Thursday, January 11, 2007

HNT cancelled and a question

So I was going to post a HNT. I must admit I was quite excited about it but then I read some of the other blogs and found out that HNT was cancelled this week by its maker. The story is that a regular participant of HNT and an avid blogger was killed in a car wreck last week. I did not know the blogger nor had I ever read her blog but I think I will go with the flow this one time and wait til next week to post my HNT.

Though it does now bring up a question to me..why do people have to keep their blogs a secret from those that are close to them in the real world?

I am asking this in a nuetral fashion. I can understand many views on this but I am just trying to grasp why.

Some view it as a personal diary. Some view it as an escape. Some use it to rant and rave. Some use it to have fun. But in all the underlying truth is that a blog is not private unless you set it up to be so. If it is just a standard blog then other people can read it, they can even stumble unto it through Google. I have had someone find my blog by typing "how to unglue my fingers" into Google search!

So this makes me ask...why?

If it is things that you don't want people to read then why are you putting it out for the public to read. If you have a hardcopy diary, do you leave it out on the coffee table for guests to read when they are visiting? Then why a blog?

If it is good enough for strangers to read should it not be good enough for your loved ones to read?

I had to ask myself this very question when I finally told The Mom about my blog. When I first told her I had a moment of panic wondering if there was anything that I would not want her to see but then I stopped myself. I told myself that if I thought it was fine for strangers to read it should be fine for The Mom to read. There should be no comparison.
I know The Mom does not always agree with things I put on here but I do not "hide" them just because she is reading.

I understand some people have loved ones who don't understand what blogs are and really don't care and that is fine, the question I am posing is for those who hide their blogs deliberately as if the contents are not suitable for a loved one to read.

Why?

Does this make sense?

Do you see what I am asking?

3 comments:

Breazy said...

I understand what you are answering but I can see both sides on this . Everyone in my family knows I have a blog but only one of them read it . I don't care if they all want to read it , that is fine but in the same sense my blog is mine. It is like a place where I go to share with friends , kinda like a girls night out or something . I never post anything on my blog that I wouldn't let my family read. If I was going to do that I would go create a fake ID so that no one could trace it back to me.

Not everyone agrees with having a blog so I can understand why someone would not tell their family/friends about it.

I agree with everything Sal just said too.

Have a great day !

Breazy said...

LOL! I meant " I can see what you are ASKING , not answering ! Sorry busy and exciting day for me here so my words are just jumping around in my head .

lime said...

yes i understand your question. my hub doesn't really have a clue. no t that i am being totally secretive like i said in my post. he just doesn't grap it or that actual friendships can develop. i try to keep the content such that if he ever develops interest i don't have anything to regret posting. have i always followed that rule? not entirely. but i try. like i said, i don't discuss it a lot because most of the people around me regard the whole concept of online friendships as entirely suspect and they aren't really open to having that notion challenged.