What should I blog about

Have you ever done something and then wish you hadn't? My guess is that you're probably nodding right now and thinking ' yes and far too many times too'.

When I'm stuck for something to write I go on a little trawl of the interweb to search for what other people have blogged about or what they think are good topics to blog on. Unfortunately I came across a blog post ¹ about all the things that it's not good to blog about! Or maybe it's fortunate I don't know. Apparently I'm not supposed to give and hourly account of my day; blog about my pets; or my dislike of my future in-laws (I actually love them to bits so that's not a problem); complain about the lack of comments on my blog or apologise for being too busy to blog.

I'm probably guilty of at least 3 of those. I'll let you guess which 3 they are but you're you probably know already. Not that I know you're reading as you never comment (oops I've broken rule number 4 again!). Personally I don't really care. I mean my blog is for me primarily if I want to tell you what my goldfish has eaten today then I should be allowed to. If someone wants to read what I've posted and likes what I've written then fine and I'm glad they've liked reading it too but I'm not going to make my blog about what everyone else wants to hear otherwise it'll just bore me and If I'm bored then everyone else definitely will be. Of course that doesn't stop me being vain and  secretly wanting to be read.  Deep down everyone wants to be heard.

 

1. http://weblogtoolscollection.com/archives/2006/12/17/things-you-should-avoid-blogging-about/

Follow me?

Secretly I think everyone wants to know they're liked by at least one person. They might try their hardest to hide it but we all crave that little bit of attention from something or someone. The knowledge that someone out there knows that they exist.

I for one have a secret urge to become an Internet celebrity. To be known across the ether. I'm not exactly sure what I'd like to be famous for, maybe I could be someone who is just famous for fame's sake a bit like Paris Hilton...Only I'd have more brain cells and not act like a complete arse thinking I was better than anyone else. I'd just be happy that people knew me and knew who I was.

When I was a child I used to dream of being famous, all those people following my every move. Now I've grown up a little I've realised that maybe being hounded by paparazzi 24/7 isn't what I want. I quite like the idea of being known for my writing. I've had a few poems published and I've always thought that maybe I could have my own book of poems published. All of mine and not just part of a huge anthology. Maybe I should make it a new year's resolution (well 3/4 of the way through the year really!).

I think maybe if I want to lead the quiet life while being famous then I could be known maybe just by online pseudonym. I could be the next Belle De Jour ¹. Maybe like her I'll be famous for my blog. I'd probably have to change my name though, pinkymooo sounds a bit lame don't ya' think?

Of course in order to be famous for blogging then people would actually have to read the thing. Deep down I reckon every blogger secretly hopes that they'll get a cult following. I know I do. It would be nice to think that it wasn't just my OH reading these posts! I got quite excited the other week when I spotted that Blogger (the site that hosts this blog) was introducing a new feature. It's a widget that you can add to your blog that lets readers add themselves either publicly or anonymously to a followers list for you blog. I've eagerly awaited it's activation². Well now they've finally let us use it. So I've added it to my blog in the vain hope that someone else out there is reading this and doesn't think this blog is carp (of course you can still add yourself as a follower even if you do!).

So if you're reading out there and you're liking what you're reading then why not tell me. I'll brighten up my day. Especially as I still have another 25 days left before I hit my 40 days of blogging target.

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1. I'd probably wouldn't write as well as her and I'd definitely not have the guts to be as XXX. I have the utmost admiration for what she's done though. It's given me an insight into the life of a profession that I've always been intrigued (in the sense of wondering why they do it and what goes on behind closed doors) by but would never want to join.

2. Why they couldn't activate it straight away I don't know. I guess they wanted to have us frothing at the mouth before they let us have it.

Two kinds of secret

“There are two kinds of secrets: Those we keep from others, and those we hide from ourselves”

-Frank Warren Postsecret.com

Everyone has secrets. Whether they're big or small, bad or good. We have them. Whether we're keeping them to spare feelings to spare our own feelings or others,trying to save our bacon or simply keeping something so it'll be a surprise. We all do it.

There's something profound in Frank's quote. It's not said aloud and I don't think it has to be but I get the sense that he is trying to say that the secrets that we keep that we daren't tell another soul let alone think about ourselves are the ones that may well do the most damage. The one's that you taunt yourself with when you can't sleep in the early hours of the morning, when you're feeling low and in anguish over them and you wish you could tell someone but you're afraid that they'll never understand the why, when or how.

It's amazing the power that other people's opinions have on us. Even those people who claim they don't care what people think. Deep down I think they do and they only say they don't to cover up that fact. Given the option to reveal things anonymously however can give people the courage to let go of the things that taunt them or they're just to shy to admit. I wonder how many people a year send anonymous valentines to their secret loves?

