Blog it, blog it not - that is the question
This weekend someone commented on my blog disclosure practice 
The question was raised as to why I don’t write about my personal life and the crazy things that happen to me in more detail. Apparently I have a comical/interesting/action packed life which makes for great entertainment.
It touched on a topic that I have been giving a lot of thought. So, here’s my brain dump on the subject:
Going to use FeistyFemale as an example, although I know of a couple of people facing similar challenges.
Firstly FeistyFemale is a personal blog, yet I don’t write in an incredibly personal way. It certainly doesn’t disclose every activity I get involved in and doesn’t describe what I had for breakfast. The blog represents my personal thoughts, feelings and opinion – essentially the blog represents what I’m like and how I think (if at all). Secondly, I like my private life, private! I try and keep my family and any man I might date off the blog - and well protected. I might make mention of a sister or tell a story - but it will never be a detailed and intimate description.
My curiosity summarized:
1. I’m not sure people care what other people do with their time, if they do… where do they find the time and energy to read it? (At this point, I admit I would be curious to know what tickles them about my life/writing and what value it adds to their existence?)
2. I’m undecided about the concept of reputation management on a personal entity.
- Do you have one blog that is holistic and representative of your entire being - or - do you have one blog for your personal life, one for business and perhaps a sneaky anonymous one.
- If you have only one (holistic) blog - you are guaranteed that some people will love it and that others will hate it. How does this impact on your professional reputation/identity? Do people do business with you because they can relate to you and know what they dealing with, or do you run the risk of pushing potential business away by publicly voicing your personal thoughts?
- If you have multiple blogs, it takes more time and energy. You could also end up with multiple personality disorder trying to ascertain which post is relevant for which side of your personality.
- I personally struggle deciding what goes online on which blog….how do you really do this when what you write about can be universally applied. E.g. The FeistyFemale site evolved into a bit of a brand and has a life of it’s own. Do I adapt to this, or do I accept the fact it became the monster it has become, exactly because of my writing and thoughts…. (It’s one thing writing to 10 people and a different story writing when 5000 might read it)
Just in case you were interested in my whereabouts the last three days:
Friday:
- Beluga with Janine. I don’t even look at the menu any more. Standard order: chocolate white martini
- Gym, swim.
- ME-time. About time too.
Saturday:
- Up at five – a run and swim.
- Bookkeeping and business admin
- Surfing, lunch and bonding with the team. Could not stop giggling at my lack of grace, agility and speed while trying to get the hang of surfing (again).
- Swimming - because it really is my favourite sport.
- Braai with my friend/lawyer and her man. Nothing like a school reunion.
Sunday:
- Homely tasks and domestic affairs. I’m a neat freak and I’m not going to change. I like order.
- Drive to Muizenberg. I say this again, I LOVE driving, I especially love De Waal Drive and the cornering.
- Wetsuit shopping. The water in Cape Town is freakin cold, nothing can beat Vic Bay.
- Lunch and giggles with Doc D. Seriously one of my favourite people on the planet. We bring out the worst wisecracks in each other. Priceless/hilarious encounters.
- Parents arrived for my birthday. Yippee! Made me miss my other home.
- Body-boarding. Had to try out the new wetsuit. That kid quality in me…It made me do it…
- Sunday evening supper with the clan. It rocked - as usual.
Did you really find it interesting? I doubt it!
What are your thoughts on this? To disclose or not to disclose…
PS Blogging is time-consuming, I would rather be out doing something that involves adrenaline and/or movement. Maybe it’s time to consolidate….
27/10/2008 at 3:22 pm
Your bulleted lists are interesting in a lifestyle context that I think is probably more suited to a less labour-intensive and more immediate format like twitter / a Tumblog etc. I’ll often tweet that kind of stuff because if any friends are going to be in the area they’ll pick it up.
I agree with your angle on the blogging thing, making sure you’re adding value is important, and its wrong to assume that personal stuff does that when you don’t 100% know your audience, or the subject of the post does not fit within the subject of your blog.
I always try to err on the side of personal opinion on relevant subject matter rather than disgorging raw personal details about everything or everybody.
