Recently I was having a conversation with a friend from work (whom has no clue I blog). And she was telling me about a person that she met and really liked and wanted to be come better friends with, until she read her blog.
Suddenly she thought she was weird, crazy and strange. I couldn’t believe it. I asked her “What was about on her blog?”, she said “She showed step by step pictures on how to fix a lawn mover, like who cares?” (I suddenly thought, oh no she will hate my recipes or my garden pictures, eek) Then she said she had zodiac stuff on her blog and she thought that was super strange, being she is a pastors wife. She also said because of her blog she no longer wants to be her friend or get to know her better it totally changed her opinion of her.
She also said she didn’t see why anyone would blog and talk about their feelings and put personal stuff out there for everyone and anyone to read.
This really saddened me, and got me thinking do people judge me by my blog? I have never thought of this before, seems dumb now, but I hadn’t. Do my friends and family in real life now have a different opinion of me, because of my blog?
Am I strange? Are bloggers in general strange? Am I strange that I see nothing wrong with posting step by step tutorials, or posting pictures of what I bought at the grocery store? I am bummed. Maybe it is weird? But isn’t everyone a little weird? I mean I can’t think of one single person that doesn’t have a weird habit or strange something?
It also got me thinking, why do I blog? What is it about blogging that I enjoy? Is it the comments I receive or camaraderie between bloggers, is it the step by step tutorials and learning from others? Is it because I like to have a online journal full of pictures and events in my life? Is it that I like to share recipes and gardening tips? Do I blog because it helps keep me somewhat accountable in my daily life? Like if I don’t try a new recipe I won’t have anything to blog about, or if I know I am going to post my groceries that it will help me stay on budget? Honestly I think it’s a little of everything. I do truly enjoy blogging and hope that I will for a long time to come. Maybe that is weird.
So in all this I have to ask:
Blogger’s- why do you blog?
Real Life friends and family- What do you think of my blog and has it changed your opinion of me?
Please comment I really would like to know. Thanks
Thanks for stopping by my blog today and your kind words. I’m sorry to hear about your friend’s impression of blogging.
I maintain two blogs, one about my son and one that is, at times, more personal. (the one you stopped by.) I share the link to my son’s blog more freely and let my friends “find” my personal blog. Sometimes I wonder what they do think. Ultimately, I don’t care and, frankly, if I don’t want someone to read/know something about me, I don’t write it down. But have been very transparent at times. I started blogging to share pictures with family, I started a second blog to share stories about myself that my son may someday want to know. I’ve made several internet friends from all kinds of backgrounds and I love that.
What saddens me about your friend? She’s a pastor’s wife, I guess [I personally being a Christian] expect more compassion from her. Plus, there are tons of bloggers like her – who she would consider “normal”. There’s even a blog called A Pastor’s Wife – if I remember the name correctly. Am I judging her? No, just sad that she is so quick to close a door to a possible friendship that God may have put in her life for a reason. That’s my opinion.
And honestly, if I had a lawnmower, I wouldn’t know how to fix it – I’m impressed! I know where to go!
Plus, what would I do without the every so talented and inspiring Pioneer Woman! Love blogging.
golightlygo- Thank you for your response. I too thought the same exact thing that she was so quick to judge and that God I am sure did put her in her life for a reason. I love hearing about why you blog and I will be sure to check out your other blog as well.
Hey, thanks for stopping by my blog too.
I read blogs to get ideas and encouragement, tips on good books and movies and websites,. . . Seems to me a step-by-step tutorial on how to fix a lawn mower could be real useful as could couponing advice and gardening ideas.
I blog, myself, because I have always loved to keep journals — I love to write down what is happening, jot down quotes and lists, record both memories and dreams. . . Typing it on a blog is quicker and easier and takes up less space in my home. I mean, I have three or four notebooks around the house as it is. My blog eliminates at least one piece of clutter. And it allows my friends and family (and whoever else might find what I have to say of some use to them) to keep up with what is going on in my life and the life of my family.
Sometimes I guess I could see how someone who doesn’t blog would think blogging was “wierd” — sorta how I sometimes feel about my husband facebooking. But I think that is just because it is a “hobby” that they aren’t into. That is no reason to judge though, right?
I hope your work friend doesn’t turn away from the blogger she knows based on her blog. She liked her well enough beforehand — it seems sad she’d let go of a potential friendship based on a few things she read.
I blog because I have a lot to say, because I have been a writer on some level or another for years, and because I really enjoy the blogging community. It’s full of supportive people who want to share their lives with you and who are interested in what you have to say. In an era where people have become very disconnected from one another, it’s a great way to connect with those from all walks of life.
