Virgin Post
Well, all the cool kids are doing it.
I've been watching many of my friends blog lately, and I've felt a little left out. I guess you could say that I'm hopping on the band wagon. I have a livejournal (yes, I still use it), and I'm pretty sure that I will continue to do so for my dark and twisty times (and there are many), but this seems to be the preferred blogging medium, so here we go.
I've found that the evolution of blogs has annoyed me. I mean, initially, people were using blogs as a substitute to actually writing in their own personal journals. And then it became a thing to induce drama within high school circles, and THEN it became just a general PSA announcement forum. And now, most blogs, are written with some sort of motive. I don't really have a problem with this except for when I feel like someone is typing down to me. I feel like many blogs are very pretentious and almost off putting. Although, I can't say I blame the authors of posts like that because we do live in a fishbowl world. Everything is accessible to everyone and people do not want their personal life strewn across the cyberwebs. But lets be honest, thats why blogging really got started.
I feel like writing in these things is self serving, but in all honesty, I like that. I feel like a lot of online things like facebook and blogging and whatever social media you choose to use... its all just personal marketing. You put out there for people to see, and take in. The people who are the most successful in this online marketing are either the people who are very careful about what they post, or the people who are the complete opposite. A lot of that could be because those are the ones that make the biggest impression (I'm talking about everyone from your neighbor, to your red carpet celeb). I mean, once you realize that what you put online is visible to... well, the world, you then must accept that people are gong to feel some kinda way about the information you're choosing to put out there. And you wouldn't put that information out there unless you wanted someone to read it, and have it effect them; marketing.
Its odd for the normal non-business type person to think about social media forums as marketing tools, but really thats what it is. Your pictures, surveys, status messages, blogs, quizzes, profiles etc. are showing your followers aspects of you. So if you are putting out to the world that you drink every day (like i have done in the past), you can't be surprised when people start talking about it. Because thats what they see. The important part to consider, is that there are two sides to every story. And just because thats all you post, does not mean thats all you are, and just because that is all you see, does not mean that is all there is. So remember, while the internets is a virtual fishbowl, its also an illusion. Its not the whole story.
But again, perception is truth to someone. This whole online thing is so complicated!! So whats the answer? Tell too much? tell nothing? be super apprehensive about it? I hate feeling like I can't be honest, or that I have to hold back. I've found I've become more stoic in real life than I used to be, but its not because I feel like I have to be its because I want to. But it drives me insane that when it comes to online life, I have to hold back sometimes. But it makes sense, though... marketing. So I guess, if sometimes is important enough to me that I feel the need to broadcast on facebook, it must mean that I really don't care about the repercussions enough to hold back. Its happened a few times, usually involving heartbreak of some kind (romantic, platonic or otherwise). And a whole other topic that I want to get into eventually, is... why are we more apt to broadcast when we're falling apart or upset than we are when we've just had a pleasant day? Human nature is a silly thing.
Anyway....
I cannot promise that my blog with not be pretentious sometimes (ya know, kind of like the last few paragraphs above... stupid soapbox is always getting in my way). Cuz I am sure that it will. But I can also promise funny links, and probably more insight to my psyche than you really wanted... but hopefully not too much. Because I, like many of the other bloggers out there don't need everyone up in my proverbial grill. I struggle sometimes in online forums because, I generally really don't care what's being said about me. My philosophy has been "those who know... know" and "those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind".
But while I don't really care what people say about me, people do care what I say for some reason... and people consider me influential in some way. And I sometimes forget that.
So here's my first post. And it appears that my first post is about posting. I'm not sure if thats ironic, sad, confusing, boring or irrelevant. But what I do know is that I have a rather interesting insight into the world, and while I don't have my own reality show YET, this is the closest thing I have to letting you into my Martha bubble. :)
(t)read carefully, my life is full of landmines ;)
~flave
I've been watching many of my friends blog lately, and I've felt a little left out. I guess you could say that I'm hopping on the band wagon. I have a livejournal (yes, I still use it), and I'm pretty sure that I will continue to do so for my dark and twisty times (and there are many), but this seems to be the preferred blogging medium, so here we go.
I've found that the evolution of blogs has annoyed me. I mean, initially, people were using blogs as a substitute to actually writing in their own personal journals. And then it became a thing to induce drama within high school circles, and THEN it became just a general PSA announcement forum. And now, most blogs, are written with some sort of motive. I don't really have a problem with this except for when I feel like someone is typing down to me. I feel like many blogs are very pretentious and almost off putting. Although, I can't say I blame the authors of posts like that because we do live in a fishbowl world. Everything is accessible to everyone and people do not want their personal life strewn across the cyberwebs. But lets be honest, thats why blogging really got started.
I feel like writing in these things is self serving, but in all honesty, I like that. I feel like a lot of online things like facebook and blogging and whatever social media you choose to use... its all just personal marketing. You put out there for people to see, and take in. The people who are the most successful in this online marketing are either the people who are very careful about what they post, or the people who are the complete opposite. A lot of that could be because those are the ones that make the biggest impression (I'm talking about everyone from your neighbor, to your red carpet celeb). I mean, once you realize that what you put online is visible to... well, the world, you then must accept that people are gong to feel some kinda way about the information you're choosing to put out there. And you wouldn't put that information out there unless you wanted someone to read it, and have it effect them; marketing.
Its odd for the normal non-business type person to think about social media forums as marketing tools, but really thats what it is. Your pictures, surveys, status messages, blogs, quizzes, profiles etc. are showing your followers aspects of you. So if you are putting out to the world that you drink every day (like i have done in the past), you can't be surprised when people start talking about it. Because thats what they see. The important part to consider, is that there are two sides to every story. And just because thats all you post, does not mean thats all you are, and just because that is all you see, does not mean that is all there is. So remember, while the internets is a virtual fishbowl, its also an illusion. Its not the whole story.
But again, perception is truth to someone. This whole online thing is so complicated!! So whats the answer? Tell too much? tell nothing? be super apprehensive about it? I hate feeling like I can't be honest, or that I have to hold back. I've found I've become more stoic in real life than I used to be, but its not because I feel like I have to be its because I want to. But it drives me insane that when it comes to online life, I have to hold back sometimes. But it makes sense, though... marketing. So I guess, if sometimes is important enough to me that I feel the need to broadcast on facebook, it must mean that I really don't care about the repercussions enough to hold back. Its happened a few times, usually involving heartbreak of some kind (romantic, platonic or otherwise). And a whole other topic that I want to get into eventually, is... why are we more apt to broadcast when we're falling apart or upset than we are when we've just had a pleasant day? Human nature is a silly thing.
Anyway....
I cannot promise that my blog with not be pretentious sometimes (ya know, kind of like the last few paragraphs above... stupid soapbox is always getting in my way). Cuz I am sure that it will. But I can also promise funny links, and probably more insight to my psyche than you really wanted... but hopefully not too much. Because I, like many of the other bloggers out there don't need everyone up in my proverbial grill. I struggle sometimes in online forums because, I generally really don't care what's being said about me. My philosophy has been "those who know... know" and "those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind".
But while I don't really care what people say about me, people do care what I say for some reason... and people consider me influential in some way. And I sometimes forget that.
So here's my first post. And it appears that my first post is about posting. I'm not sure if thats ironic, sad, confusing, boring or irrelevant. But what I do know is that I have a rather interesting insight into the world, and while I don't have my own reality show YET, this is the closest thing I have to letting you into my Martha bubble. :)
(t)read carefully, my life is full of landmines ;)
~flave
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