In the short span of time that I've been wandering through The Land of Blog, I've read several posts on the subject of blogging itself. One of my favorite Bloggy Friends, Reya, recently wrote a post about how blogging has created families of a sort.
It's an interesting concept and if you've been actively blogging for awhile, you've begun to see how we travel in packs or cliques. We log on to a blog that we find interesting, only to find that someone we know from The Land of Blog is already following that blogger!
Although I have Bloggy Friends in Africa, Germany, England and other wonderful and interesting places, the blogging phenomenon seems to have proven the notion that it really is a small world.
Today I noticed that I had written a total of 98 posts thus far along my journey into the Land of Blog. I thought to myself, "Self...that's pretty cool. But, I wonder how long it will be until someone I know in "real" life, "meets" someone I know only from blogging?"
Well, kiss my grits and slap me silly, but it happened today. Today! I was completely flabbergasted and without words of any kind for a minute or so. Of course, I'm sure some sort of sound came out of me seeing as how my mouth was hanging open like an airplane hangar.
I logged on to my mother-in-law's blog and was scrolling through the comments and there it was. Fragrant Liar. I couldn't believe it. How did this happen?! The universe has tilted and worlds have collided!
At first I felt shocked. Then I felt confused. What the....?! Now I just feel weird. What's this? What's going on here, what's happening?!
My finely delineated and compartmentalized world has had the ink of its Sharpie perfect borders smudged and smeared and there are no longer Family Blogs and Bloggy Friend blogs. Holy hell.
You see, I draw mental lines around things. This is here and that is there and everything has a place. Nice, neat and psychotic, no?
I can see you there, sitting smugly behind your computer screen thinking, "This one's a freak, she is. Why does this have her so bamboozled?" (Wipe that judgemental smirk off your face, will you? It's SO unbecoming.)
This one's going to take some working out. I may have to call a therapist. (Nooooo...I am not already in therapy, thank you very much. What are you implying?!)
*Sigh*
It's an interesting concept and if you've been actively blogging for awhile, you've begun to see how we travel in packs or cliques. We log on to a blog that we find interesting, only to find that someone we know from The Land of Blog is already following that blogger!
Although I have Bloggy Friends in Africa, Germany, England and other wonderful and interesting places, the blogging phenomenon seems to have proven the notion that it really is a small world.
Today I noticed that I had written a total of 98 posts thus far along my journey into the Land of Blog. I thought to myself, "Self...that's pretty cool. But, I wonder how long it will be until someone I know in "real" life, "meets" someone I know only from blogging?"
Well, kiss my grits and slap me silly, but it happened today. Today! I was completely flabbergasted and without words of any kind for a minute or so. Of course, I'm sure some sort of sound came out of me seeing as how my mouth was hanging open like an airplane hangar.
I logged on to my mother-in-law's blog and was scrolling through the comments and there it was. Fragrant Liar. I couldn't believe it. How did this happen?! The universe has tilted and worlds have collided!
At first I felt shocked. Then I felt confused. What the....?! Now I just feel weird. What's this? What's going on here, what's happening?!
My finely delineated and compartmentalized world has had the ink of its Sharpie perfect borders smudged and smeared and there are no longer Family Blogs and Bloggy Friend blogs. Holy hell.
You see, I draw mental lines around things. This is here and that is there and everything has a place. Nice, neat and psychotic, no?
I can see you there, sitting smugly behind your computer screen thinking, "This one's a freak, she is. Why does this have her so bamboozled?" (Wipe that judgemental smirk off your face, will you? It's SO unbecoming.)
This one's going to take some working out. I may have to call a therapist. (Nooooo...I am not already in therapy, thank you very much. What are you implying?!)
*Sigh*
15 comments:
Amy, I noticed FL too. Sort of like we're weaving a mesh. I loved it!
I can see how that happens...all of our cyber boundaries could be crossed! My children prefer to maintain a bit of separation between their computer friends and their family-including me. (They are nearly adults.)
I understand that they like to play freely so I don't mind...they are careful. I've had my own category boundaries crossed over many times...and now I don't feel it as strongly as before but I know what you mean. <3
I guess I should be glad that I started my blog with the intention that my family would read it. They might be shocked by some of the people I follow - but I don't think they actually go TO my blog to read - they just read the email update. Kind of bugs me because they're missing the blog experience in my book, but whatever. I also like to be as honest as possible without being hurtful, which is why some of my aunts think that maybe I'm going to hell. I'm ok with that!
Linda: Yes. Mesh.
Cynthia: So, you're saying I'll overcome the initial panic?! Whew!
Bug: I grinned when I read your comment. I've actually been told by family members (on more than one occassion) that I'm going to hell! Maybe we'll see each other there?!
Because there is family in the mix of the blogging, I find myself censoring what I write much more than I'd like. Now that the lines are beginning to blur, I feel somehow like it restricts me even further. Or, I may just be crazy.
Amy, there is no reason to restrict what you write because of family reading your blog. We love you, even when we disagree.
Christy: Thank you. I have absolutely no problem saying or writing things which I feel someone may disagree.(I'd be crazy to think otherwise.) What I have a problem with is the very real possibilty of offending someone on a personal level.
