A guest post from the ever-fabulous Lara Zielin:
 

I probably spend too much time online and, if my increasingly strobe-light-like brain is any indication, it might not be doing me as much good as I think. But I will say one thing about the experience: being online, and utilizing social media tools in particular, has connected me to some amazing people I never would have been able to meet otherwise.
 
Take my friend Scott Neumyer for example. We became friends on Facebook and pretty soon I saw Scott posting pictures after his workouts. Sweaty, gritty, in-your-face pictures. And I was all like, what’s this guy’s deal? It turns out that Scott was on a weight loss mission and he was making that journey extremely public. He figured that sharing his experiences would help keep him accountable and might inspire some other folks along the way. I loved the raw honesty of all his posts, not to mention the physical transformation I was seeing. Scott eventually did a guest post for me connecting weight loss struggles with writing struggles. They’re not so very different, see.
Then Scott surprised me again. He started blogging about debt. He started a site called Mad at Debt and, for his first post, told a heart-wrenching story about hiding $40,000 in credit card debt from his wife.
Once again, I was floored. Scott’s post was so totally open and honest. I could only read it, wipe away the tears, and think: this guy is fearless. He’ll talk about anything. He’ll bare his soul. He’ll put it all out there.
To me, it’s beyond inspiring. It makes me grateful that people like Scott exist – people who not only overcome their obstacles, but have hearts big enough to share their journeys with others.
Thanks, Scott. I’m grateful for you, and all the many people like you I’ve never met. Not officially, in person anyway. But I feel like I know you. And my life is so much better for it.