“I wonder if there is a line to be drawn, where spending too much time sharing your life online detracts from your willingness to share it in person (often with those you are writing about)? – Jonathan Fields.

Yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes!

Except for the people who have no families or significant others, I thought blogging the way it is going is a business / marketing venture, not a substitue for real social interaction.

In a direct contrast to most people, why, if you have real flesh and blood people around, do you feel the need to share information, feelings, experiences with total strangers for any other reason than a business / marketing reason?

At what point has blogging become so important that it is a substitute for real human interactions when you have real humans with which to interact?

Why would anyone want to be that close with electrons traveling through cyber-space except for business purposes?

It’s one thing if there is no one else there, but to give away that much of yourself through blogging suggest there are other issues involved to me.

Connecting through electrons instead of real life should be a warning sign that perhaps blogging is trying to fill some space your family, friends and real life human interactions should be fulfilling. And why aren’t they? Why allow strangers a bigger part of you than your spouse, your family, your friends?

Not sharing that part of yourself that you are openly sharing with any stranger with an internet connection would be, IMHO, placing yourself on a very slippery slope.

I don’t read blogs that are odes to people’s navel gazing. I really don’t care what you think about how your day went. I’ve had my own day to deal with. I really don’t care to read about your half-baked philosophical ramblings you had while you were standing in line at Starbucks.

I’ve gotten my real friends to understand, “No, I am not reading your MySpace, Facebook, or whatever other Johnny-Come-Lately social network blog.” I’m simply not interested. If we can’t have real conversation, then I’ll see you when I see you.

The blogs I subscribe or read regularly are because they offer information on a topic I find of interest. I read this one because it sometimes has thought provoking articles.

I don’t have a personal blog. The only blog I have is for my company. Only things pertaining to what I am doing at my company are on that blog.

The only people who I feel would be interested in my personal life and opinions are the people who are in my personal life, not strangers. And if I ever felt a need to connect on-line to the point where strangers know more about my “head space” than the people in my life, then there is something missing with my real life relationships that needs attending.

I don’t have a husband or significant other to cheat on. My family and friends have minimal interest in my blog. Every now and then I warn them that they should check it periodically to see what I’m saying about them, but that doesn’t send them scurrying over.

One day when they finally read it or have someone tell them what’s there, they’ll be shocked. It serves them right, don’t you think.:)

Funny.

Is sharing online rather than in-person cheating? I think you can see it that way. When I was younger, one of my mentors gave me wonderful advice, “be here, wherever that may be.” It sounds cryptic, but it was powerful. He was urging me to be fully invested in whatever surroundings of community I was in-while at work, focus on performing your job and filling your responsibilities. While at home, focus on being with your family and brushing off work-related issues until you’re back at work.

It’s hard to share the same story more than once in a day, so it’s important to decide where and how you want to share before hitting the “publish” button. I still have a hard time with it, though …

But, again, I really don’t want to just say “read my blog,” because like we’ve all pretty much said, that’s not the way you treat people who take a genuine interest in your life.

Thankfully, because I control my days, this isn’t so much a problem for my wife and I, on most days we actually connect all throughout the day and often we are in the same place for the better part of them. But, this is likely more of an issue for me when it comes to the bigger family and friends.

I also think this phenomenon is not limited to blogs, but also to any online social hubs where many of hang out and share thoughts, stories and laughs.

I wonder if there is a line to be drawn, where spending too much time sharing your life online detracts from your willingness to share it in person (often with those you are writing about)?

My family used to read my blog when I first started cuz they were worried I’d be talking about them and wondered what I might say. I’m too smart to unload the dirty laundry using names etc. It’s funny though, cuz I actually do discuss personal situations that occur in the family, but if I use any names it’s never a real name. hehehe

Great thought provokers here lately … Well as usual actually.

Jonathan, wait until they day your wife reads a sexy comment left by one of your female readers. Then you have to answer the question, “Well, who is she?” Been there, done that…

A little off topic, but maybe not.

Brian

There are things that happen to me online that are very difficult to even explain to the people in my ‘actual’ life. So yeah – I can relate to not thinking of actually telling them, however stupid it is – or to asking them to read the blog.

I recently became a giant squid – anybody here want to guess what that means?