The possibility is there whether you restrict yourself or not. I mean, that it is there with blogging. It comes with the territory. Anyone who is offended can bring it up privately, and if not, that is their problem. I find myself limiting what I write, even in my pathetic posts. I write for myself, to let people know what is happening, and to clear my mind. If that is offensive, I don't really care. No one is required to read. Besides, I like your spicier posts. They make me think.
exactly why I dont post often, and why my posts are not - or I try to make them not - personal- or about anything/anyone but me. Im not sure why I blog. I dont do it often. I honestly dont really feel I can say what I think and what I feel. I say those things to my husband. He gets me even if he doesnt agree. He is my personal blog. :o)
NOTE: word verification is biolzoog. COOL!
Jennie: I know why I blog. I blog because I love to read and write and blogging takes care of both. I've learned a ton by reading what others have to say, and I've also learned an immense amount about myself. I do, however, feel an obligation to try not to personally offend anyone. By that, I don't mean stating things that may raise opposition, I mean saying things that I think might actually hurt someone specifically.
Not to confuse the issue, but, your future employer may have access to your blog and to your blog friends. Everything you say can be used against you, or get you an interview!
I went into writing my blog knowing that my entire family would read it (oh wait, except they didn't - well, some of them eventually started reading after I shamed them into it), and also knowing that I wasn't going to say anything negative about them anyway (I've already complained about them enough in my 108 journals to have gotten it fully out of my system.) So I don't really think in terms of boundaries that may be crossed or with offending anyone.
Instead I spend my time wondering what would happen if I met anyone from blogland. So far I've never actually met anyone who reads me blog (anyone that I didn't already know before I started blogging, that is), and I'm fascinated by the thought of what would happen, especially since I'm very different when I meet someone for the first time from how I am on my blog. I devote a teensy bit too much time to thoughts like that.
What you describe with your blog, and boundaries, reminds me a little of a conversation my sister and I had once about how weird it is when friend groups start to mix or overlap. I guess this is kind of like the blogging equivalent of that.
I was just complaining in the comments section of another blog, and referenced your blog...but my mind, the who of it..said I'd have to go read it again so I could point her over to your post.
Then I realized, I am who kinda pisses me off., I read you Amy, but I hardly ever comment because my old eyes can't read the comments already left by your other readers...which I think is a major part of the blog experience.
I will try to speak up more.
My neice, who I love, told her mother, my sister who is evil and hates me, about my blog...it has placed a large piece of duct tape over my mouth....
Here is her post:
http://inmyminditisfunny.blogspot.com/
Rosaria: Strange, isn't it? A mere few years ago, who would have thought that you could lose your job for something you said on a blog? I'm hoping that I get to spend the rest of my life doing volunteer work instead of actually being employed. It's what I want to do and if I screw up, the most they can do is ask me to leave!
Angie: Our blogs are of different sorts, but I see where you're coming from. (Maybe I should have put more thought into this whole blog thing!) You do poke a little fun at your family at times, but always with affection. I'm afraid I have much more wickedness inside me. Sometimes, I would just love to spew venom. (Nice of me, eh?) Maybe it's a good thing that I'm self-censoring after all.
And, the mixing of friend groups? Mr. Right and I just had that conversation on our vacation! Because we only had a limited amount of time while we were back in Texas, we set up a place and time for all of our friends to meet up with us if they wanted to see us. We were a little freaked at how it would work out as we have several diverse groups of friends. As it turned out, it worked great. I guess for two or three hours, damn near anyone can get along. (Especially when their witty and charming hostess is feeding their faces with homemade empanadas and guacamole.)
@eloh: I read the blog link. Thanks for that. Thank you, too, for reading and for commenting. I always enjoy you stopping by to visit.
I totally understand what you're saying and on one hand, it ticks me off a bit that I feel censored. On the other hand, the angelic side of me (Ha! Like there's really an angelic side. Maybe just a side that's a little less evil)thinks it's probably a good thing that the desire not to offend, keeps me from being a total witch.
Now that I think about it, I do recall calling all of my relatives to the carpet once for not reading my blog. So I guess I have complained about them.
And you're right, the format of our blogs is very different. Although a case could be argued that I write about myself and my family more than a person who is writing a blog directly about themselves. I've honestly never been to a book blog before where people spend 50% (Okay 90%) of the time talking about themselves the way I do - so I'm not even sure what format my blog even is, it's not a completely a personal blog, but it's not a straight-up book blog either. My blog is a freak.
The more I think about it, the more examples I can think of, of times when I almost insulted someone on the blog. I almost wrote a snotty blog post about my aunt after she insulted my blog. Instead I just made a few passive-agreessive comments in a couple of my blog entries about how "Certain people think I talk about myself too much on my blog, and that I don't talk about the book enough." Really mature of me, I konw.
I think I know how you feel. I have a blog that my kids and family and friends can visit. I even put the url in our Christmas letter last year. They don't, oh well. But then I wanted to write to sort some stuff out and I didn't want the possibility of them reading it. So this blog I do in a kind of anonymous way. It would freak me out if someone from the other world showed up here.
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