Triangle bloggers know how to enjoy a bash

I’m still buzzing from last night’s 30THREADS blogger bash and it has nothing to do with the beer that was flowing.

I’m finding that when Triangle bloggers and Tweeple get together, there’s a certain energy that envelops the room. Faces light up with recognition when bloggers or Tweeple are recognized from their avatars. Bloggers connect with their readers, stories and ideas are exchanged, occasionally interrupted by a handshake or a hug from someone who feels like they already know you.

I connected with some bloggers I already knew, but I also met some whose words and photos I’ve been admiring for months. A brief recap, with apologies for the many moments I can’t squeeze in.

* Met Jeni, the Durham blogger behind I found happy. Turns out we both used to work at The Herald-Sun, so we briefly shared our war stories.

* Noshed on some tasty wings with @RobertFischer, a Durham blogger who reminded me of some funny advice I offered during one of our live Threadcasts. Apparently, I had declared my love for buffalo chicken wings, but warned that if you want to impress someone during a lunch meeting it’s better to order the buffalo chicken salad because it’s easier to eat. Haha. That so sounds like something I would say. (Robert is the one talking in the photo on the left).

* Reminicsed with Lenore about the days when Broad Street Cafe (the venue for our bash) was the funky Ooh La Latte.

* Met some of the anonymous folks behind one of the best Durham food blogs, Carpe Durham.

* Finally had a chance to congratulate Kevin Davis in real life on the recent redesign of his popular Bull City Rising blog. Also caught up with Valerie and found out some of her exciting future plans for We Love Durham.

* Immediately recognized Leandra and Eric, a Durham wine-loving couple I feel like I already know because of their well-written blog.

* Shook hands with a recently-blogged about High School Musical Build-a-Bear and met Jeff Cohen’s two precocious children. Check out this photo that Grace took with her dad’s Nikon D40X.

Other people I met/reconnected with included:

* Paul from That’s No Bull.

* Kate, Jill and Jake, who are among the folks building Raleigh Public Relations.

* Ellen from CoookingEatingDurham.

* Local comedian Larry Weaver.

* Barry Ragin from Dependable Erection (probably not what you think, get your mind out of the gutter).

* Rachel Nabors, a local cartoonist, web designer and overall stylish chick.

And many more.

It was a fabulous evening, filled with new connections and lots of smiles. I think Anora McGaha summed it up well when she wrote this on my facebook wall today:

The bash was amazing. The buzz in the Broad Street Cafe side area was intense, could have lit up half a city.

Thanks to everyone who came out. Hopefully we’ll have another chance to reconnect soon. If you were there and I didn’t list your blog above, please give yourself a shout out in the comments section.

The Triangle is definitely an outstanding hub for social media.