I was e-mailing with Crystal and Susan about blogs. And it came up how blogging can sometimes present a false picture of you and your situation. Basically, we post about the safe things. We brag. We give updates. We post about day to day happenings. Sometimes we touch on 'its been a hard day' or 'current battles'. When we are vulnerable, we invariably feel whiney, ungrateful, or negative, and we regret posting what we did. So we go back to the staple things . . . the things we know are ok to post . . . the things we know we wont regret saying to the whole world.
Now, there's got to be some blog ettiquette, right? I mean, who wants to check my blog and feel barfed on? And I've got to show some discretion too and think that not everyone on the internet has earned a right to read my feelings.
What do you think about this? Do you have any thoughts? How do you discern what is bloggable and what is not? Do you ever regret what you post? Do you ever find yourself reading the blogs of others, thinking their lives are sunshine and yours is a downpour of rain?
On a tangent and side-note, there is a whole world of non-bloggers who do all their daily catch up on facebook. And since my man has a facebook page, i got one too. (Anyone else have one?) And now I'm playing Scrabble on facebook with a few friends. I am REALLY enjoying it. Superfun to tap in every day to facebook, spell a word & score some points and then leave. :)
11 comments:
I have posted something deep and depressing only to go back and delete it because I didn't want anyone to feel sorry for me! I do think blogs are for sharing the good times...but I think it's nice to be able to share deep feelings too. I wish I hadn't deleted that post because it was truly how I was feeling! E and Mar actually saw it before I had deleted it, so they were kind enough to comfort me! Anyway, I guess I don't know the answer either way...
Karen,
I didn't know you were the last referral! That means there was one between us ( siblings) and probably one more. We accepted Grace's referral on March 20th. I can't believe there are only 4 families now waiting to travel. We probably will be waiting a while now that such a large group will be traveling in May. I guess June is probably more likely. While I've been thinking June all along, I also was getting excited that it could be sooner. You're probably right that we'll wait a bit longer.
Regarding your new post, I can't remember if I've posted anything I regretted. Although, I have taken photos off that I wasn't happy with. I try not to get too personal, but I figure if people are going to read it I should be honest with them. I look at it like journaling: It will be nice to be able to look back after Grace comes home and remember just how frustrating it can get.
I have a facebook account to stay in touch with my college son, but I only check it about once every 2 months. I prefer old-fashioned email. (Funny that email is "old fashioned".) Anyway, is your husband traveling with you to Ethiopia? I'm taking my mom and Mike will stay home with the boys. You have to email me the instant you get your call! I can't wait to find out if we travel together.
Sharon
sdcesq@yahoo.com
Twice I've posted my sad or troubling thoughts and I've felt uneasy about it both times. But I want to be real. If I only post the good, then I may end up having people think my life is perfect all the time. I would never want someone to feel bad about themselves because they've compared them self to a false image of what my life is like. That is why I love your blog so much - you are 100% real about your feelings and who you are :)
I posted a pretty personal look into our financial situation not too long ago only to pull it off just minutes after I put it on. Wouldn't you know - the ONE person who reads my blog that I wouldn't want to read this one happened to check my blog at that exact moment and read it, much to our chagrin.
I also suffer from perfectionism in a way that if something is pretty personal I usually feel like whatever I write about it isn't good enough so I don't post it - that works as a filter I guess, but I don't know if that's good or bad.
Yeah, I'm not big into sharing personal stuff on blogs since I don't know who is reading it.
But on a more important note, it is your turn in Scrabulous. :)
I blog because I suck at scrapbooking. If I want it in my scrapbook, I'll blog it (since I plan on printing out my blog as a family scrapbook at some point).
Since the blog is out there for everyone, I reserve anything deep for face to face conversation, since I am just private enough to not want to share everything with who-knows-who in the blog world. It's not that I am trying to be someone or something other than I am, but I when I share about myself on a deeper level, I want to have feedback or a response from a friend.
BUT, I love hearing about my friend's lives, good or bad, in person or on their blog. It think it is a super individual choice, and both are equally appropriate.
That's my two cents:). But I echo Carrie...it's your turn!
I'm on facebook too. But I forget about it a lot. I did a lot with facebook and blogging because we were in Bali - for friends and family to check up on us - but now that we're back I forget to post as much. It was a big tool to get me through homesickness. Plus, we're moving around so much I have a hard time knowing when to write what.
Anyway, I didn't know you could play scrabble on facebook. I kind of forget I have it.
also, don't you kind of just want to buy a ticket to Ethiopia and go see your baby? I know that wouldn't work, and would be more expensive since you don't know your dates, but I think I would be sorely tempted.
i also use my blog as a scrapbook of our family life. there are some people that i wouldn't share certain stuff with so that is why i wouldn't put it on my blog. i feel like i have good friends that i can call when i need to share my inner most thoughts and feelings. but in no way do i feel like it is wrong for someone else to do it. actually i feel as if i have gotten to defninatley know you better through your blog and i love it :)....on a side note i have a face book account, add me as a friend :) and i didn't know you could play scrabble on there, fun!
I blog as a way to stay connected to people and also as a form of entertainment - it's just fun. (When you don't have television, you have to find alternative means to entertain yourself. =)
I do sometimes share more personal things. They're always things that I wouldn't mind anyone and everyone reading, but I think what it comes down to is that I'm just not real private of a person. And then I wonder if that's bad. Where's the mystery??! =)
I've toyed with the thought of checking out facebook. It's intriguing. Not so much for games as for a way to keep up with people. But I'm scared it will suck up too much time. That's what I feared about blogging though, and here I am. So I'm sure I'll end up on facebook at some point too. =)
You are the coolest. Yep, I sometimes feel like when I've posted about difficult stuff that it's too raw for the public. Does that mean I'm being fake on my blog? Sometimes I think so, but who wants to let it all hang out in front of the world, KWIM?
Oh... that's right... we do that all the time with you guys! Oops!
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