How Do You Memorialize An Avatar? There's A Person Behind That Icon.

I catch a lot of flack around the office, in our real estate Association, and among friends, about my interest in blogs and Twitter and social media stuff in general.  I was at a NRVAR meeting this morning, in fact, and when asked to speak about some of these topics, and you can tell there were some that just thought it was techie, geeky stuff.  Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, but I believe in the power of making connections over the Web; there's a value from a business perspective, certainly, but there's an even greater personal connection.

Today, I "feel" that personal connection.  Today - or late last night, actually - I learned that one of my online colleagues lost his spouse yesterday, very very suddenly.  I'd only known her as an avatar, a computer icon. But I "knew her" virtually, and there comes a point in all of this networking where avatars become people, and people become friends.  Loss happens every day, and although I never had the opportunity to meet the woman who was by all accounts just an extraordinary person, this one hits a little closer to home because of the relationship we formed through the Web.

Bill, thinking of you today.  In honor of you, and your wife and family, NRVLiving Real Estate blog will be quiet on Friday in remembrance.

Comments

[Lani Anglin-Rosales]

Beautifully, perfectly said. We are a really big online family and who would have predicted the love emanating from our computers? This loss is so sad, so unfair and so untimely. God bless the Lublins.

[Mike Mueller]

Jeremy, I started with Jay's post which has led me to the others that have written something to express their sadness.

I mentioned that that for me it helped to write something but it was even more cathartic to read what others have written.

Our thoughts are with the Lublin family.

[Jeremy Hart]

Loss certainly isn't easy, right, but whether it hits close to home or to someone we've never met, it's still loss. I look forward to meeting Bill one day, and am disappointed that I'll not experience what kind of person Sheila was, but I'm honored to have known her online. She will be missed by many ...