#64 - Old School Blogging and Maintaining Online Friendships with Jill Smokler

What happens when two longtime, old school bloggers reminisce about the good old days of blogging? You get laughs, reflections, and a deep dive into the intricate dynamics of the blogging community from the early days to today. I'm joined by my friend and star blogger, Jill Smokler, founder of Scary Mommy, as we delve into our shared experiences of the blogging world and the friendships we made online "way back when."We discussed the thrill of the first comment, the pressure to produce daily content, and the intimate connections we made with readers and other bloggers. We covered meeting online friends in person, online friendships that drifted apart, and the jealousy and competition that sometimes entered the equation, Jill and I reflected on the significance of our blogging relationships, expressing gratitude for the friends we made along the way. Guest voice mails and emailsThank you to Andrea Scher, Deborah Gilboa, Ruchi Koval, and Rivki Silver for letting me use your thoughts in the episode. Thank you to many more old-school bloggers who wrote to me! I loved reading everyone's memories. Meet Jill SmoklerJill Smokler is a NYT bestselling author and entrepreneur who became an authentic voice for millions of imperfect moms through her Webby award winning blog, Scary Mommy. Launched in 2008, Scary Mommy began as a chronicle of Jill’s stay-at-home days with her children and quickly transformed into a vibrant community of women brought together by a common theme — parenting doesn’t have to be perfect. ​Over the next eight years, Jill and her team provided the destination for high quality, humorous parenting content. In 2015 with millions of followers, three books and the top parenting site in the country, Jill became the first “mommy blogger” to sell her brand to a media company. After three years acting as Chief Content Officer, Jill departed in 2018. Jill returns with She’s Got Issues – a brand for Gen X women focusing on the myriad issues uniting them.​Forbes Magazine named Jill a Top Ten Parenting Influencer and she has been a featured guest on The Today Show, Good Morning America, Nightline, Fox and Friends and countless other media outlets. Jill is also a frequent guest speaker at a variety of media and women-centric conferences.ALL THE DEAR NINA LINKS + CONTACT INFO📢 This week’s fabulous sponsor + how to purchase ad space on Dear Nina📱 Subscribe to my newsletter “Conversations About Friendship” on Substack❤️ Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, the Dear Nina Facebook group📪 Ask an anonymous friendship question🔎 Want to work with me or need another link? That’s probably here. Special thank you, as always, to my assistant producer, Rebekah Jacobs!