As I put together my class for next semester, which includes a substantial blogging assignment, I have been obsessing again over blogs and audience. (See these two early posts) Also, I have two blogs now, so there have been a couple of times when I have asked myself which blog should I post to. And then Je m'amuse commented on this post that not telling anyone about her blog leaves her "safe to vent." I've also seen the word "vent" come up in comments on the various posts discussing Dr. Crazy's current predicament.
I am very conscious of my audience--I feel like I know pretty well who is reading my blog but I also know that any number of people connected to me IRL could find my blog through the grapevine. I do want to be sure that nothing I say here will get me into trouble or, as I have discussed before, violate the trust of my students. I don't really vent much here, but of course, I have my moments, like the recent vent about my father-in-law's comments about my job. I posted that here because (1) it is directly relevant to my blog "topic" and to the majority of my readers, who have experienced similar problems with family, and (2) no one who is connected in any way to my in-laws has my blog address. There's no chance that he will read this. I have read other bloggers discussing problems with family, friends, and colleagues--not unusual by any stretch-- and, as Anastasia experienced during her committee ordeal, people like to read about other people's problems. If that weren't the case, this whole blog thing wouldn't be so popular. But things become sticky when the people you are venting about are the ones reading your blog.
When I posted my vent today about my difficult pregnancy, I chose this blog because I know that a lot of my readers have kids or are considering having kids and might have an interest--moms like to talk about mom stuff. And it fits the "motherhood and academia" theme. I did not post it on my other blog, which is all about our family, including pregnancy updates, because of the audience I have chosen for that blog. Those readers are family members and friends, and the tone is decidedly warm and fuzzy. "Being pregnant kind of sucks sometimes" is not warm and fuzzy, and I prefer, when I feel better, to post something along the lines of "Look how cute RB's pigtails are."
This post was much more coherent in my head--my point is that we bloggers must be conscious of our audience all the time, especially if venting is a component of the blog (and I do not deny the cathartic benefits of venting). If we're venting about a student, that clearly has the potential for professional problems. If we're venting about people in our personal lives, that has the potential for hurt feelings and damaged relationships--sort of like walking up on someone gossiping about you behind your back. And it is not nice to out a blogger who clearly wishes to remain anonymous. I am a little irritated on Dr. Crazy's behalf. (But I am not too concerned with being anonymous, so if you know me I don't mind if you tell people about my blog--it's just the whole Google thing I'd like to avoid.)
As for venting on my blogs, I will judiciously vent a little here, I won't vent much at all on the other one, and most of my venting will be on the phone or in the office with my friends. Unless I decide I need a vent-safe blog. And I won't be telling you about it if I do.
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3 comments:
I've been thinking a lot about my blog lately. Do I want to split off and have two, one of which is anonymous? Do I want to reincarnate in a more pseudonymous form? It's pretty straightforwardly Me in Real Life. And I write about all aspects of my life family and professional.
I totally agree that we also need to be aware of our audience. If you are going to publish on the world wide web, then an element of Public is going to be involved.
Me, I have the "Coffee House Policy." If I can't say it out loud in a coffee house, then I don't say it on the WWW either. Even if I'm saying it to a friend in said coffeehouse, there's always the possibility of being overheard. That's the thing about blogs. You can't see the interlopers.
Thanks for this post, Sarah. Very well said!
ditto superdiscomama. Well said.
Blogs are an interesting combination of the "private" (honest thoughts about pregnacy, whatever) and the very, very public (a quick Google search need only remind one of this). An awareness of who is reading a blog (such as one's IRL friends), necessitates a certain awareness of audience at all times.
Even a secret blog is never truly private. Then again, is anything ever truly private if it is spoken or written? To my horror, in high school my mom found and read my written journal. Even old-fashioned methods of venting are never safe!
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