27/10/2008 at 3:22 pm
This is a tough question, but here is what I do:
1. I have a separate blog for all social media type stuff…it is not necessarily my “corporate” blog, but since social media is my “thing”, I have a separate place to throw all that stuff.
2. As for my “personal” blog: my rule is that I throw in there anything I want, since I am writing for myself, and the few people who I *know* will read it (friends across the world etc). As to anyone else who subscribes - I say thank you, but I cannot spend much time figuring out what you want me to write about, becasue I write *for me*. So if you like it, great. If not, I’m sorry but such is life.
Having said all that, I don’t write too much personal stuff becasue it’s not all that interesting, and I use twitter for that anyway.
But, over and above all that, take what I say with a pinch of salt, becasue lately I haven’t been blogging at all!
27/10/2008 at 3:23 pm
You know, its weird Bev. I often think HELLS people must find all this selftalk boring when people just blog about themselves. I blog because I want to honour something or someone, either it irks me or uplifts me. And then Im also, all about the random, because the random is the music of my life, so in that respect, i dont do it for anyone to read other than me. If that makes sense.
But I entirely get you - blogging your breakfast is pretty silly. Blogging your thoughts about why breakfast is essential for good brain functioning is slightly boring but a little better. Blogging your idea on how to feed every child in the world breakfast every day so that every child does not go hungry ever - now thats something I’d read!
27/10/2008 at 3:48 pm
Luke - Just to clarify. I’m not a fan of listing my whereabouts…and the same goes for Twitter. I can’t bear the thought of tweeting my location and existence - constantly. Who has time for constant Twittering anyway? (The people that I do want to keep in the loop about my activity, have no idea what Twitter is.)
On the subject of value. If I write one post in bulleted form and one reader takes away a thought/lesson from that list. Did it not add value? Relevant subject and the opinion contained within a post is really in the eye (perception) of the reader.
Eve - Thanks for the comment wise web woman! Currently this is the way I work too – it keeps it tidy…but ultimately I have to wonder if it is really the best way.
Cath - Not just me then. I mostly blog for myself. It’s a point of reference for my thoughts and current objects of fascination - things I get curious about and often things that make me giggle!
27/10/2008 at 3:59 pm
To be honest I’m a bit disappointed with the lack of information on this blog. I have the following suggestions on how to improve it and the level of detail to include:
Include more photo’s - photo’s of you in your new wetsuit; your swimming costume; the photo’s from speed camera’s when you go for a drive, etc etc.
The more detail the better - invest in a wireless & lightweight IP camera which can be fitted to your cap, sunglasses or pinned to your clothing. This will allow your readers watch your life, live on the internet and will cut down on blogging time.
Tell your boyfriend to blog here - your readers will help you decide if he’s any good or if he has potential. We will also be able to help you shape/mould him into the perfect man.
Google Maps - include GPS co-ordinates or mark your route on Google Maps. This way we (readers/fans) can meet you along the way or simply cheer as you drive past on route to your next rendezvous.
What’s your favourite food - I’m sure readers feel like they hardly know you. Let us in to your life Feisty Female. By placing a webcam in your new fridge we’ll be able to see what you’re eating, enabling us to encourage you on any diets you may embark upon or simply exchange recipes with you based on what’s in your fridge.
I think these most basic issues need to be addressed before any real suggestions can be made on how to interact more with your readers/fans. It’s ok though, I think I speak for all of us when I say, we support you 100% and realise that at 24 you’re but a puppy in the game of life and are still learning. We’ll be here for you, through thick and thin, and life’s ups and downs too. We’ll keep reading Feisty, you just focus on living.
27/10/2008 at 4:11 pm
Feisty,
I tend to agree with you leaning towards not spilling out every personal moment or event on your blog, unless of course you are a: stripper, a porn star (not seen any of your movies so I assume not
), traveling the world on a unicycle, a celebrity chef or any one of the following: Sergey Brin, Richard Branson, Sarah Palin, (President) Obama, David Beckham.
