Though more and more people are starting a blog of their own they are finding it more difficult to be more personal with their audience. Personal blogs used to be about the daily life of a person from being stuck in college classes, what did they eat at lunch to the quirky adventures of them in the toilet.
Yes, back in the days (I said it) a personal blog was all about the author, their life and their friends. However, as each day of the week starts to pass more and more bloggers have become…responsible bloggers. There are few to none which speak about their misadventures nowadays and are more reserved is how I’d put it.
It kind of makes you wonder if personal blogging is maturing on its own today due to blogger gatherings, blogging campaigns, legal issues, media awareness and guidance by other bloggers.
This is really a good thing to happen but I don’t know why I feel a block of weight on my shoulders. A weight consisting of morals, sensitive topics, responsibility, freedom and myself. Yes, I feel like because I have to constantly watch what I’m saying in a space where everyone to anyone could be reading it I have to be cautious what I say.
I have also found myself advising some new bloggers to not touch or not do certain things on their blogs. Reason being it could affect their friendships, social life, relationships and themselves. It’s truly not my intention to limit them to what they can or can’t say but to warn them of how powerful blogging can be used to their advantage or disadvantage.
Albeit disclaimers may protect you from the higher authorities or officers, what you could say in your blog does touch a person out there. And is even worst if that person was your friend who you thought would never read your blog because you never shared it with them. As they say, the fastest news which travels around is bad news.
If I’m starting to advice and warn bloggers of the dangers, does that mean I have graduated in blogging and have reached a standard which they call; professional blogging? Is helping carry part of the weight on my shoulders in blogging is what every blogger ends up doing?
Personal blogging used to be a ‘no holds barred’ area until issues started arising, blog celebrities emerged in 24 hours, employees left their full-time job to pursue a career they call professional blogging and to become the #1 result on Google was all that matter.
Personal blogs, now a genre on its own…will it stay open-ended?
Question of the day:
What do you think?
[tags]personal blog, blogging, social affects, rules, guidelines, friendship, relationship[/tags]
I’m feeling like that too, I used to be able to blog about anything, but now I really think twice before I blog. I keep thinking about the effects on others before I blog, whether it’s beneficial at all. I guess I end up blogging less and less. Else I have to blog anonymously else where :P
Its pretty much of common sense, if you ask me.
Although a blog quite resembles an “online diary”, bloggers should know or expect that there will be people to read the blog. This actually differentiate between a diary and a blog; unless you’re the type of person to show all people the stuff you wrote in your diary :P
Blogging is just like speaking out our minds, so we will need to think twice before posting anything. I mean, just like hanging out with friends; you would not want to talk anything bad in front of them; the same applies to blog as well.
Leona:
Probably this is good training to learn how to twist stories around. :P
James:
I believe it’s growth. Call it maturity as well. If you haven’t matured and think the world revolves around you instead of you revolve around the world, then your common sense won’t come in to the picture.
I’ve seen a young male blogger at 14-16 years talk about their friends and their names. It’s not they don’t have common sense but more like lack the mature thinking of a soon-to-be adult.
In other words, you’re just old man. :P *cabut*