Revitalized School of Art in Cork, Ireland where I took classes in the Sixties
I knew the day would arrive and I anticipated that the road ahead would be clear. But it is as murky as ever.
Anonymity on the blog.
There are a load of you out there in full colour, names and identities in full disclosure. Some who have become friends over my blogyears know my name, of course. Others not. Because I am anonymous I've written about some highly personal stuff. Friendships, relationships, my village, my hometown, my exes, my children, et al. If I were to go public I would have to cull the whole blog. Approximately 800 entries at this point in time. Probably a whittling to half, an onerous task. Or I could start afresh.
This has all come to a head with the play, you see, and then when I was in a shop away from here yesterday and there, on display, was the official calendar of the huge peninsula - voted #1 Coastal destination in the world by National Geographic and in which I reside. The calendar features one of my photos - month of August 2012,thanks for asking. And there is other creative stuff down the pike where the blog publicity would greatly assist (I would think) apart from keeping my blog buddies updated.
I know many of you don't feel the need (or have the compulsion) to blog personally but I find that even though I have other blogs, this is the only one I seem to be able to manage and update on a fairly regular basis. One is my limit. Even though I have the occasional illusion that I can manage 3. Ha.
Have any of you out there resolved this to your satisfaction, i.e. breaking anonymity to write of creative endeavours and how did you manage this? Or even advice as to the best method, etc.?
I appreciate you all so much and this blog and its wonderful readers in no small way has enabled my current success.
Tricky situation, WWW.
ReplyDeleteI don't see any way around it other than putting this blog on hiatus, at least for a while, and opening a new one, with no linkage to this at all, to serve the new purpose you describe.
We'd miss reading you in the style to which we've become accustomed, but would understand that, sometimes, things need to change, maybe just temporarily, maybe for good. This blog would always be here for archive readers, so not all would be lost.
Can't think of another plan. congrats on becoming Ms August 2012 by the way! ;-)
I understand the dilemma, my blog is not anonymous and I do avoid posting stuff that for one reason or another might not be a good idea. I toy with the idea of more than one blog, but I can barely keep up with the one nevermind trying to keep up two!! If you did two blogs, you'd have to keep even the Blogger profile separate to maintain anonymity on this blog. And be oh so careful not to ever mention it.
ReplyDeleteAre you on FB? Are you anonymous there? If not I would think FB would be great for promotional stuff.
Yes, it is T. Even though you and I know each other off blog now.
ReplyDeleteI am still mulling it over. I only have the energy for the one blog so this one would die.
XO
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Yes, I'm on FB Annie and I must go into it now and "friend" you if you're on there.
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to me you are always the Wise Old Broad on the Rock.
ReplyDeleteLong may ya shine.
I enjoy your writings
Oh thanks GFB, maybe I should just stay as I am and FB the rest.
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I hope you don't have to give up this blog. I know who you are, but I pretend that I don't. Like you said, why don't you FB the rest. I love this blog and what you do with it. I would miss it very much.
ReplyDeleteHi Nora:
ReplyDeleteyes like all good blog buds we know each other's ID's so I am paying attention and it looks like I will continue to post events, etc. to FB and the gut churning (sometimes!) stuff to here.
XO
WWW
I think it's a good idea to keep this blog anon and do the rest on FB. I'll email you for FB!
ReplyDeleteMy inclination is to advise you to not cross the streams, even if this brilliant blog becomes a casualty. Once things are on the internet, they are on the internet, so you'd need to be ready to embrace all the things you've posted, even if you delete the more sensitive posts.
ReplyDeleteI always consider that coming out on the internet means you will expose your identity and work to the creepiest creeps from high school, which is my litmus test. The bonus is that your work is there to connect with all the awesome people from high school, and all the awesome people you have yet to meet!
I would also suggest you speak with other female bloggers who get heavy traffic about their thoughts on posting under their real names.
I could see how coming out would be freeing in some sense.
Whatever you decide, you will rawk it! Best of luck in your deliberations moving forward, WWW!
Both FB and blogging are good ways of publicising yourself (I know creative friends who do both, and, should I ever get my writing brain back in gear, then that is what I will be using both my blog and my FB account for).
ReplyDeleteHowever, opting to stop being anonymous does have its down sides - I very nearly learnt the lesson the hard way,when someone I wasn't expecting to from work read my blog; fortunately, they mentioned it to me the next day, and, though I hadn't said anything particularly bad about work, I felt that I had to go back and edit a number of posts. I now don't talk about work at all on my blog, and occasionally have to censor myself really quite heavily. I do the same on FB, but in different ways - I know everyone who sees what I am writing on FB - my blog is open to anyone, and therefore I don't know who would be reading it.
For my own selfish reasons, I would like you to keep blogging here - when I lost all of my bookmarks, yours was one of very few blogs which I had memorised and kept coming back to (pretty much all of the rest have fallen by the wayside). I love your writing, and you always give me something to think about (even when I don't comment) - I'll often mull over your posts for days after I've read them.
I don't know who you are, and that's ok with me, but I would hate to see you close this blog. I've been glad, sad, excited, thoughtful, and a mirade of other things from reading your posts. Not always being of the same mind set as you is a good thing, it forces me to stretch those tiny tiny brain cells...
ReplyDeleteUltimately, what works best for you will have to suit the rest of us as well.
Zuleme:
ReplyDeleteOn my to do list: check all your sundry email accounts, girl.
And thanks! we will connect!
XO
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Anti:
ReplyDeleteThank you, breeching anonymity doesn't sound too good at all for me as I write so personally at times and I truly hate deleting all those posts.
I will rawk on, on FB and here. Separately.
Thank you!
XO
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Jo:
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, as one of my dual friends (FB and blog) I value your opinion very much. I will continue as before with FB the window on my public persona.
And have the freedom to throw out everything here.
XO
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Thank you Brighid, I know we don't sing from the same page but I read your blog also to stretch my mind in other directions and I so admire your tenacity and self sufficiency.
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From the very first post, I have not been anonymous. My "About Me" page on my blog gives all relevant information about me and I have written mostly on personal matters. I do not see the need for anonymity. My blog is really my outlet for my urge to write. Over the years, I have built a small but articulate readership and some of them have established good offline relationships with me over the phone/skype and emails.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that my endeavours are creative in the popular sense of the word. I write to let that urge to communicate have its way and that is that.
I like your blog because of the variety of topics that you cover and your no nonsense approach. I hope that you will keep it up.
Or, you could simply emulate Rhett Butler, and "not give a damn!"
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