Now I’m not saying that everyone else’s life is boring, I’m just a strong believer in that you must write with the intention of your reader taking something away from the post, be it something new, a different way of thinking, a laugh, a new recipe, a new sex position (or disposition!), a new mission in life, whatever.
Example: I made a cup of coffee this morning. No-one gets anything from that. But if you are a hot shot barrister and you explain how you made a cup of coffee using chilli flakes this morning, people can take something away from that.
I also tend to stay away from overly personal (or dodgy) posts as, like you, my online persona is very important to my professional career and people will eventually figure out it is you writing those stories about wine bottles and lube on other blogs.
And you know what, there are other channels for such personal reliefs:
Twitter: It is perfectly acceptable to be completely mundane on a tweat, such as “my T-shirt is itchy”
Facebook: Your own little walled garden where you can go bezerk with boringness, sexuality and dodginess as only people who know you can read it and they already know that you are dodgy! (Just please remember to make your profile only visible to your friends!!!)
27/10/2008 at 4:37 pm
Dear Stark-Raving-Feisty-Mad
Firstly thank you for taking time out of your incredible busy schedule to comment.
The valuable input, has enlightened me and given me a whole new take on blogging strategy. As pointed out I’m young with so much to learn. (Thank goodness, I’m not an old snide bastard.) I plan to remain a kid till the day I die.
As I can see you an avid reader and fan, I promise to not disappoint you and to implement your suggested strategies in a phased approach.
Herewith my comments:
1. Photos of myself in a bikini come with password protection and are already available. Please email me your details to be added to the system.
2. Negotiation with the Traffic Department will start first thing next week. I aim to have complete integration of all speeding fines and photos by 2010.
3. I particularly enjoyed the suggestion of a boyfriend screening process. I think you are really onto something. It might be a viable endeavour and a real value add, not to mention time-saver. (**You can’t change a man and there is no such thing as perfect**) I will have a look and devise a profit model with profit sharing for this blog element before implementation.
4. Implementing GPS might be a bitch. I like being mysterious, doing random disappearing acts and being completely unaccountable for it. I put this down to artist temperament. Implementation of GPS will really cramp my style, thus I will put it on a list for further perusal in 2015.
5. As for the webcam in my fridge. Do you think I could outsource my grocery shopping? I really dislike shopping and it would be great to get an automated service going… The recipe exchange might be a little challenging as I am not really a domestic type of chick, then again, Google is my friend. This has been scheduled for 2009.
Thank you for your volunteering your support services. I will be sure to add you to speed-dial in times of turbulence or jubilation. Having a mentor would prove invaluable.
Kind regards
FeistyFemale
PS This comment made my day. I love response! (positive or negative) A little sarky like Bullard. I love it!
27/10/2008 at 4:47 pm
My thing with blogging is that you need to write a piece that people can take something away from such as: new information, a different way of thinking, a recipe, a new sex position (or disposition!), a mind blow etc.
This kind of day-today blogging that we see out there, doesn’t really cut it unless you are: a stripper, a porn star (haven’t seen you in one yet Fiesty, so I assume not!), travelling the world on a unicycle, [President] Barack Obama or Sarah Palin.
There is a platform for mundane life blogging. It’s called Twitter. So if stalke.. I mean, readers want that kind of detail, they should follow you there.
And if you want to be crazy, dirty and dodgy (and not sacrifice your professional image at the same time) your little walled garden that is Facebook, is perfect for this because your friends already know just how dodgy you are!
27/10/2008 at 5:00 pm
Bev, I think Stark-Raving-Feisty-Mad is someone who knows you and is taking the piss, or a REALLY scary stalker!
27/10/2008 at 5:11 pm
Hey Bev, firstly I’ve been the worst blogger of late. Training and speaking has been keeping me busy. But blogging is right there at the top of my mind - every time I share something significant I have a passing thought that I should blog this.
I have Jayz.co.za which is my business blog. I have new theme which will go up soon, I just need my designer to add the branding elements. But I have streamlined my blogging strategy. So I have revised, and extended my category listing. They’re up on a wall chart behind me.
