Tuesday, July 06, 2010

off the grid

There's this great story I've told before, about Carrie's little sister. When she was a little kid and at the age of trying to sneak out of bed at bedtime, she once put her hands over her eyes and walked brazenly through the middle of the living room. She thought if she couldn't see her parents, they couldn't see her. I've often said the internet is like that - we think/talk/act as though privacy exists, when in reality the internet is anything but private.

Even so, lately I've linked this blog to other networks. The result? I opened my eyes, saw who was staring back, and clammed up. Before now the only measurement I've ever had of my readership are the half dozen phone calls/ emails I get every week that begin with "I saw on your blog ..." This weekend reiterated it, but I've felt the restraint for a little while. This blog will still be public, of course, but I want to be more open here than I am on other social networking sites. I'm simply not that comfortable with people I knew in the third grade reading that much about my life.

So I'm de-linking. If you know me from church, or playgroup, or Facebook, and connect in some way to what I write here, please add me to your Google Reader, or favorites, or whatever tool you use to follow other sites. If you're interested in sticking around, please do. Things are about to liven up around here.

6 comments:

maughry said...

Lane and I have this discussion ALL the time. I would love it if everything on the internet could magically be made selectively private and he thinks that would ruin the beauty (?) of the internet. He has some interesting things to say for his point of view and I'll mess it up if I try to repeat it. Although, for me, that doesn't really work right now because of my job, and I also think I'd have reservations if I was primarily blogging about children (oddly, due mostly to some things I see because of my job).

Anyway, it seems to help me, when I blog, not to link to sites like facebook and to blog search engines. Although, on some level, I know that if I say something on a website, anywhere, I should be prepared for my boss or strangers or whoever to see it. It's just less likely that they will.

Bring this up the next time you are around Lane - it's an interesting conversation.

maughry said...

*block search engines, not block

maughry said...

[trying to decide if a third comment to correct my second typo is worth it]

Stephanie said...

Mary, at some point - probably sooner than I'd like to admit - I'm going to have to separate my kids identities from my blog a little more. If for no other reason than they will soon find it mortifying that I told stories about when they were two to the wide wide world.

maughry said...

Ha! I wonder what life will be like when the mommy blogger generation hits 13. Forget a couple of embarrassing polaroids. I"m glad I turned 18 before my parents discovered the internet.

Kendra said...

Hmmm....I am staying tuned =)