Letting People Read Your Diary

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?

This is my first time blogging, so I'm just learning how to use it. I am starting this blog for my class in Educational Technology at Concordia University. The class is called Social Computing & CSCL/W. As the semester unfolds I will be posting my thoughts on material that I encounter from this class.