Blogging is a weird thing. It means some of my innermost thoughts are out there for everyone to see. It also means that catching up with someone usually turns into a one-sided conversation because, well, if they read my blog, they’ve already caught up with me.
Last night I had dinner with an old friend from college. We keep in touch via e-mail and Facebook and she even reads my blog from time to time. I realized pretty quickly into our dinner together that anything I had to say was going to be old news if she really kept up with the blog. So I’m not happy with my new job? Old news. So I wrote a novel and am trying to find an agent? Old news. So I’ve struggled with depression? Really old news. This makes for an interesting evening because I don’t know exactly what is newsworthy and what isn’t anymore.
On the other hand, there are people that don’t read my blog that it would be easier if they did. Namely, my parents. On Halloween, I was at The Homestead with The Mister for my Dad’s birthday, which happens to be Halloween. When my parents’ neighbor brought up the fact that I wrote a book, my dad and brother looked at me befuddled. “You wrote a book?” my brother asked. “I didn’t know that,” Dad said. Since I didn’t want to make it a topic of conversation, I just shrugged my shoulders and moved the conversation forward. See, these kinds of conversations are best left for times when there aren’t neighbors and friends around. I’m not the type that likes to draw attention to myself in that way.
But then there is a slight in between. This morning, I got ready in a hot bathroom because The Mister, up for his Thursday morning conference call, turned the heat up. I couldn’t open the door as I got ready because I would have potentially interfered with the call. So I struggled to get ready, sweating the whole time, and finally left the house with a less than ho-hum attitude. When I got in the car, I noticed that the song “Wheels” by The Foo Fighters was playing–the very song I mentioned on this blog the other day. Then I realized that it was a CD playing. I looked down at the passenger seat and there was The Foo Fighters Greatest Hits, presumably a gift from The Mister. I never told him I liked this song before, so he must have read it here. And although he never comments, I know he listens.
Blogging definitely changes your life depending on who is reading the blog. Sometimes for the better. Sometimes for the worse. I guess it just depends on who is reading and what they read into it.
And sometimes, it brings free gifts.
For those of you who blog, what have you noticed is the impact on your “real” life?
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20 users responded in this post
What a sweet gift! I can relate to everything you’ve said. I’ve noticed that my “real life” friends are more open to talking to me about certain subjects if they’ve read it on my blog first. I think it makes certain people feel much closer to me.
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I think my family members and friends who read my blog understand me better and understand where I’m coming from. Like you and the Mister, we don’t really talk about it in “real” life but I think they get a sense of what I’m thinking/feeling when they read and that helps them interact with me in a different, better way.
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That was very, very sweet of the Mister. Those type of little “listening” surprises are the absolute best in my opinion.
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I’ve never told Husband about my blog. I’d prefer he never read it. Most of my friends don’t read regularly either, so I’m constantly asking if they’ve read it recently so I’m not repeating myself when I am retelling a story I posted about. So I guess I’m torn on it. A little irked to have to repeat a story they could have already read about, but happy to have something to say.
I wish I had the Foo Fighters Greatest Hits CD waiting for me on my car seat! What a thoughtful gesture.
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My mom can get the real me. My Aunt thinks I’m a great writer. My friends who read think I could write a book. It’s awesome.
Your Mister is adorable. What a seriously thoughtful thing to do. I’m sure that turned your mood around!
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Ha, I can totally relate to the hot bathroom thing! Before we had other people living in our house I would just open the bathroom door after I showered and…haha…air dry…while I brushed my teeth etc. (Have you ever tried to put on your clothes while standing in a sauna? Sticky!)But now, I have to keep the door shut so the little boy doesn’t get an eyeful of naked me! It’s just so HOT in there!
Anyway, Scott asks me to read my blog out loud to him every time I post. It’s so sweet!
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1. I choreographed a dance for the jazz class I teach to Britney’s “3,” and it was a big hit, and generally I don’t even like Britney. I guess I just appreciate upbeat songs about threesomes.
2. I’ve had similar experiences with blogging. My manpanion used to read it all the time at his old job, which was sometimes awkward because I write about him all the time. Now that he’s busy busy at a new job he never reads it, but that’s cool too since I can tell him all my stories in real life now.
As far as friends go, I’m always surprised at who reads my blog. One of my best friends confessed she never reads it, while a person I hardly ever see referenced a post of mine when we met up recently. I would never require my friends read it, but similar to “stop me if you’ve head this one,” I too find myself starting stories with “I wrote about this recently…” to see if the crowd already knows.
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I’m often surprised by who reads the blog–I have had random coworkers of my parents write to me, and I’ll find out things about them before my parents do. When that happens, it’s pretty hilarious. My blog is linked to my name, obviously, so I never really know who knows what about me. There are some people who I wish wouldn’t read it because I don’t want them to know ANYTHING about my life, but what can ya do?
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Although I’ve told a few of my real-life friends about my blog, I don’t think they read it. Achilles reads it sometimes. The most interesting thing that has happened is that I’ve gotten closer to a couple of people who were previously just acquaintances through blogging.
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I have been thinking about this a lot. I keep my blog on facebook and have absolutely no clue who actually reads it. I know I have friends and aquaintances who read regularly, but we don’t really talk about it. I can’t decide how I feel about it. One thing I never had to worry about was dating, but now I’ve kind of put myself out there.
The other day I was on a date with a guy (2nd date) and he brought up something that he could have only know from my blog. I didn’t want to ask him about it, and now im a little more self conscious…
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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…
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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.
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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!”
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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.
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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?
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