The ‘Blogging Too Close to Home’ Quandary
I was reading JJ’s post about how blogging is a fucked up hobby, and it got me to thinking: how much do I really want to say? Well, that’s kind of a moot point because I’ve already said more than enough on a couple of occasions. Here’s what JJ said that got me a-ponderin’:
If you’re going to be completely honest on your website, odds are you don’t want your boss/parents/friends to read it. Too bad you mentioned your blog to your closest friends and your boyfriend/girlfriend. Because maybe they happened to mention it to a mutual friend after they read something particularly funny/revealing. Soon your coworkers are reading it and your Mom stops by from time to time.
Turns out I’m guilty of all of the above. While I was smart enough to refrain from using my real god-given moniker, I was a little less conservative with who I mentioned the blog to. See, I started this here cesspool of commentary and humor so I could vent and write about whatever I wanted to without worrying about who was reading it.
That was all fine and dandy when I was writing about everything from politics and immigration. But when you get into the naughty stuff like strippers, Keyra Augustina’s booty, and crotchless panties, you’ve got to wonder how much is too much? And who will be reading my shit?
How much do you really want your friends and family to know about you? You can’t help but think about how your girlfriend might get upset because you write so much about asses and porn. It’s hard not to wonder how many people you know actually read the blog, and who among those people would be offended if they read something they figured out was about them.
Would it be OK for people in your personal life to know you have a ‘French-cut’ wiener? Do they really want to be informed of that shit you took last night that clogged up the commode? What if you wanted to bitch about how someone in your life acted like a retard 16 hours out of the day, just to point out how humorous it was, but that individual happened to read your blog? What if you wanted to write an entire post about how neurotic one of your girlfriend’s friends is, but you have no idea if she mentioned your blog to that particular friend and you hate drama so you just forget about it?
What I’m trying to say is that once you open up that Pandora’s Box of people in your personal life reading your blog, you can’t ever shut it. And once its open, your stuck censoring yourself. Well either that or you let everyone know what a depraved perverted asshole you really are. Which wouldn’t be unbearable, but you have to weigh in on your professional life also. Once your friends and family know about your raunchy excuse for a weblog, its only a matter of time before your coworkers find out about it. If that happens, how do you explain to your boss that it wasn’t you who took a picture of the nasty ass booger he may or may not have flicked on the wall and then posted a close up of it on your profanity-laden internet website? Deny, deny, deny is what I say. That is of course, until your boss gets the IT department to run a report on your internet usage for the past six months and 76% of your page-views involve the domain “gangstas-hugs.com”. Then you just say there’s this new blogging computer virus going around where porn webmasters from Eastern Europe can take over your work laptop and write a whole blog from it. Day after day. Ridiculous post after ridiculous post.
To those of you thinking about telling Bob Krutke in the next cubicle or your sister Beulah about your blog so you can increase your page-views by 9 or so a week, the bottom line is this: Don’t blog where you poo. Or more appropriately don’t defecate where you blog. Comprende? Good. Now I’m gonna go see if I can’t get this Eastern European blogging virus off my work laptop.
i broke all of these rules months ago. i guess my life was too boring without all my co-workers voyeuristically reading about my life.
…is voyeuristically a word?
I’m kind of halfway through this stage. My girlfriend knows about my blog, and for people who know me well it wouldn’t be hard for them to find it. So there are some things I deliberately don’t put on there, exactly the same as there are some pictures I would never put on my facebook account, just in case a future employer happens to do a google search on my name…
minijonb: You totally could have gotten away with voyeuristically if you hadn’t said anything. Sounded good to me!
Ugly Toy: The future employer debacle! The next worse thing to your coworkers finding out about your latest case of hemorrhoids.
“French-cut wiener… shit you took last night… someone in your life acted like a retard…”
You and I are on the same track here, but I openly blog about these kind of topics. I’m talking about taking the next step. I just can’t decide if I should.
For example - I’ve been considering posting a ‘how to’ guide for certain sexual acts, with step-by-step instructions. But that would imply that I’ve experienced those certain sexual acts. You know - the kind of things you might not even discuss with a close friend. But I think putting the info out there on the web might help people who are looking for advice.
The same is true for various other subjects that might be considered TMI, even for people who know what I’m all about.
There’s nothing I say on my blog that I wouldn’t say to my wife, friends, or acquaintances. However, I wouldn’t say it to my boss/coworkers or family. That’s why I’m anonymous.
JJ: Yeah, I’ve gone there a few times… but I feel you about the exact same issues. When you write about something, you can only infer certain things about the author, which sucks when people know you personally.
anonymouscoworker: That’s a good policy. I think I should adopt it.
heh heh — AMEN
artificially inseminate heifers from trained professionals pictures, not cool. at all.
ahh the joys of having a separate identity?
and the pain of having it bite you in the ass.
go free thoughts!!!
shane: Its good to see you back here shane!
mulk: Not cool? Aww come on, you know seeing that was the highlight of your day!
“Well either that or you let everyone know what a depraved perverted asshole you really are.”
This is the choice I went with. It’s worked out pretty well.
Riss: True… it looks like you pull it off quite well. I think I’d have a problem because I “hold back” the depraved part of me during business hours. Seems my coworkers don’t like to hear about my obsession with crotchless panties.