The BSB meet-up 2010 - an oldie, but a goodie

Australia, in case you didn't know, is a really, really freaking big country. In the three and a half months I've lived here, I've not managed to meet any other bloggers - or, in fact, to get chatting to them. It's at moments like this that I become immensely grateful for the closeness of the British blogging community, and the fact that there are so many events which keep us close, and keep us tied together.

Although I have come across a site called "Australian Fashion Bloggers", and one which claims to be a forum for all Australian bloggers - but they're not very active at all. No one comments, no one chats, and there doesn't seem to be any directory to help me find bloggers in my region to read about. And, you know what? That makes me really sad.

Over the two-and-a-half years I've been blogging, I've got to know a lot of British bloggers very well, and I've met up with a number pretty regularly. Some of them are now some of my best friends - and yes, there's always that awkward moment when I have to explain to my "real life" friends how I know them! But, that kind of community, for me, is what blogging should really be about.

Don't get me wrong - writing good content is a massive part of blogging. But, it's easier to write good content when you have other bloggers to collaborate with, bounce ideas off and get genuinely helpful comments from. It's a bit of a cliché, but I'd rather get the three decent comments per post that I get on my blog than the twenty-eight "I love your top!" comments some other bloggers get. I'd rather have the real friendships - the connections with readers that last - and the emails asking how I've been and letting me know what works with my blog.

So, as bloggers living in the UK, I implore you: don't take the community here for granted. Don't forget that you can chat to other BSB members and readers with our (admittedly very badly built) community site, and don't forget that bloggers here probably go to all the same events you're being invited to. Arm yourself with some business cards, ping a local blogger an email, and go out there and make use of your awesome blogging community.