Thank Your Favourite Bloggers Day Update

Time to show some blogger love again...

Everyone loves a "feel good" update, right? Well, today I have a two part entry that harkens back to my Thank Your Favourite Bloggers Day post from last year.

PART 1: Receiving Thanks

When I wrote the afore-mentioned post last year, I could not have imagined that the concept of thanking a blogger could reach such dizzying heights as I am about to report.

A few weeks ago, I was on the receiving end of the ultimate expression of thanks from Jake. She found my blog late last year and left her first comment on February 11. We communicated offline beyond the comment threads a few times; it was just very gratifying for me to know that she liked reading what I wrote.

Still, you can imagine my surprise when I received an email from her out of the blue telling me that she was cleaning out her fabric stash and would I like to receive a care package of fabric. Her reasoning? "Being as I like your blog so much and you are so willing to share with each of us online, I thought it would be nice to share back."

WOW! Is this the emoticon for "stunned"? :-O

Not only that, she encouraged me to tell her my preferences so that she could make appropriate selections, extending the offer to any notions that I might be particularly interested in trying out. I eventually gave her some ideas re: colours and patterns, but indicated that I would be just as thrilled to be surprised by her kindness.

And yes, I was absolutely floored. I have encountered some interesting people over the past year doing "this blogging thing" and I can say without reservation that the support and feedback that I've received from these relationships are rewards in and of themselves. To have someone make such an overwhelmingly generous offer is a reward on a different plane altogether!

Anyway, less than than two weeks after the initial offer was made — and gratefully accepted — I received a box in the mail. Although I had known the package was coming, at the top of my mind was that a recent Amazon order of some DVDs was late. Coincidentally enough, Jake used an old box from Amazon to package up her gift, leading to the unexpected bonus that when I opened up the box, I was totally surprised by what I saw... not the DVD sets, but fabric!

:: squeal :: (Sorry, private joke. ;-) )

Jake's unprecedented expression of thanks...!

But it was so much more... I'm not sure the above photo does justice to the actual size of the "pile"; there was a lot of fabric, as well as a large scrap of dark red leather. Apart from the (nine selections of) fabric, there was a box of pins — ironically enough, I had been wanting to buy a new supply of pins — a big roll of black hook and loop tape, three long zippers in gorgeous shades of red and blue, nine spools of assorted thread (some of which are exotically two-toned), a couple of glue sticks, and a large purse frame! Oh, and I mustn't forget: a handwritten card that brings me back to days of youth when I corresponded regularly with friends by mail.

It felt kinda like Christmas... only better, since no one in my life really knows how to give me such an appropriate gift. (That's true.) Humble thanks to my friend Jake for putting such an unexpectedly positive spin on the whole blogging experience.

---

---

PART 2: Giving Thanks

The second part of this post — originally the only "part" of this post — is an update about reaching out with the "thank your favourite bloggers" idea.

Last November, I caught up with an old friend and colleague in the IT biz. While on the inevitable topic of blogs and blogging, he mentioned that there was one site in particular that consistently provided him with the best "reads". It was essentially his "go to" resource. He said he certainly appreciated how much effort the blogger must put into his job of gathering articles of the highest quality and relevance.

I interrupted him at that point and asked, "So have you ever thanked him?"

"Should I?" was the response.

"Certainly!"

I then proceeded to tell him the general gist of my blog post from a year ago. In particular, I explained how I came to realize that most bloggers are just like most of the rest of us, with similar day to day responsibilities and real life headaches. Yet the good ones manage to keep on doing what they do, sometimes with very little explicit appreciation. Long story short, I encouraged him to extend thanks if he indeed felt like he had received a valuable service from this blogger.

Ironically enough, my friend decided to do his thanking around the (American) Thanksgiving weekend, which ended up being rather appropriate and likely turned the whole thing into a big circle of thanks, judging by the response that he received:

Thanks for the kind words. And I'm glad you find [name of site] useful. I try to keep a variety of content.

Your friend is absolutely correct. Often it feels like screaming into a void. Emails like yours are a good reminder that people do appreciate the work. It also reminds me that I should thank the people whose content I happily consume without acknowledgement.

Thanks!

And you know, that was very heart-warming to read. I think it's because even though bloggers may receive comments about individual posts that are worded along the lines of "I like that" or "I totally agree" or "Thanks for posting that", it's something else entirely to have someone say thank you for doing what you do so well and so freely.

Since I originally posted about Thank Your Favourite Bloggers Day, I have also followed my own advice and have sent out a few thank you emails to bloggers whose work I have appreciated.

Here are a couple of responses:

Aww thank you so much!!! :)

and

Thanks very much for taking the time to write. It means a lot to me to know that you found my blog helpful :)

(On the other hand, a couple of people did not respond at all. For the sake of good karma, I am going to believe that those emails went astray and were not received in the first place.)

I am going to finish off this post with same message as I did in my first post about this subject... go to your favourite blogs and take the time to thank the bloggers who have expanded your horizons and improved your life. Salute them for making that important contribution and wish them continued success and well-being.

It'll make both you and the blogger feel great!