I'm having a really hard time with this blog thing. Pathetic, I know. I have one original post and one non-original post and nothing more. But hey, I never promised roses and sunshine.
So here's my problem. I'm sure you have struggled with it too... There are quite a few things I wante to blog about but don't quite know how. Ok. I'll be honest. There are quite a few PEOPLE I want to blog about but want to protect people's identity. OK full disclosure: there are quite a few PEOPLE I want to blog about but I don't want them to read this blog and get upset with me. Since I only have 8 people following this blog, then yes, I am probably talking about you.
So what do I do? If I want to tell a story about a conversation with you, do I need to get your permission every time? Do I only need to do it if I'm going to incriminate you in some way? What if I just want to praise you highly? Can I do that without your permission?
I know some of you use secret identities but... that's still too obvious. If I rename my sister Becca and talk about my sister "Gonzo" you're still going to know exactly who I'm talking about.
So... help me out. What are the rules of ettiquette?
I'm pretty careful about what I write for blog posts. I don't know who all of my followers are, and I just assume people who aren't followers read it, too. This keeps me from writing anything too incriminating:) I'd say if you're praising someone, you should be able to just do it. If it's anything you're not sure about, ask.
ReplyDeleteIt's a very delicate balance. I'll admit I've had some issues with family in the writing of my blog. Things were taken the wrong way or read into, and feelings were hurt. I definitely think you have to know your audience. Feel out people that you might blog about often and see if they mind if you talk about them. When you write something about someone else, try to think of every possible perversion of it that you can imagine, just in case your subject is extra sensitive or extra creative. If what you're writing could be twisted, you might want to change it. Or, at worst, if you have thick skin, leave it as is, hear about it later, apologize profusely, and maybe go in and edit it after the fact. People who really know you will always assume that you mean no harm. It's the people who don't know you/trust you that you have to worry about. I was convinced my in-laws had a very low opinion of me because they'd assume the worst out of things I wrote, and I just don't know how anyone who knows me and likes me would ever think I'd purposely write something inflammatory or mean to hurt anyone. It's a written blog--sometimes things come out wrong. But to have people assume that's how I meant it? Ugh! Eventually I just asked them to either stop reading or stop reading INTO it. Harsh, but I wasn't going to keep censoring myself or stop blogging. You can't control other people, so you can only watch what you write (and how you write it), feel people out, and speak your mind.
ReplyDeleteYou know what I think. I change everyone's name. Even the people that know I am writing about them. They know their nickname. Just wanted to say you have permission to write about me! Not that that would be interesting! :) You're doing great! You've got lots to write about. Your family is VERY entertaining!
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