Comments on: The Gift of Blogging

By: MinD

MinD — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:49:31 +0000

I more often find myself wishing my friends, family, boyfriend, etc. cared enough to read my blog simply because it’s something important to me. Sure, some might pop in once in a while, but blogging for me has become more of connecting with people I don’t know rather than strengthening anything I already have… That sounds kind of sad, huh?

By: andhari

andhari — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:07:11 +0000

Blogging helps me get the things off my chest, and for people to know who I really am. People in real life tend to judge by my exterior completely. I come off wrong from time to time, for the simplest reasons like me being tired so I don’t smile so much. Or me being awkward.

People who read my blog can easily be my friends and closer to me, I think.

By: Lucy The Valiant

Lucy The Valiant — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:38:25 +0000

I think that blogging helps me stay more positive in Real Life, because no matter how crappy something is, in the back of my head I am now always thinking “This will be really funny when I blog about it!”

By: J

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:36:04 +0000

I noticed that my mom now thinks I’m an out of control slut because she read my blog once and FREAKED OUT.

I still can’t figure out how she managed to find me.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:33:47 +0000

That’s so sweet! I don’t know how blogging has affected my “real” life…people from college read it occasionally because I passed it out before I studied abroad (the old link…) but they’ve trickled off. My friends here know I have a blog because I mention it casually when it’d be awkward to ignore it, but so far none of them have asked for the link and I haven’t volunteered. If they did read? Probably wouldn’t change much if anything…

By: Kelly H.

Kelly H. — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:23:34 +0000

I think my blog has had a really positive impact on my real life. For one thing, it lets people know how I’m really feeling about things and, in a way, prepares them for how to approach me about things. I think that those that are far away appreciate feeling closer to me and I think that those that are close to me appreciate the shout outs, etc.

That being said, I do not ever want my mom to have the link because she would force conversation about my blogging subjects and I appreciate having more control over what she knows about me than that.

By: Elle

Elle — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:38:13 +0000

Blogging is strange. My persona on Blogger is rather aunonymous, so I don’t feel it’s affected me much personally, but it has made me more accountable for producing material. This is a great thing. I do, however, have another personal blog elsewhere that’s password protected and which I’m very selective of who can read it. It’s essentially my journal – bits and pieces of my emotional self are scattered through thousand of pages that have taken years to put together so I sort of have to be choosy, you know? But those that have been reading it all along, most of which are not actual day-to-day friends, have given forth so much invaluable input and advice, I’m not sure I would have survived through such traumas as tactifully as I did. I think, in the end, blogging’s a double edged sword.

By: Cait

Cait — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:23:12 +0000

Several of my college friends read my blog, which actually works in my favor because we’re all so busy now that we’ve graduated. We don’t really get the chance to get together too often, so it’s nice that they have at least some idea of what I’ve been up to. Then when we DO hang out, I can fill them in on how those things have been going.

As for receiving gifts from blogging, I had a similar situation. I randomly posted about wanting a new iPod, and when my graduation party rolled around, my two friends (who are sisters) chipped in and got me the exact iPod I wanted. I was SHOCKED, but it was so awesome.

By: f.B

f.B — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:19:10 +0000

I think the number one impact is that the stress level is a little lower. I have an outlet. So rather than not being able to say certain things anywhere, I get to say them somewhere, which makes real life much more manageable.

By: Lydia

Lydia — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:58:28 +0000

Great post. It’s going to resonate with just about everyone who comes here.
My husband reads and sometimes comments on my blog, but no gifts and I have a feeling that his head is full of questions he doesn’t ask. By the same token, exactly because he reads my blog I absolutely do not write about things that I ache to say…
One of my oldest friends since junior high school and a man who I almost married in the 90s has written on Facebook that he reads my blog every Sunday. It’s the kind of news that I could get emotionally wrapped up in if I don’t watch out. Other friends I’ve shared the link with? Not my readers.

Then there is my family. If my mom were alive she’d read every word, every day. But my sister and half-brothers? Nu-uh. One of my nephews lives in S. Korea and, bless his heart, he is one of my regular readers. He never comments but it makes me feel closer to him knowing that he cares enough to see what makes me tick, at least in part.

I think it’s damn weird that our family members and friends stay on the periphery of our blogs, where people who were once total strangers wrap their hearts around us in support and common interest. Honestly, if I were to return to school for a Master’s in Sociology it is a topic I’d consider as my thesis!