Now you know I'm not exactly a bleeding heart on this (or any other) blog; I don't go into how I'm feeling from one day to the next, unless I'm really pissed off about something, and then it's no holds barred. (Is that the correct phrase?) And no, talking about what's broken around the house isn't exactly spilling my guts, but - and here's the big thing - were I to try to sell the house in a few years, all a potential buyer would have to do would be print off the post and present me with a long "to do" list before any dotted lines were signed on.
And then I started thinking about all the other things you could over-share about on a blog. Going on vacation/holiday isn't usually a good topic unless you make it plain that someone will still be at your house accompanied by a large dog and several members of the local militia (armed). Criticizing the kids' school isn't on because I know a few of the teachers read my stuff from time to time, and gossiping about other parents is definitely a non-starter as some of them read this too!
I can't even have a moan about the kids or the Ball & Chain too often because the Queenager (hi there) has taken to reading this all the time. And sharing it with her college friends. Sigh.
All a bit restricting really. Perhaps I'll just start reviewing books.
You better start an anonymous blog that nobody in your immediate circle knows about. Really, that only strangers read. You'd get a lot off your chest. XOX
ReplyDeleteLOL, love this post. After four and a half years blogging I think I've probably covered most topics and have bared my soul on several occasions. Probably bored my readers to tears and made them perform a quick exit to the next blog. So now my blog has become more of a diary. I'm not sure what blogging is about anymore, there's just too many rules and etiquette posts being rammed down our throats so I reckon boring is the way to go, lol.
ReplyDeleteCJ xx
Yes...... it is difficult to blog about the things that are on my heart because too many people that I know read mine!
ReplyDeleteHey ho. I am more anonymous than you but people who know me would soon work out who it is.
Maybe the Queenager could start her own blog.
Maggie X
Nuts in May
Have a secret blog as well but tell us where to go so we can still get our fix!
ReplyDeleteThe issue you raise is a real one and one that I pondered a lot when I wrote on MySpace years ago. The truth is that if you lose all or most of your anonymity, you lose some freedom for what you can write about (without upsetting friends/relatives/etc, anyway). And if you go the other way and don't write something with personal opinions and experiences, you run the risk of boring the reader because it can be too flat and mundane.
ReplyDeleteI consider myself a reasonably experienced blogger but don't know a good answer to that one.
On a kind of related idea, I deliberately give myself a subject area or theme when I write blogs nowadays, as they are easier than general blogs in many ways. In my From Sheep to Alligators one, for instance, I stick to writing about being a Brit in the US. That actually makes it easier to decide on a post topic for me. When you can write about anything, you can talk yourself out of each idea for a post, if you're not careful.
YOU THINK YOU'VE GOT IT BAD - how do you think I feel with my ex husband and his new wife telling me I shouldn't be writing about "furry muffs" et al because it's "subversive". And now there's Builder Bloke so I can't write about being single or otherwise and the kids read it and the school are watching and frankly I really wonder what I can find to write about these days apart from HP sauce and Movember. Shall we set up a new secret - no "holes bared" it is (ha ha joke) blog that only the chosen few can get on?? It really is beginning to do my head in. Lx
ReplyDeleteNot a bad idea Lu. Hmmm....
ReplyDeleteAm quite often mid rant and then have an 'oooh er' moment. As I'm a teacher, all work related stuff is out of bounds (pity that, as fund of good stories there), likewise husband and the girls have pointed out that they don't really want a starring role in this particular soap opera -Like Family Affairs do flirt with idea of completely anonymous blog where I could bare all - a frightening thought that is guaranteed to have any reader mentally clapping hand over eyes. Currently bricking myself as have just written rant for the local Sydney paper about the horrors of builders- just hoping my own particular missing in action brickie doesn't read it.
ReplyDeleteLove Cx
Since my blog has been primarily about our expat experiences in Korea, I didn't expect this to come up at all, but it has - surprisingly often. It's definitely an issue I never gave much thought to until I started blogging myself. A few months into blogging, I also stumbled across the term 'dooced' which was coined by a woman who was fired for blogging http://www.dooce.com/about which was quite a wake-up call. Maybe anonymous really is the way to go?