Then I have a personal blog - Jamaal.co.za - well there’s nothing there yet, but there soon will be. On this blog I will blog about my interests, my discoveries, and my take on life - and basically everything that is about me, but which has no relation (directly) to my business.
I also own 2 community blogs, and I run blogs for clients as well.
I think that personal blogs are interesting. When I read your latest bulleted points about your wetsuit purchase, I remembered your Facebook update over the weekend about the same thing. This makes me know you better. I find value in that.
I have learnt to have a HUGE amount of respect for people. To me, it’s ALL about the people. When people let me into their lives, I feel that I know them better. Sue Rutherford recently updated her Facebook status, and I enquired about the subject - and she said that she had written a blog post about it. I went to read her blog that day, and since then I’ve been popping back there because we’re good friends, and her personal blog gives me insight into her life.
A friend recently visited me at my office, and he told me about a book called “It’s not about the coffee” written by the founder (or one of the founders) of Starbucks. The book explains that it’s about the people - not about the product / service - which is coffee in this case.
I have the same belief. I love blogging. I think that it’s core in your business strategy. Also, I know a lot of people globally who are not entrepreneurs - they are employed or students - but they have very interesting blogs.
Either way, wherever you find yourself, a blog allows people to know who you are. It’s about people. Personal relationships. Google Chris Brogan’s eBook on Personal Branding.
Well, this feels like a blog post and not a comment.
lol
Let me sign out before I get more carried away!
27/10/2008 at 5:13 pm
Mr Bishop! You finally comment!
Agreed. The person knows me or stalks me - that much is evident. It’s still hugely entertaining. (In fact I have a hunch.)
As I am not a stripper, a porn star or a president I have to write about sex or a different way of thinking. Why couldn’t I just share my weirdness??? I’m disappointed.
I will attempt to make myself more stalkable via Twitter
Sadly Facebook is my good side. I will have to stick to dodgy Twitter direct messages to show my dark side.
Thanks for the comment!
PS Ultimately you need to live like an a-class citizen - and that should also be what you put online. That’s what you will be known and remembered for.
27/10/2008 at 5:21 pm
Thanks Feisty, I know you’re always open to constructive criticism from us readers which is why I for one will be avidly reading your blog and look forward to bigger things in 2015!
Lekker bly my bru-nette.
27/10/2008 at 5:41 pm
Bev, how refreshing - a blogger who takes time to wonder what will actually interest people.
There’s far too much arrogant noise on the internet - I really wonder how many people ask themselves “will anyone find this interesting?” (i.e. does anyone CARE?) before they post/tweet/whatever.
I’ve been considering blogging for a couple of years now and can’t decide whether to do a professional or personal blog or a combination. I’m leaning towards a prof. one. I might only post every few weeks but I’d rather post that infrequently with something worthwhile and well-thought-through than 5 times a day, sharing what I had for lunch.
I guess the bottom line is we have to be comfortable with what info is out there about us (personally I also believe in private stuff being ‘private’ and that includes how I spend my weekends - LOL!) and those who don’t like it can simply unsubscribe
27/10/2008 at 6:22 pm
Bev, great post, makes me think.
As for the comments, brilliant. Stark’s comment, and your response are epic!
27/10/2008 at 7:41 pm
I also prefer to keep the private stuff to myself, and protect people. I also do not find lists of what people have done interesting. I enjoy reading blogs where people are creative and try something a little different.
28/10/2008 at 9:37 pm
when i first started blogging, i kept my identity private, but eventually i decided that even though i have a semi-public life, my blog has very little traffic and i write it mostly for my personal satisfaction and to express whatever it is that’s on my mind (and i suppose, just to practice writing), so i stopped hiding. there’s a lot of fairly personal stuff on it, but at the same time, i don’t mention where i work, i use an initial for my b.f.’s name, i don’t mention certain people’s names. though admittedly, if you really wanted to know, you’d just have to pick through my posts or google my name to get more than i might want you to know.
maybe i’d feel different if my blog were business driven, but it’s not. though hey, who knows what may happen next.
30/10/2008 at 11:29 am
Good Lordie…. did I get reaction. Promise to come and address all of this soon. Need to do a proper job on it though.