I just had a startling realization that people can pretty much figure out that this is my blog. *gasp*
It all started like this:
not me: it’s YOUR blog
me: … i just think my theory of keeping several layers of privacy on the web is quickly falling apart.
not me: pfft. that’s just a silly theory, kiddo. better theory is that the right [person] won’t care (or bother to read it, much), so long as you abide by the simple guidelines (which you do).
…
me: it’s disturbingly hard to keep one’s private life private now. *sigh* at least in the good ole days, you can just sign up under a different screen name and fake address… 
not me: blogging is not private
not me: go buy a diary, if you want private. 
me: yes, but blogging before it got too big was also a way to rant to strangers, not hurt the people you know by bitching about them…
me: actually this makes a good post. i’m going to go write about it.
not me: lol
Hence, the blogging.
The scariest thing is that the virtual “us” is becoming as significant as the corporeal ones. We’re prompted to go online to find out more information about X or buy Y or mail in our taxes via Z. Through SecondLife (oh, when will you actually “take off”?), we can even make a virtual look for ourselves.
But unlike RT (real time), we can’t simply put our credit cards back into our wallets and walk away. Facebook’s nocuous strategy of publishing our every movement on and off the site has proved transparency to be a management disaster. How do you allow your friends to track you but keep your coworkers, acquaintances and dare I say old-friends-turned-we-don’t-even-say-hi-on-IM-anymore-D-listers at bay? What about blogging? How do you keep your private voice, your public voice, and your corporate voice in separate spaces?
I like the analogy that a blog is common to street performers in RT because you can reach a virtually anonymous crowd. That is until you’re popular enough to be recognized and start having conversations with the audience, who might chime back with their comments on their soap boxes. Yes, blogs have a wider reach. The problem is blogs also provide a paper trail of potential hurt emotions and angry commenters. I’m not saying that we should all be flower children and only transmit positive feedback in the virtual world. But how do you manage snide sarcasms in your private life from a potential employer or buyer?
Look… my relationship status or my news photos from my last vacation isn’t a national secret. In fact, I talk and share those at work all the time. BUT the option to share exists only in RT. Online people can extricate various tidbits with a simple Facebook search, Google search, Technorati search, etc. The engines that opened up IT is now the big brother TV in every room and on every street.
And the scariest part is that people are flocking to the online social networks, to blogging, to twittering, and to opening up their deepest insides.
Online is no longer a game. It’s our fourth dimension, and as much as I want to embrace the new realm, I’m terrified that I’ll end up at some grungy cafe playing chess and whispering, “I love Google.”
