In today’s edition of Blogging Insights, Dr. Tanya wants to know if we are in real life who we appear to be in our blog. She asks…
Is your blogging personality the same as your real life personality? If not, how is the blogging you different from the real you, and why?
My blogging persona — the person you all know as Fandango — is more of an honest reflection of who I really am and how I truly feel than probably anyone in real life, other than my wife, knows. That’s because, as an anonymous blogger, I don’t have to filter what I say or how I say it as, depending upon the situation, who I’m talking with, and what we’re talking about, I must occasionally do in the real world.
There is nothing I write on my blog that is not what the real world me thinks and feels. Except, of course, when I’m writing flash fiction. That’s all made up stuff. The real world me is not a liar. An exaggerator and an embellisher maybe, but not a liar.
I will admit, though, that the blogging me is probably more articulate than the real life me. That’s because I can jot down my thoughts in draft form, read them, edit them, and fine tune them to make sure I am expressing myself and my thoughts as clearly, concisely, and effectively as I can.
When I am talking with people in real life, things that I say orally don’t always come out the way I might have wanted them to, which can lead to misconceptions and misunderstandings. And once those spoken words come out of your mouth, they can’t be unsaid or unheard.
But the beauty of blogging is that you have the ability to consider what you want to communicate, organize your thoughts and words, and refine them before making them public. That, I think, makes me sound smarter than I probably sound in real life.
And wittier, too.
That’s quite true of everyone else too. It’s often easier to deal with life as an anonymous stranger, from a convenient distance, than in the real here and now
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Same here, though I’m not really anonymous. My writing shows more of my real thoughts and feelings than my speaking. I’m often very quiet and don’t even say what I think bc there’s not enough time to put it in a coherent essay…
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Weird that this comment went directly to my trash folder. I’m not sure why it was swept up that way.
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It is true that we can filter what we write on our blog. Though I seldom do it except to correct my grammar and spellings. But I do surprise myself when I read my posts from past! More articulate is probably correct.
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My blogging personality is just like my regular personality, minus the irritability.
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😂
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The Fandango you, certainly comes off as being an impressive person.
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Thanks, Jim.
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I like your blogging persona! Its honest, raw, real! And you are witty! xx
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Very interesting answer, though I am sure your real personality must be as witty as your blogging self.
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Really, my blogging reflects a distilled version of me. I’m a complex blur of interests and passions, which is hard to fully capture in one place. I imagine my tech thoughts bore the fans of my poetry, and, perhaps, vice versa.
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I definitely feel more free and open online for many of the same reasons. Good answer Fandango.
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