ReplyDeleteI think it's getting increasingly hard to blog and to think of topics that won't offend people. I am semi-anonymous (in that it's not too hard to work out who I am) but I feel very loathed to write anything that might get found about, so this can sometimes lead to a very sanitised blog. Totally anonymous would be hard to maintain if you want to write about your life, as you wouldn't be able to include any clues. Maybe we do all need a separate blog to let loose on.
ReplyDeleteMs C - if you're new to blogging you won't know many of the horror stories of bloggers being Dooced. Her's wasn't the first case and it won't be the last. An English blogger who has moved on to bigger things now (Wife in the North) got into big trouble for blogging about bullying at her kids' school. I think there were threats of lawyers and all sorts; and another teacher in the USA who blogs as Vodka Mom (and is brilliant) had to change her blog slightly because it became apparent who she was.
ReplyDeleteThere is a blog (UK) where you can send in an anonymous blog and have a good rant. Obviously, the person running the blog would know who you are but she is very professional. Let me find the name and I''ll come back here.
The way to go is to blog with a site that allows you to employ the use of filters, that way you get to choose who reads your individual posts.
ReplyDeleteYou can set it up so that some entries are public, while other, more personal stuff, can be limited to be viewed by your 'inner circle'.
Livejournal offers this and is free. It's where I blog. Blogging in the public realm is just too risky these days.
we were talking about something similar on FB, like about not posting Utlrasound pics
ReplyDeleteActually, ultra sound pics are probably safe since you can't tell what you're looking at. (I've had three kids.) No, I know what you're getting at! LOL
ReplyDeleteHere is the info about the anonymous blog set-up that I know of, from one of the hosts -
ReplyDeleteDetails here http://www.iamtypecast.com/p/blognonymous.html
Myself and Mocha Beanie Mummy have both hosted a Blognonymous post in the last couple of weeks.
Contributors are free to pick any of the six "hosts" and they converse by email with them. The post goes to the panel just to make sure that we're not cross-posting but the identity is kept secret, even from the panel. We usually write a short intro and leave comments open or closed according to the wishes of the contributor.
We've covered probably every single subject you can think of - sometimes we get lots of comments, sometimes only a few. We originally thought that we should have an anonymous blog on it's own but we thought that the readership we had built between us was more valuable than starting again. We've hand lots of positive feedback about it and it's been running about 18 months now. The original six founders remain the only hosts.
Hope that helps - feel free to shoot any questions our way - we'd be happy to help.
Slag off a few bloggers. That's my advice... You're welcome.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I feel the same too. I was chomping at the bit to have a little rant last week about something but I couldn't for fear that they might read my blog. I used to love reading an anonymous blog by a nurse in England (can't remember her blog name now) but she also had to stop when someone "outed" her at work. I suppose nothing is truly anonymous
ReplyDeleteThat TMI thing is sort of how I feel about Face Book...when family members call and ask if I know what my children are up to (you know, the 35 and 36 year old babies) I break down and read their facebook ranting and then wish I hadn't...but you did great here, just enough and no more...
ReplyDeletegreat job!
Sandi
I often think I've got my audience figured out (so I know what I can write about and can't) and then suddenly someone I never expected leavs a comment or tells me to my face that they read a certain post--like my husband's colleague's son. What?! So then that makes me mentally run through all the posts I cna think of wondering if I've tripped up anywhere.
ReplyDeleteI've often thought about writing a piece or two for the blognonymous group but by the time I get enough momentum to thik about it further the enthusiasm evaporates. Just too much effort, I suppose.
That's partly why I don't blog - apart from the fact that I haven't got much to say! I even worry that my Dad will read my comments on the Times website (it's actually his subscription account), even though there's nothing too terrible in there. And I rarely write anything on my own status on Facebook.
ReplyDeleteIt's sort of nice to work out who people are in real life, but I wouldn't want my family or some friends reading stuff I wrote, so that Blognonymous site sounds like a good idea.
I used to read a blog by a teacher but it got taken down after she was brought into the public eye (which she kind of chose herself, but anyway...).