Well your co-worker is weird! HA, just kidding. I think blogging is different for everyone. Some people do it because they use it as a form of therapy, some use to for tips and recipes, some just like to be on the computer for hours on end, but whatever the reason may be that you blog, its part of who you are. You started your blog for you and what others think of you should not change that! SO WHAT if they dont like what you blog about, tell them to click that little red x at the top right hand side of the screen or deal with it! hee hee hee… HAPPY BLOGGING!
PS I love your recipes and grocery lists and pictures of your garden!
Sometimes I just need an outlet of somewhere to put my thoughts, feels, or random junk that runs through my head. People have to understand that my blog is my space. If what I wirte offends people, then don’t read it.
My mom reads it though, so I do have to be a little cautious…
I don’t know too many people irl who blog. But different people blog for different reasons. I enjoy seeing the personal parts of people lives like grocery trips and other interesting things.
A few of my friends read my blog. A couple love being able to hear about things that I might not talk about irl like books or the best stain remover EVAH! A few friends feel like it’s invading my privacy and prefer not to read my blog.
I continue to blog because I love the community of bloggers I’ve met. They are awesome! I love the exchange of ideas.
I blog, but I have definite limits to my blog. Only vague references to work, otherwise it will become a boring diatribe about work-related activities. Keep the blog PG rated, occassionally PG-13, but never about myself. Keep it personal, but not creepily personal.
I think these limits have kept me from being creepy/weird, but also permit me to share my life with my friends (and new blog friends). And by leaving the job and uber personal stuff out, I can still share that with my friends when I see them (I generally don’t share any creepy personal stuff anyway). I think it gives the friends who don’t live nearby a better jumping off point too; rather than having to awkwardly play catch-up, we’ve been kept more up-to-date on things!
It also helps with events. Believe me. LOTS of people have asked about our wedding, so it’s been easy to tell some stuff, but then list a link to the blog. Not many people comment, but they mention things in conversation, so I’m happy. And I don’t have to spend more hours on the phone or on email writing details. That may sound lazy, but hey.
Finally, it’s a nice chronicle of my and B’s lives. I love that. I’ve never been good at keeping a diary; I think that writing takes too long and it’s not searchable. but Blogging is, and now I have a list of things i’ve done. I don’t care if it is fixing a lawnmower– if you did it and are proud and want to blog, go ahead and do it.
I blog to fill in my friends and family on what’s happening in my life. I also happened to “meet” some interesting fellow bloggers that way who I never would have gotten to know if it weren’t for the blog. The only people who don’t read my blog are my mom, (who prefers to not know how psycho her daughter is,) and my MIL, (who would rather not hear how strange her son can be.) The stories I post tend to be things I tell them anyway. I don’t think I would ever post anything that could negatively affect my relationship with friends/family. If people I barely know are turned off by it, that’s their problem, not mine.
Realmomma- your so right blogging eliminates at least one piece of clutter.
Kate- yes that’s why it was so shocking to me she was/is willing to end the friendship. And you said it perfectly blogging is a great way to connect with those from all walks of life.
LeAnna-Thanks for your comment, she wasn’t reading my specifically though I felt totally judged.
Courtney-ha, my mom reads mine also.
Linda- that is so true, that is one of my favorite things about blogging is talking about the things that you might not ever talk about to your real life friends. I do have friends and family that read, so its always nice if they comment later to me irl.
Jessika-so true, I also have limits and try not to post anything super personal, but blogging in general is a personal preferences, and I always admire those you do more personal blogs.
Sara-How funny, my Mom loves reading my blog, though she might she already knows I am psycho, lol
Thanks for the visit…I started blogging to share tips with others and now it has become a way to meet wonderful people and share in each others lives. And it also keeps my family and friends, who live all over the world, up to date on me and the happenings around here. No need to send out those family christmas letters anymore, everyone has the dish about us already! lol
Hello, thanks for stopping by my blog on how I almost killed my husband, lol. Glad I could make you laugh! I found your blog interesting. I really dont know exactly why i blog either. I think it is a little of all the things you mentioned too. i have met some really fun people! I love the comments. i will admit that when I mention that i blog to all of my nonblogging friends, they just laugh at me, but i enjoy it, although I do spend a bit too much time doing it, lol. Come back by anytime, and have a great weekend! Sue
You are not weird and I wouldn’t worry so much about the comments your friend made. My sister in law and her husband (she’s my husband’s sister) told me that they refuse to read blogs because they don’t trust them. They think that they are all full of lies just like the tabloids. I’m just ignoring them and not letting it bother me.
