went along by myself and thought sure why not ill get chatting to someone and I did just that. I meet a lovely bunch of ladies and we chatted the night away and a lot of them all seemed to be there either by themselves or with people they had met at other events and that’s just how this little community grows.

Last week I was invited along to an event in Debenhams where by I got to meet even more new faces and they instantly welcomed me in and we chatted as if we had known each other for years..infact in one instance we did as it turned out we went to the same school…just a few..erm years ago 🙂

The point of this post is not to highlight where I have been or what I have been doing but more to point out that it is so beneficial to get out of your comfort zone sometimes. If you are invited somewhere and can make it then go, don’t worry about going by yourself or having nobody to go with as I can 100% guarantee that someone there will be in the exact same boat and its the best opportunity to meet some wonderfully creativity and friendly people. Reach out if you see someone who lives in your area and you are keen to grab a coffee and chat. In my experience this is a breath of fresh air for some. I have loved meeting up with some people ive met through the little squares of Instagram where you can just talk about all things social media or just about life in general, infact the bloggers in my local area have a little Whatsapp group set up in which we share events, hints and tips and arrange coffee dates…its great meeting for a coffee and a bun…there should always be buns!!

If you are thinking about starting a blog or would love to meet any other local people from Instagram but are a bit nervous, get in touch with me and we can conquer it all together 🙂