Where to draw the line between divulging too much personal information and maintaining a comfortable level of public intimacy is a challenge faced by anyone with a web presence.
And I’ve been thinking about this for the many years I have kept a public weblog. When I was younger, I wrote freely about an observation I had in the day or a “reflection” of the petty squabbles I would have with classmates. I posted photographs of my life in action. Strangers wrote to me to encourage my writing. Foreign bloggers featured me on their sites. I received hate mails, and I also had another blogger making slanderous statements about me on his blog. It did not deter me from doing what I was doing. The positive experience far outweighed the bad. I kept the public blog for myself and my friends. It was entertaining for me. I love writing and I liked the pieces I was churning out. In fact, those were one of the best times of my life. Unfortunately, academic writing ate away at my creative writing and I am having a hard time getting it back.
Public intimacy is not an oxymoron. Back then, I was open and personal with the public. Perhaps I was naĂŻve but things were simpler then.
When I decided to start this website, I asked Eli how comfortable he was with this because he is a very private man. He supported my writing and this website but he was not so keen on having his face plastered online. I argued that photographs made it more personal. I know that because when I read a new website, I always want to see the face behind the writing. But I respected Eli’s need for privacy and I tried to adhere to it… Sometimes. It is difficult for me not to show off his handsome face to the world, you know?!
At the same time, I do also like some anonymity. It is scary to know that anyone can do an internet search for your name and every single detail of you shows up including how many zits you have on your face right now. It also scares me that “important” people whom I have never met might see me before I see them! Not that many “important” people will be searching for me online, but you never know.
However, over the past week, I have been following some personal blogs and they don’t always have photographs of their faces. If they do, their faces are usually cleverly obscured. And it doesn’t matter because the writer keeps it interesting and even a tad mysterious. These blogs keep me coming back for more!
And isn’t it a thing in the unofficial law of seduction that we should leave a little to the imagination and draw the other party in by keeping some things a mystery?