The article Blogging as Social Activity, or, Would You Let 900 Million People Read Your Diary? by Bonnie A. Nardi, Diane J. Schiano and Michelle Gumbrecht really hit close to home. One issue I have been grappling with about blogging has been the fact that so many people can read your personal, private thoughts. I do not necessarily understand how diary writing can go from something so private to the complete opposite by allowing millions of people know your deepest, darkest secrets.
They also discuss how many people write their blogs for their audience. This can also shape what goes into a blog. How can a diary be completely true to the author if they have to think about how the audience will react?
On a personal level, recently a friend had been battling a disease and her family used blogging as a way to let people know her status and express how they were feeling. I did check the blog often and I understood that it was a very efficient method to inform friends and family that live outside the province. At the same time, I thought maybe it was not the most appropriate venue to deal with something so personal. I understand that for some people blogging is very helpful in order to release emotions. For me, I can't help but wonder, is there ever a time when blogging crosses a line and becomes too personal? Or is there no such thing as too personal anymore?
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3 comments:
(The "Hi" was just testing.)
I checked out your question on Google and found the following interesting.
Why I Hate Personal Weblogs http://mama.indstate.edu/users/bones/WhyIHateWebLogs.html
Weblog Personality Type Quiz: http://mama.indstate.edu/users/bones/weblogsurvey2.html
When is a blog too personal?
http://www.intuitive.com/blog/when_is_a_blog_too_personal.html
How personal is too personal?
http://virtuelvis.com/archives/2003/06/how-personal
I can relate to your question, "is there no such thing as too personal anymore?"
I'm not sure, but perhaps what was personal is being watered down to the point where nothing is really personal anymore. Everything we create electronically is being collected and analysed by marketing experts and who knows who. Perhaps the whole paranoia of "big brother" watching is reaching the point where we no longer care what others see? In a previous course, we discussed how learning logs were being fabricated in such a way as to get the best grade from the instructor. Clearly, these learning journals were not authentic!
Well written article.
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