Comments on: What is this thing we have here?

By: Debra

Debra — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 14:51:43 +0000

I just started blogging this past Wednesday and feel like I am a larger part of the library world as a result. In fact, my partner was surprised that I wasn’t already blogging because I love writing and regularly author personal journal entries.

In addition, I was starting to read blogs more often and respond to posts. It felt good to have my opinions out there in the comments but without a blog of my own, there was not a way to make my own voice heard in one particular place. Thus, the blog.

I also opened a Facebook account this week and have connected with some people that I know from library school. I’m pretty vocal on the college bulletin board and now I am merely extending this to Facebook.

The use of the term “bulletin board” reminds me that it was 20 years ago when I first started posting on boards. Blogging is a logical step from what I (and many others) started years, even decades, ago.

Thanks for your post, Meredith.

By: Francine

Francine — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 01:13:10 +0000

I think the world needs movers and shakers too. i usually end up telling my story of my cochlear implaint… since the whole ordeal of getting it and not being able to have a lot of people who personally went through it.

By: Linda

Linda — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:19:29 +0000

That’s a good assessment and insightful entry. Blogging is sharing self with the rest of the world and connecting with like minded people. Hence that’s why I have several blogs… even still not even within the range of your reputation… but as a mover and shaker you can influence people… so that is a good thing right?

By: Josh Petrusa

Josh Petrusa — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:43:08 +0000

Sorry I’m so late to the comment party, but, you know. The periodic posts I wrote for ACRLog this year have been my toe in the pool of blogging (thanks for the push, Meredith), but for all the reasons mentioned above I’m going to have to go full time on my own this fall. Once our Baby 2.0 arrives in late August and I’m away from work for a few months, I’m sure I’ll feel quite distanced from the rest of the real and library worlds. I’m hoping that full-time blogging will both help me cope with doubled parental duties as well as being removed from the day to day personal interaction with libraries while I’m on daddy sabbatical. The other library bloggers will have to be my connection from home to the professional side of my life that’s on hold. And I’m sure I’ll talk about the kids as well.

By: Francine

Francine — Sat, 31 May 2008 23:45:56 +0000

Francine’s blog

I very much liked what you had to say. I started blogging this year. I had recently received a cochlear implant and wanted to find others with simalar experiences.

By: Dani Vaughn-Tucker

Dani Vaughn-Tucker — Sat, 31 May 2008 16:31:07 +0000

Great post. I think about this topic offline and online. When I left my old job, I realized two things as I was walking out the door: 1) was that I was happy to be leaving and 2) I had shared way too much of myself with people I wasn’t necessarily planning to maintain a relationship with. And it got me to wondering why. I think it’s because we are social creatures and no matter what is going on in our lives, we have a need to share and be heard. Sometimes it’s for empathy and sometimes it’s because we need a pat on the back. The one thing I wanted to avoid with this new job was sharing myself with the people around me, yet, I find myself talking about my kids, my husband, etc. Nothing bad, just the normal day-to-day things. And I think that’s ok. It helps to create a sense of community. In the virtual world, we have an even stronger need to bond because we don’t see each other f2f. I don’t think you should put your whole life on blast in a blog, but I think it’s perfectly acceptable to share an engagement, the birth of a baby, an illness or a promotion. There are life events that require support and I hope that you and others in this community will continue to share.

By: bibliotecaria

bibliotecaria — Wed, 28 May 2008 18:20:17 +0000

For me the question hasn’t really been the line between personal and professional — that line blurs and changes in real life as much as in online life. Nor is it the oddity of relationships via the internet; as sylvie mentioned above, it’s still human beings behind the tools.

It’s the sheer openness of sharing on the internet that holds me back. For example, many people express the idea that commenters should act as if they are “in somebody’s living room” when they comment on a post. But truthfully, I think that’s a foolish comparison. A website or blog is OPEN TO ANYONE with online access, including total strangers who you have never seen before and will never seen again, whereas in my house, you are there only if I have specifically invited you in.

Many people struggle with putting themselves out there on a blog because of the inherent conflict between openness to strangers and sharing with friends, and there is no way around it except with passwords. But passwords defeat the purpose of the open sharing that blogs encourage.

Is there a solution? Not really, just an ongoing balancing act between privacy and openness, and the answers are going to be different for many. For me, the solution has been limited sharing, only on topics that I am willing to discuss openly. Many of my thoughts remain utterly private, but that’s a reflection of my comfort level, and does not mean anyone else is making a mistake in being more open.

By: Meredith Farkas

Meredith Farkas — Sat, 24 May 2008 20:45:26 +0000

Well, I’m glad to see from this that we’re all negotiating this online community thing in our own ways. I don’t think anyone has all the answers, because it’s all about our own feelings about disclosure and online connection and the way the online community we’re a part of is structured. And I would guess that our willingness to put ourselves out there online will wax and wane throughout our lives depending on how connected we feel to others online.

Thanks for sharing your own feelings on this; I look forward to learning more about how other people navigate all this.

By: Meredith Farkas

Meredith Farkas — Sat, 24 May 2008 01:32:46 +0000

Ries, EVERYONE looks at their stats a lot when they first start blogging. It’s always surprising to find that people are reading what you write (the comments always mean a lot, no matter how long you’ve been blogging). At that point, it’s much more about the novelty of it all.

I can’t tell you how much your posts have meant to me and my husband. We were so worried about Gideon when we heard about his problems and it has been so nice to get these updates when we live so far away and can’t be near y’all. And I’m glad to hear that writing this has also been therapeutic for you too. I feel the same way about blogging; sometimes it’s just easier to write it down than to talk about it.

You and Michelle are awesome. I’m so glad your little guy is doing so much better!!!

By: Ries

Ries — Fri, 23 May 2008 21:38:25 +0000

Although my wife, Michelle, is not new to blogging, I certainly am. I also do not tend to talk about myself and I usually feel uncomfortable receiving accolades. However, blogging about our son’s troubles has been a source to both vent and to receive comfort. It feels therapeutic to write some of these thoughts down and many of peoples comments have been moving.
I started to read your post and got worried. Some of the things you mentioned I was doing. Checking my stats, logging in frequently just to check and see if somebody else commented. I hadn’t thought about it but now I was wondering if my ego was driving me to post.
But my fears subsided as I continued to read. When I have talked to people face to face I was surprised that they wanted to read more. They truly wanted to be kept up-to-date. That is why I do it. It is much easier to write it down and let every body who cares read about it. Then I don’t have to repeat the same thing over and over.
And Michelle cherishes her “online” friends.