Frank has been giving people the opportunity of anonymous relief from their secrets for almost 5 years now. Secret bearers can mail him a postcard bearing their secret, Frank then lovingly scans these cards and posts them on his blog every Sunday for the rest of the web community to see. Whilst it might seem like an odd thing to do I can see why people would do it. The feeling of immense relief people must get from releasing their secrets knowing that they remain anonymous and the chances of it ever being recognised by people they know are so small.

There are secrets that I've read on the blog however that tug on my heart strings and I dearly wish that I could tell them that things will be alright or give them a hug. This is where the problem of being anonymous rears it's head. The anonymity gives you the guts to share and the relief but it doesn't give you the forgiveness or understanding that you wished for.

That's what's nice about this blog. I have anonymity and familiarity both at the same time. I'm anonymous to those who do not know I have this blog but familiar to those who I let in (hello honey ;) ). I've never been very good at expressing my feelings and sensitive thoughts out loud. I'm a bottler and take years to build up confidences with people. I've always been shy and found it hard to say what I'm really thinking and I ponder what I'll say when I do come out with something. I psyche myself up for hours before I have to make a phone call and if I can find any other way to communicate I will preferably if it involves a computer. There is something about writing in printed type which is therapeutic to me. I think it's because if I do something wrong then I can go back and undo it. Once something is said then it can't be undone. There are things I put down in words in this blog that I know I could never express out loud and knowing that I can write it here and someone else close to me will read is nerve-racking but also at the same time so peaceful.

The idea of postcard secrets does appeal to me. The thought of setting something free for the world to see without anyone ever knowing it was me makes my heart flutter but for now I think I'll stick to sharing them with you ;) .

Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies

Every now and again I like to nip on yahoo answers. Mostly out of boredom but also slight curiosity. I feel quite good about myself when I'm able to answer people's queries like I'm some kind of miniature guru who knows all about keeping tropical fish or operating lawn mowers.  It also makes for an interesting social experiment too. I've deduced from both reading responses to my own questions and others that there are several types of people who frequent these kinds of site:

Top contributor: These people have no life and always come out with the perfect answer. You feel strangely drawn to them and their little green badges over other users good answers when picking the best answer to your question.

Me 2: Those posters who either just post one word responses or agree with the rest of the 27 other posters just so they can get their 2 point bonus.

cna you raed my txt spk?: There's nothing more frustrating than trying to decipher what appears to be closer to some ancient form of Greek than English especially if it's written by the person asking the question. How can you expect someone to answer the question if you can't write in sentences that make grammatical sense? (Yes OH I know you'll go through this with a fine tooth comb and find all my errors but I'd hope my posts make enough sense with any minor errors... hypocritical I know)

Mother Teresa: These people think that they are so saintly and free from sin that they should be first to cast the first stone they can often be found trolling the "help me I'm 14 and might be pregnant" threads.

There are many more and I'll maybe add to them as I spot them so look out for further posts!

Internet Addiction

It's surprising the hold that the Internet and computers have on society. I was a child born into the age of the computer and as such remember very little about life without one. My parents both have degrees in computing and as I've grown up I've been surrounded by all sorts of technological gadgetry.

When I moved away to university I almost went into culture shock. My student halls had yet to be linked up to wi-fi or any kind of network let alone the Internet. I was forced to go to the library every time I wanted to check my email, bank online or simply faff around on myspace. It also resulted in me getting a hell of a lot more fresh air than I did once they installed wi-fi in my halls (I was forced to go and play outside rather than sitting playing video games).

Consequently when I moved into my first student house I made it my mission to have working Internet before I would even consider setting foot in the house. Boy was that a traumatic experience and moving house the next year didn't help as I had to start all over again setting it up (who thought moving 3 doors down could be so complicated for a telephone company to work out?!). What made things worse was the fact that I had a newly found boyfriend who I'd met via a forum ( yes thanks to the Internet you can now trawl through an even bigger net of fish rather than your local rag's lonely hearts column. Of course you still can't guarantee that they won't turn out to be a 50 year old pervert who likes watching episodes of Bargain Hunt whilst dressed as a penguin. Thankfully none of those describes the love of my life.) and all of my communications with him were largely done via the Internet. Therefore I had a vested interest in getting it going again ASAP.

So great was my want and need of the Internet I would stop at nothing to get my net connection working. I've even stooped to contorting myself into interesting positions and cladding my aerials in tin foil to get a better reception.

 

God help me and other geeks and net junkies if the big www. ever shuts down.