Category: Weblogs

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about why people post what they do in their blogs – and I’m talking about those blogs that read like personal diaries.  I can’t say I haven’t been tempted to post about some pretty personal issues and my parents would say I have crossed the line, but why am I tempted?  Why do people post their personal diaries?

I think they are looking to share their stories and commiserate with others.  It’s kind of the same reason you talk to the stranger at the bar or in line next to you.

However, here’s the dilemna I keep coming to.  If I’m going to post my personal diary, I want to do so anonymously.  And not just anonymous to strangers, I wouldn’t want everybody in my life reading what I thought about them.  After I get in a "discussion" with someone I might go vent in my diary, but it wouldn’t be good for that person to read my diary right away.  We might end up duking it out in the comments!  So if it’s anonymous and I don’t tell my friends about my personal web diary, then who reads it?  Perfect strangers.  And what perfect stranger is going to want to read about the argument I had with my best friend or how my six year old didn’t listen today?  Not many of them.  So then nobody would read it.  So if nobody is going to read my personal diary, why post it? 

If I post anonymously, only strangers will know about my blog, they won’t be interested in my life, nobody will read it, so then why post at all?

So then I have to assume that the only way to get someone to read your diary blog (assuming you want someone to read it – personally I think most diaries are better off unread) is to tell friends about it.  Well then you better not blog about too many of the negative things that happen to you or any of the arguments you get into!

I have a feeling my kids might have very different opinions on this by the time they get old enough to have their own online presence.

I recently switched from Bloglines to Google Reader for reading blogs and news.  I’ve decided to stick with Google Reader and here’s why:

• It’s easier to add a feed, i.e. blog.  It’s one click instead of several screens.
• It’s easier to change a feed’s folder, i.e. category.
• I can set it up to only show me the feeds that have new posts.
• If I click on a folder, it doesn’t mark all the posts read until I actually scroll past them.  (In Bloglines, if I clicked on a folder all 200+ unread messages I had to read them all right then as they all got marked read immediately.)

Things I liked better in Bloglines:

• I could put my folders in any order I wanted.  Google Reader puts them in alphabetical order.
• Pictures and links in the posts seemed to show up better in Bloglines.

I’ve created two new blogs.  You should check them out!

• My Man’s Man – Cooking for the adventurous family
• Humans for Dogs – What humans need to know to understand dogs

This blog, Stormy’s Corner, will stay the same.

You can leave a comment on any post by clicking on the word "Comments()" at the end of every post – you can practice on this page by clicking "Comments(0)" below.

Blogs are about conversation – share your experiences, thoughts and ideas!  Although this is my blog, it’s not just about me – it’s about all of you reading it, so please feel free to leave a comment or two!

Here’s my promise in return:

• I won’t delete a comment just because I don’t agree with it.
• Profanity is bad.  I will delete any comment that contains profanity – any kind of profanity.  If you post lots of comments with lots of swear words, I will prohibit you from posting any more comments.  It gets old reading rude posts and deleting them.
• Rude comments are bad for conversation.  I reserve the right to decide what is rude versus what is contentious.
• Spam is bad.  Spam includes posting six comments to one post that all say the same thing is spam.

I have lots of silent readers – I’d like to hear what you think.  Many
of you only tell me in person or via email – just post your comments!
They are good and others should hear them.

A writer wrote a piece called "9 Tips for Surviving the Holidays at Your Republican Parents’ Home." and her mom just learned how to Google, tried googling her daughter and found it: Oops, Mom Googled Me – Los Angeles Times.

It struck a cord with me today.  Blogs aren’t diaries.  At least I don’t think so.  If I’m upset about something, writing it down helps, and since I tend to write things in a blog, my first instict is to blog about it.  However, every time I’m tempted, I remember who all reads my blog.  I don’t want an argument in the comments section of my blog.  I also don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings in a blog anymore than I do over email.  <satire begin> It’s much better to hurt someone’s feelings in person – then at least you can make sure all your comments, good and bad, are interpreted as you wanted them to be. 🙂 Or at least you have a better chance. </satire end>

I’ve even debated several times on starting an anonymous blog.  However, I resolved on two points:

• I won’t blog on things I’m just upset about. That first writing should go somewhere else until I decide whether or not I really have a public point to make or a position to take.  Even an email to the person you are upset with is better than a public airing of the issue.
• If I do have a public position to take, I don’t want to hide it from the people that read my blog.  What’s the point of sharing my political view with the world if I’m not willing to share it with or try to convince those closest to me?

Just my two cents …

Dad has a blog about the farmers in his hometown: The Elkton Farmers.  He’s got some great pictures, so you should check it out every once in a while.

My mom has been adding pictures to my grandmother’s blog, Vera’s Corner, and it’s looking very nice.  My grandmother wrote out all the blog entries by hand, mailed them to my mom, my mom typed them in and posted them, and then my aunt printed out the blog and took it to my grandmother to see.

She was very proud of being an author.  She had some great stories to tell!

I can’t help but think that these schools have missed the world moving on.  Telling your students they can’t blog is like saying they can’t make phone calls. 

Forgive me, Father, for I have blogged | News.blog | CNET News.com.

Several Catholic high schools have banned their students from posting personal information about themselves or their schools, according to a report by the Associated Press.