I am a serious blogger and I actually earn a decent income with my blog so I consider it a business. Your blog can be whatever you choose it to be. If you enjoy just networking with other bloggers, fine. If you want an online journal of your memories that is alright too. If you are like me and are turning your blog into a source of income for your family that is fine too. Blogging can be for pleasure or as a business. It is all about what your personal goals are for your blog.
I always enjoy visiting Newlyweds and reading all your interesting articles. Keep up the great work and don’t let your friend discourage you.
Hmm..why DO we blog? I read about blogging a few years ago (before I started my own): bloggers blog for…other bloggers to read. We’re like a self-perpetuating community. A terrarium of writers and self-help gurus.
I blog because I want to share what I’ve learned, meet new friends, share news with family and friends, and because I’ve discovered that I LOVE to write. As a SAHM, I really don’t get out much to meet new people (besides church), and it’s amazing to have amassed this group of friends who share my interests.
Good questions!
I love your blog! And I know the rest of the family does too! Since I’m so far away I love seeing pics of the boys and I show them to all my friends, who, by the way, think you have the cutest babies in the world…something we all already know 😉 You are awesome and I think anyone who reads your blog knows that too!! Please don’t let that grumpy old lady discourage you…your blog rocks!
Lots of love to you, DT, and the monkeys!! Hugs!!
Oh Good GREIF! What judgment!! Please please please DO NOT let one person’s knee jerk reaction deter you from doing what you love. I love every word and every picture you post!
Things like what your “friend” said make me so very angry. I hope you realize how rediculous she sounds!
I happen to LOVE your photos of your garden. I’m just saying!
That said, I think it is weird that people read MY blog!!! It started to fill in my family on my daughter’s medical stuff, and just expanded naturally from there. 😉 It really freaked me out to be talking to a stranger at the homeschool conference and be recognized by my blog.
Anyway- I think that people get to know us somewhat better by our blog, but since I am so careful on what I put on it, they would only know a PART of who I really am.
Just some thoughts. And please- keep up the garden photos. I love them.
I originally started blogging as a way to keep family and friends updated with the goings-on with me and my family. But then it turned into much more… I’ve “met” so many amazing women out there in blogland! And I’ve even been lucky enough to meet some IRL and have made lasting friendships!
Thanks for stopping by my blog and your lovely comment x
It’s interesting you say about why do you blog. I love my blog, and I’ve been blogging for about two years but until recently I’ve kept it very secret except for my husband. I’m in the UK and blogging is very, very new so a lot of my friends have been unfamiliar with the idea, so I didn’t mention it.
But I love meeting new people, I don’t work full time anymore so it takes up what’s dead time and I find it relaxing to blog (21st century needlepoint?) and have effectively my own magazine which I can fill with beauty.
Recently I ‘came out’ of the blogging closet and added it to my Facebook and Twitter so friends are seeing what I’m up to. Surprisingly I’ve had a lot of positive comments and some have even started up their own blogs, which I think is fabulous. So don’t be put off by one persons POV for that one person you’ll have plenty more who think it’s wonderful.
What an interesting discussion. How odd that someone would think knowing how to fix a lawnmower is wierd. Seems very judgemental and to finish a friendship over it shows she has some ‘issues’. I’m new to blogging and only a handful of friends know about my blog but I don’t think they read it! Reading this post has made me want to tell more people about it and see if I do get any unusual reactions, just out of curiosity! I’d love to know if any of my friends are also blogging but haven’t told many people.
Thanks for stopping by at my blog 🙂
Well now I have a new litmus test for people I think might become friends: “How do you feel about bloggers?”
I’m kidding. Mostly.
Um, why do I blog? I like the creative outlet.
I like having a journal/scrapbook.
I like having an audience.
Apparently it’s all about me! 🙂
What would I cook for supper if you didn’t post your weekly menu and recipes. Uncle B said that he has probably gained another ten pounds because of your blog. Also, I look forward to seeing pics of those boys. It just makes my day! I love Meet the Newlyweds and it is so encouraging to see that all you young couples know what is important to your marriages. Even though we have been married 25 years I have learned a thing or two reading this post.
Sweet Pea, not everyone is an open book like most members of our family and they could never put themselves “out there” for all the world to see. You are reaching out and helping others make it through this hectic life. You know the “pioneer woman” thing. I love your blog and share it with all my friends and co-workers.
Such an interesting questionand the comments are as interesting as your post/story!
I’m private by nature (to the extremes) and so I’ve wondered this same thing. I think there may be an innate need in all of us to communicate with others – to know and to be known. Perhaps this is part of the compulsion to blog. It’s nice to know other people, to learn, make friends, and to have others read what we have to say. I guess it’s a whole lot of a lot of things, not mentioning a good outlet for those that love to write (me).
