I get the feeling that a lot of people have very preconceived ideas about why people blog and the type of people who are blogging. They make a snap judgment about people who blog before they have even read one. My thoughts were confirmed when a friend of mine asked me what insights I had gained into the world of blogging and then stated "Maybe a bit of a misconception but i thought all bloggers who arent famous masturbate furiously and play world of warcraft??"
The friend requested to remain anonymous (yet another issue with anonymity), saying "No i dont want to be dragged into an online feud that could come back to haunt my political career".
There is definitely a fear with posting thoughts online that any one could read it... Future employers, someone you may enter into a relationship with etc. In the article by Adam Reed 'My blog is me', he talks to a woman who wrote openly and in considerable detail about her relationship issues on her blog. Her blog was anonymous. One night when she was drunk she let slip to her partner that she kept a blog. She was then so paranoid that he would find it and read what she had been telling complete strangers about their intimacies that she deleted her blog completely. I personally would never feel comfortable writing intimate details about my life, even if I knew that no one I know would ever find out it was me.
Izzy
I find it hard to believe that your friend is actually worried about this comment affecting her career... if she was that paranoid then she wouldn't have a Facebook page, which I'm sure she does.
ReplyDeleteIt's far more likely that she wanted to remain anonymous because it's not 'cool'...
i feel sure that part of your hesistance in writing this blog isn't just about being hesistant to reveal private details - it's about the (wrong) social stereotype associated with bloggers which your friend described above. I think this stereotype is really only confined to certain social circles. I had exactly the same concerns at uni when I had to start a blog for my course. Then as soon as I left uni and started searching for a career in digital media, it suddenly become weird that I DIDN'T have a blog... Interviewers were like, 'you did english and you want to work in digital? where's your blog?'
so - different social tribes ascribe different characteristics to bloggers.