I told someone in my lab yesterday that I have a blog. I didn't divulge the name of my blog, just that I blog pseudonymously.
She looked at me and said, somewhat incredulously, "You are a blogger? And you have a secret online identity? Wow...suddenly you seem so much more interesting!"
Not quite sure how to take that.
What kind of reactions have you gotten when you told other people you're a blogger?
What's left
39 minutes ago
28 comments:
Ha ha!
I tell no one in my real life that I blog. Except the husband and sisters, who absolutely do not care about any of my ravings (but do like pictures of the children).
That's pretty funny.
The comment I most often get is, "I just don't get blogging. Why would anyone want to do that?"
To be fair, I haven't told a ton of people, so it's not like a lot of people have said that, but it is the most popular response in my small sample if people.
Well, my head of department went non-verbal and spluttered a bit, before coming around to the idea as beneficial. Friends and limited family just view it as 'something she does', that is detached somehow from what normal people do. But, I've never disclosed my secret online identity, my real name blog is what I usually own up to.
Colleagues have regarded the idea with a mixture of suspicion and interest, and the prof in the office next door reads the real name blog (and occasionally suggests things to write about)
I haven't told many people but have definitely been witness to a lot of negative conversations about blogging, especially at my last lab.
Mostly I just get this look of "huh?." This look is infinitely better than the question: What interesting do you have to say?
I haven't told people at work (nor most of my friends in country far far away) since I am not sure I want to give them the address.... and tell them that I blog and then not give them the name if they ask (but they probably won't) will make it all strange :)
I do tell them I "blog in my native language though". Although that blog is very clean and nice ;) parents reading it and so on....
Well, for me it is a bit different because I am not anonymous. Students have always commented favorably, while colleagues... well, I think that they find it a bit weird -- then again, I know that they read it, as what I write is often a subject of conversation with them, so I provide some form of entertainment.
I haven't told anyone. Except for the fact that my support scientist knows I blog. I guess they recognized a couple of the pictures I took of our reactors in a post I made. They were like "I was looking for information about Bug X and saw these pictures and was like ... cool, that looks like the same setup we ... hey wait, it IS ours!"
That's why I don't bad mouth them on my blog. :P
Besides, they know where I live.
My husband does. not. get. it. Period. He doesn't understand why anyone would want to read what I have to say, or why I would want to read what anyone else who is not a professional journalist writing about an important topic (i.e., only sports in his opinion) has to say. But, it gives me something to do so he can play more video games, so he keeps his mouth shut.
I never tell other people that I blog but once in a rare while if I am having only my very closest friends over for dinner and I have made something new I take a few pictures and then have to explain that I took pictures so I can blog the recipes later. And then the females are always interested at the thought of reading about my cooking but somehow I always "forget" to give them the website later, because I like the division.
My non-science friends think I'm a terrible geek, but they thought that anyway
Of my science friends who I don't currently work with, a few read and comment on one or both blogs and tell me they like it. One or two even blog themselves. A couple of current colleagues found my real name blog and have started to comment occasionally, without having a specific conversation about it with me.
Most people just don't seem to care all that much ;)
I think my husband secretly likes it that I blog... to put all his ideas out there... He He He... a few other people know that I blog- but as a rule I don't think many of them are very interested...
I haven't. I like the anonymity at work. My friends know, but whatever. I'd be worried about people trying to guess exactly who I was and I don't think it would be hard!
I've told maybe four friends, two of which are scientists. On all accounts, my 'announcement' was met with indifference.
My husband regularly reads my blog, which I think is sweet. He verbally comments to me (on occasion) and comments on the blog (on rare occasion). But still, he makes fun of me for spending so much time reading the blogs of other people.
My hubby was like cool someone else can actually provide you with "real" advice, since academia is VERY different from his business culture. I told one friend (who introduced me to blogs) and she reads it. She loves it as it lets her know what is going on in my life when we can't always chat.
I haven't told anyone that I blog and I'm not aware that any of my friends or colleagues are bloggers themselves. That being said though, I doubt whether anyone would be surprised as I'm in the same boat as Cath in that everyone thinks I'm a geek anyway, albeit a supercool one.
I have two blogs - Brimstone & Treacle, which is my personal/rant blog (anonymous) and my named blog (which I'm buggered if I'm going to tell you the name of!). My colleagues obviously know about my "real" blog but none of them know I have a "double life" and I intend to keep it that way.
tig
Bean-mom--That's okay, we like your ravings...and the pictures of your kids too!
MXX--I've heard that too during general conversations about blogging. I have to admit...before I started blogging, I might've agreed with that.
PD--Wow...I wouldn't in a million years tell my department head! And when do you find the time to tend two blogs???
Dr.A--By negative, do you mean indifference or worse than that? What do they have against blogging?
Amanda--If anyone ever actually said that, you should tell them that you have plenty of interesting things to say...to interesting people!
