I’m Back
Not sure if anyone noticed, but I took my blog down last week. I was really in need of a blog vacation. I needed some time to think about why I keep a blog, what I want out of it, how much time I want to put into it, and what I want to post in it. The last item is something that has been a big issue in our household this past week - lots of disagreements about what is too much info to give away freely, like names, addresses, and vacation dates. At this point, we’re at a standstill, with lots of compromising - but atleast no one has had to move out. :)
I’ve been thinking about why I keep a blog, and what I want to use it for. I’ve realized that being a blogger has become a part of my identity. However, I filter out so much, that I wonder if it’s an accurate view of who I am. I originally started my blog with great hopes of being found by long lost friends. I can’t think of anyone that has stumbled upon my site from a Google search. I have made a couple of new online friends, but that’s mostly because I comment in their journals. I guess I also started a public blog to keep my family updated on my life, but sometimes I feel like my journal is a refrigerator door, where I’m posting my crafts and photos like they are gold-star book-reports.
I’m still exploring ideas about what I want to do with this, but I got an email from my grandmother asking about my blog, and I promised to have it back up by the end of the weekend. So here it is… :) It’s nice to know it’s being read.
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its an interesting query, i freaked out because my husband made a blog for our kid and the url was http://www.hisrealname.net I was like NO WAY. Sure I can talk about htings on the internet to people I don’t know, and sometimes more scarily to people I do…but I don’t want our kis real names on the internet. but then people you know comment and sya things that are really personall…so how do you draw the line? I think you have to be okay and sure about what you want your blog to do…having said that…I don’t really know what I want. I”ve loved meeting other crafters and other runners and other moms…and you feel close to some ofthem and other make you want to run away….so there are my random thoughts. I’m glad you’re back though because when you blog friends dissappear…you just have to wonder…what happened.
It’s hard to keep your real name off the net these days if you move in certain circles…one of the reasons I haven’t bothered is because I knew there were enough places people could look in order to get it.
At the same time I do draw lines. I never publicly post something I wouldn’t want a supervisor or prospective boss to see, and I never post my address or telephone number. I also occasionally blur out details in pictures and I don’t identify too much about my personal connections to pictures.
It’s a fine line to walk, and I don’t blame you for being concerned. Especially since there has been friction. When a blog causes that –!
Catherine - I completely agree with the supervisor and boss test. I also make sure that it’s something that I wouldn’t mind parents, grandparents, or coworkers seeing. I try to never mention my job in my blog, and I don’t think have ever listed the company I work for, or my job title.
It is near impossible to remove your identity from the web - especially since I would like to be found by those who may be specifically looking for me. And with a name and a city, contact info can be easily found through various sites. I’ve done that myself to locate old friends. It’s just really disappointing that someone may use the information that we post on our sites for bad reasons.
You and I seem to be struggling with this at the same time. It pops up in my mind periodically and I think about taking down my blog altogether. There is such a fear of saying something that could be potentially misconstrued that I have filtered much of what I do say. It’s certainly not an accurate portrayal of me.
I really do enjoy seeing all your crafts, photos and hearing about projects you’re working on. I think I get that same feeling too, like…why am I posting this? Who cares? But, apparently people do!
Thank you for posting back on line. I’ve missed you.
And don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone the name of the club where you dance.
Lynn
As someone who feels that I really reconnected with you over the past several years through your online journaling, I am all in favor of you being a hearty blogger :-)
[...] Just yesterday, Dallas was pondering the question of why she blogs. And the theme of Blogher 2006 is similar “why we blog“. Perhaps, like Dallas says we blog to make a statement, about who we are, or who we’d like to be. More than likely blogs serve different purposes for all of us. [...]
Glad to see you are back. I have missed you. You have gotten some good advice in the above comments. My advice is “just don’t post anything you don’t want a potential enemy to know”.
As a long lost friend :) I’m glad you keep a blog so I can read about your life ..
I used to think using a silly, made-up name would keep me anonymous, but then I realized eventually that if someone really wanted to pin a real name to “Robust McManlyPants,” it would be easy to do. Your concerns are good ones to consider, because the Internet is truly forever. That said, I personally can’t be hassled with worrying. The things I say online are the same things I’m just as likely to say in person to someone, and the people who might be more sensitive (the parental units, for example), are such a far cry from online that they don’t count in any practical sense. In order for someone to find me - what with my extremely common real name - that person would have to at least know a starting point on the information grid that connects my real identity to my silly blog name. They’d either have to start at my blog and work backwards (just a link or two away, but still) or they’d have to know my old online haunts and work forwards (harder to do, I think). Either way, they’d already have to have an “in,” and they’d have an interesting path to navigate before they could roll up outside my house and point at me and say, “That’s him.” So, I don’t sweat it. If someone really wants to get to you (or me, or anyone), they’ll figure out a way. I’m not going to spend many cycles letting them be that important to me.
On the other hand, wow, no way would I let someone put up a site about my kid using their real name as the URL, nor would I use my own real name as my URL. (At least, not anymore.)