I started out as a closet blogger, too, but I get braver every day letting select ones know about it. I have no idea what most of the ‘select’ think of it, but a few (my brother who I hardly know) and my ex-sister-in-law follow it faithfully. I find that interesting and complimentary that they are interested enough in me and my family to read my blog.
In a way, I can understand your friends comments – I think we reveal a ton about our inner self when you read what’s online – I learn a ton just by facebook pictures! I think reading what someone has wrote is more like cutting to the chaff – you can see what you can not just by looking at the outward person. Your blogger friends mechanic ability shows that she is a very capable person and has a lot going on in her life than just what meets the eye and what she presents at work.
Antoinette
I blog because I live far away from my friends. I feel connected to them and others when I blog and when I read blogs. I also “meet” so many interesting people through blogging that I’d never get a chance to know otherwise. I also just like having somewhere for my random thoughts/pictures/life stories to go. I think my husband thinks it is a little weird sometimes (maybe he worries what I’ll post, teehee?) but he also knows that it makes me feel good, having an outlet.
P.S. I enjoy reading your blog!
Well, I blog because it’s cheap therapy. lol. I put a lot out there, and people will read it or not, like it or not. I don’t care, I’m just letting people in on my own mind….if they think I’m nuts, so be it….lol. I am a little nuts sometimes. But that’s just me.
You’re not strange, and I’m glad you blog. Thanks for your insight and recipes.
I blog just because. I get to reach out and make new “friends” and keep some of my old ones. It’s so easy to find out information about people these days, does it really matter if you put it out there.
In all likelihood, could it be a bit of jealousy, too?
I don’t know…I think we just do it!
I blog as a creative outlet. I don’t care what people think about that because I am proud of my material…no matter how corny:-)
Hi! I don’t think you’re weird at all! One of the reasons I started my blog was to meet other like-minded, creative people. My friends are not as creative as I am for the most part, and I’m not sure they even read my blog!
You have been nominated for an Award! Go to my blog to get the details!
http://hoosierhomemade.com
Congrats!
~Liz
I’d be so sad if you didn’t have a blog….for one, I think you’re a wonderful person who I could honestly see myself being friends with “in real life” if we lived closer to one another. And I think we have the whole twin connection too so we can see the humor in our everyday lives with our children. I’ve learned so much from you in terms of how to cook yummy meals for my family (the sticky chicken is still a regular menu item around here), I’ve learned wonderful gardening tips from you AND I discovered the whole coupon mom, grocery cart challenge stuff, which I never even knew existed. I’ve saved some serious $$$ in the last few weeks after discovering this sytem.
The reason I blog is mainly so I can have a detailed journal of my daily life…something I can give to my kids when they’re older and something I can have for myself, as well, to always look back on. So many things happen on a daily basis that I know I’ll forget and I look forward to just being able to open any page on my blog and read it and remember exactly what happened and how it happened. I do keep private journals for my kids that I write in on a weekly basis (an idea I got from another blogger) so I can personalize it more towards each child and what they did in particular that week that was special. Plus, my blog keeps me grounded….helps me stay sane. I do like the connection it provides to outside world…I know I can vent about a bad day with the kids and 25 other moms out there totally get it…or I can complain about my hubby and there are women bloggers out there who can relate (and actually I’ve had a few men bloggers comment on those posts, which is kinda funny, seeing it from a man’s perspective).
My family isn’t aware of my blog and I prefer it that way. But a lot of my friends do read it and have said they’ve enjoyed it.
You know I just love blogging because I get the coolest products to review, and I can talk about my kids and quirks without thinking about judgement……but then very few people know about my blog where I live. I think I have several friends who know I have a website, but they have never vidited it, or asked a lot about it. They think I just talk about the products I get.
Honestly I prefer it that way, that way if I have a rant about my husband or I am talking from the heart about something my kids have done….then I don’t get phone calls the next day.
Since you are probably the closest blogger I have found in proximity top me and I am still getting to know you through your site….so far i love everything I read. I think we could be really great friends.
Girl…this is the way I keep up with you!! KEEP AT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I started blogging as an outlet; a release really. Also, it sorta keeps me in check – i have such a passion for cooking, food, travel but sometimes get caught up in day-to-day pressure and stress and let my hobby slip away. The blog keeps me going, keeps my hobby alive and therefore helps me destress!
Side note – I love your blog & don’t find you odd at all 🙂 You have such a sweet perspective on life, your blog is always so motivating to me. Keep blogging strong hon!!