Chall--I've told one or two people I blog and then politely declined to provide the URL. One of them tried searching for it, but so far, no success! :-)
Massimo--Dude, you told all your fellow professors you can't operate a washing machine???
Tom--Totally agree...one should never fuck with people who know where you live, or have access to your experiments!
EtBr--We do the blogging-XBox or blogging-ESPN combination here quite a bit too! Is your husband a Halo kind of guy?
Cath--As far as I'm concerned, the term "terrible geek" is an oxymoron! :-)
DrDrA--Waaaiiit a minute...you mean all those things you write are really DrMrA's ideas? Misrepresentation! Deception! SOCK PUPPETRY!!!
GirlPostdoc--Yeah, I worry about people figuring out who I am too. And all those blog posts about people being "found out" don't help!
CE--March Hare makes fun of me too. I think he finds the idea of having virtual, pseudonymous friends kind of bizarre.
SM--One of my good friends reads my blog, but I do feel a bit guilty when she finds out something from my blog instead of from me personally.
PiT--Yeah, I was actually a bit surprised by how surprised my labmate was when I told her. I guess I must come across as a non-supercool kind of geek!
Tig--Well, where's the fun in having a double life if it's not secretive and mysterious, right?
We do a lot of the Xbox-blogging combo in our house, too. Dr. Man is obsessed with Halo and has informed me that we will be having children so he can have his own Halo5 army (or sweat shop). :-)
Massimo--Dude, you told all your fellow professors you can't operate a washing machine???As if they can do it... I remind you that instructions were in german...
I can reply for Dr A here! Negative is the general tenor of conversation regarding blogs in our place. This is mixed is a general perplexion about just what is the point (based mostly on having never seriously read many blogs).
I also hardly tell anyone, I think I prefer some vale of anonymity. I'm cushioned by the apathy at work as there are very few people who might 'discover' me. But the thought that someone might definitely curtails some of the things I might blog about otherwise.
Yes, Dr J is completely right. I do try to maintain anonymity, but if someone who really knew me were to see the blog they would immediately know it is J and I, so I too try to avoid certain topics.
I've only told my husband about my blog, and he thinks that this bloggy community is pretty neat from the snippets he hears from me. A few people IRL have blogs which they use for kid pictures and recipes; I think anonymity is what lets my blog be what it is.
Amanda--Dr. Man does realize that it'll be several years before the kiddies will be able to play Halo with him, right? :-) Actually, if he wanted to play Halo with kids, XBox Live is the way to go. March Hare tried it a while back and discovered that many of the players who were trash talking hadn't even had their voices change yet!
Massimo--If your colleagues are anything like mine, that little fact certainly wouldn't have stopped them from giving you all kinds of shit about it!
Dr. J--I haven't really heard much discussion of blogs in my department, but several of my labmates read political/news/entertainment blogs. So I'm guessing the perception of blogs here isn't generally negative even if none of my colleagues, to my knowledge, actually blog themselves. I wonder why the perception of blogs is so negative where you are. Is it just blogs or other online activities--chat rooms, FB, YouTube, Twitter, etc.?
Dr. A--I agree. I don't worry too much that a reader of my blog who doesn't know me will figure out who I am, mostly because I don't think my identity is interesting enough for anyone to want to put in that effort. But someone who does know me would be very likely to guess that this is me. I think most of us avoid tell-tale topics, are deliberately vague, and/or fudge certain details to "cover our tracks."
ScienceGirl--Yeah, anonymity definitely lets me discuss more topics than I would otherwise feel comfortable doing. I've told maybe 4 good friends about this blog, and 2-3 more people know I blog, but don't know my online identity or my blog name. And yes, our bloggy community rocks! :-)
But, it gives me something to do so he can play more video games, so he keeps his mouth shut.The asshole is frittering his life away playing fucking video games yet complains that he doesn't "understand" blogging? facepalm
My husband went and started one of his own, but has yet to post anything. I've let it slip in lab that I blog and no one seems to be interested. In my old lab, a new lab member flipped out on my blogging. I guess she had been bad mouthed on a less psuedanonymous blog in the past.
N.A. also wants to start one of his own. The only other people that know I blog are my sister, my mother, and one friend. I really, really find it funny when I get hits from LargeU. Little do they know they are reading ramblings of one of their (former) own!
I don't really talk to anyone IRL about my blog, except for the few friends who are hardcore bloggers and we generally stay out of each others' hair. It gives it a sort of Secret Society feel, which is somewhat appealing amid the drabness that lab work can sometimes assume.
CPP--I totally agree that blogging is at least as meaningful as playing video games, but dude, calling another blogger's spouse names is NOT COOL.
Albatross--I think hearing stories about other people getting harassed on non-pseudonymous blogs is what makes us paranoid about keeping our identities secret!
Unbalanced Reaction--I've only gotten hits from my institution 3-4 times, but each time has made my heart race!
Toaster Sunshine--I don't actually know anyone IRL who's a hardcord blogger, but yes, having a "secret online life" does add a little mystique.
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