In the past few weeks a few very funny events have occurred—some I have observed, some I have been personally involved in. After each event, I have thought to myself "I have got to blog about this", but when I sit down to create my post my courage escapes me. Blogging is a tricky past-time, it is not exactly like calling up a girlfriend, because you could speak on any number of topics and not worry about offending anyone—friends, family, hubbies, whomever. But when your life is an open book for any passerby, you must be a little more discerning, which I must say, makes for a less interesting blog.
The best blogs that I have come across are the ones that are almost completely unfiltered. My friend Emily is a perfect example of that. She writes they way she talks and doesn't avoid the messy stuff—from GYN-o visits to horrific diapers, the girl writes it all which makes for one must-read blog. But I suspect even my intrepid friend Emily purges her posts from time to time, to keep all readers, well, reading.
Total transparency would come at a cost. Who could ever say, "You will never believe what my boss/friend/sibling/neighbor/super did" with impunity? Since the blogosphere is almost wholly accessible to just about anyone—except possibly my 93 year old grandma and some rural tribe in Papua New Guinea—in a simple click of a button you could ruffle some serious feathers, or worse yet, really embarrass someone, including yourself.
So I am curious, how do you walk the line? Is there anything off limit to discuss? How much do you censor yourself?
11 comments:
Um, you've totally just offended Grandma... and that tribe in Papa New Guinea. Nice goin'.
I know what you mean, though. I totally avoid certain topics. You know which ones because we had a convo about this... But they include my stance on certain child rearing techniques, certain holiday traditions, certain movies, and anything involving work beyond the general "work is busy" or "this non-job-related thing happened at work." I don't want to accidentally leak a top level marketing secret (yeah, right, like those exist) or get quoted in somewhere for saying something bad about a cube neighbor... So I don't.
That is a good question. I think that I'm pretty censored in mine (partly due to my husband who forbid me to blog about certain things and post specific pictures) but I also feel like nothing really exciting happens - not like Emily anyway! :)
Hhhhm, good question since I clearly am not into censorship on my blog. I guess the only topic I steer clear of is religion. Other than that, it's a free for all. I did offend my sister on my "utah names" blog. She wouldn't speak to me for over 2 weeks. Oops. I guess that's another one I'll have to steer clear of in the future.
Such a good question, and one I've been thinking about lately. Sometimes I want to blog about serious subjects, things I'm going through, etc., but I almost always stop myself because I've set a lighter tone for my blog, and I think really serious posts would throw people off. I've toyed with the idea of making my blog private (invitation only), so that I could feel more comfortable blogging about the difficult stuff in life, but I've decided against that for now.
I also censor work and church stuff for the same reasons others have stated. (I REALLY wanted to blog about my insane experience with the road roadshow last year, but didn't because several ward members read my blog, and I was worried it might get back to the people who were making my life insane, and someone's feelings would get hurt.)
i sensor myself depending on who and if anyone is involved other than me. for example, my trip to philly, i did not post any photos because i didn't ask the individual i was with if he wanted his photo on my blog. for his privacy, i didn't show any photos. if it has to do with my own family, i use personal judgement. all in all, i do sensor but it's to protect the innocent, aka, not me.
I self-censor as well. I would like to write some things in an uninhibited format, but because I know some of the people that read my blog, I don't.
I'm thinking of starting another blog without any family references that could be uncensored.
I do think, that something more uncensored would be more interesting.
BTW, I liked the Utah names blog entry.
Thanks for your comment on my blog. I'm so glad that now I've found my way to yours.
I wish that I could blog more about my quirky parents and siblings. But they would get TOTALLY offended by the things that I would say, so I don't.
Also, I try to keep religion and politics to a minimum, even though they are both things that I think about a lot. I don't know why, it just seems personal.
I teach people to write their family stories and I am trying to get my class to consider a blog because it will give them a forumn to "publish" their stories for family and friends. This blog thing is new to me and I think it is a wonderful way for people to stay connected. I loved linking to Aarons blog from yours and seeing pictures of his baby and hearing what he is doing. I wouldn't have known otherwise. Life is busy and private and this opens up our life to more people who care. I sent my writing class to your blog for ideas and your UTube chuckle. It does seem a little voyeuristic so I don't think we should be saying anything that would embarrass or hurt anyone. But we shouldn't do this in any setting should we? "Charity suffereth long and is KIND" And I don't think we should feel uncomfortable about talking about our spiritual experiences in this arena. One of the apostles talked about using our blogs to clarify misunderstandings about the church. Thanks Tara for letting me be a part of your life in this way. I am loving it.
HA! I just put something about waterboarding on my blog and before I hit "post" thought "am I going to lose friends over this?" But I was too lazy to erase.
I sometimes envy those bloggers who have kept their identity secret - they can dish on whatever they want.
If you ever worry about offending people - hope on over to my blog and read the hubby's entries..his philosophy, if you're going to offend someone, just offend them all. The only thing I censor is language (mostly coming from Mark), you can always find a way to talk about something without pointing obvious figures! If it's important to you, talk about it, and if someone gets offended, they get offended.
Funny, a friend of mine just started a new blog where everyone is an author and only a few people can access it. The purpose is to post uncensored. It is great. I guess it is like a private blog but everyone can write. The perfect solution.
On my personal blog, I am careful what I say because I do not want to offend, but I do love the blogs that lay it all out, so much more interesting!
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