It's My Blog and I'll Blog if I Want To!

I just finished reading a blog (surprise, surprise) that attempted to tackle the too much information situation that takes place in many blogs today. She asked the basic questions, “When is too much, too much?”

The World Wide Web is NOT a safe place. Most of us adults get that. There have been instances were pictures have been pirated and placed (ahem) elsewhere. In some cases, a blogger simply gives too much information, leading to harassment by mean spirited lurkers or injury to friends and family.

Why then do we blog?

Should we consider limiting what we have to say, in order to remain safer and secure?

Certainly we must be very, very careful about the type of information we give out. There are a lot (a lot!) of creepy creeps out there who would love to trash your world. Be safe: don’t publish your address or phone number, change names where you think it appropriate, and set up a separate email other than your personal one.

As far as content goes, that’s a bit of a sticky widget. I am guilty of sharing too much information about my extended family. I’ve blogged about the niece who got beat up by her meth addict boyfriend, my mother’s mental illness, and various and sundry pieces of dirty family laundry. Oh, alright, I whine and complain sometimes.

If you’ve read any of my previous blogs, you may have noticed that I tend to be transparent. It’s not all lilies and roses over here. What you see, is pretty much what you get and that to me is the beauty of the blog. Sometimes in life outside the blog sphere we have to wear masks. We need to be careful and cautious, lest others see too much of who we are and snicker in our general direction.

Blogging is different. Within the safety of the blog home world, I can complain about my mother, my foster kids, the idiot at the gas station and get away with it unscathed. No one in my family reads my blog and my previous foster babies couldn’t read. As to that guy at the gas station; he’s just another faceless stranger who I couldn’t nail face to face. Hey, it happens.

And lest someone should leave nasty or unkind comments on our blog…guess what, we delete them. Or, if we are feeling especially brave, we take them on. But let me caution you about attacking the unseen.

The world is filled with folks who are pretty computer savvy. They can find out things about you in just a couple of clicks of the keyboard. It’s true. I have a friend who commented on another person’s blog, defending another blogger’s right to live a very conservative lifestyle. My friend was harassed for months. Her email was hacked and personal information shared on unfriendly websites. Yikes.

In many ways I think we need to remember the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do to you.

I’m a blog hopper. I’ll hop from blog to blog, link to link, looking for interesting blogs. It’s how I found many of you. I like reading about your lives, your struggles, your triumphs. I’ve cried with you and prayed for you. When I read your blogs I feel a sense of kinship. Regardless of where we are in life, we’re all pretty much in the same boat (sometimes without paddles) and sometimes that’s just nice to know.

As far as my blog is concerned, well honey, it is what it is. Take it, leave it, or forget it.

This is my life and I’ll blog if I want to.