Friday, July 29, 2005

Coming out of the blog closet

How many of you are out?

Let me clarify, I don't mean out of the homocloset... but out of the blog closet. Kudos to my hunky pal, Scotty for having the damned balls to come out to his partner/honeybunch about his secret blog affair. I am certain his once exciting now crazy life will never be boring again :)

My preeecious secret!The idea of coming out to my friends, colleagues - and especially to my ISO gives me the shivers. Hell, I'd run for the hills. A few of my friends know that I frequently blog, and my ISO definitely knows especially after I've told him about the way I've ruthlessly, shamelessly skewered his personality and character on my blog. With some of my more lurid, wicked comments, I can imagine he'd probably tease me till the end of his life ( I'd have to put a period to his life after bearing the brunt of his ribbing for some time ).

I can be terribly frank at work, but certainly not as blunt and unforgiving as I am online. I like the fact that a blog is at least semi-private, away from the hectic part of my life. A way of expressing our ideas and feelings without censorship and political correctness... kinda like the lil secret diary I kept as a kid way back when...

10 comments:

Evil Gay Lawyer said...

Semi-private for the world to read...sweetie you need to check out the definition of private! But, you use your real name (at least I assume) and that's a bigger risk should someone you tore a new asshole for come across your writing. I on the other hand write with a pseudonym so I can't be identified if I don't want to be. However, most of my friends know I write. But most of my collegues and none of my clients do and none of those people have the web address!

grave_creek said...

humph..i always considered the blog as an area where i could be ME,the true me,the real me,the me that isometimes hide from others for fear of being hurt..i guess having a blog really puts you in a sensitive position where you never know who is going to read your inner thoughts...the question is ,would you post the same things if you knew that someone close to you would be able to read what you wrote?? to put yourself out there ,naked and without any armor is something that few bloggers can do....says the guy who goes by the name grave_creek!!!lol!!

savante said...

WEll, it's kinda private :) The name's real enough but I doubt any of my colleagues or friends are curious enough to go searching for it. And anyway, most of the people I mentioned online are under pseudonyms... of sorts. Easily identifiable if you know what to look for but still...

I think if my friends could see what I write, I'd be tempted to censor just a tad. There is a fine line between being truthful and honest... and just being painfully blunt.

Paul

Anonymous said...

well, my friends here both in montréal and in toronto all know about my current blog. and as a result, i end up censoring myself a lot.

Larry said...

I was "out" from day one. In some ways it's odd to know that my two closest straight friends can read about my meager homosexual exploits. But it also helps keep me from lying, and thus forces me to be honest. I have made online friends based not on the thin veneer of cordiality, but rather on my real life and my real feelings. Right now that is exactly what I need and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

But I also regret refering to some people (like my ex) by his real name. I suppose that's part of the learning curve.

I think it's a matter of personal preference. What do you want from your blog?

Anonymous said...

Well, I am not hiding nor out. My friends who speak English know my blog but then my friends' who don't speak English don't. I barely get to be specific about people whom I am dealing with because if I have to be specific, I have a feeling I will get into a trouble I haven't expected. But then, I think I am in the gray zone. :-)

Jay said...

Well, NM was one of the first people I told when I started blogging, and he's since become an integral part of the little circle jerk I've formed there.

Considering how much time I spend on blogs - both reading and posting - it'd be a bit difficult to conceal this from him.

As for friends, a few trusted ones know, most don't.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm... when I started blogging I never actually considered doing it anonymously so I guess my blog's pretty much 'out' there. No pseudonym, as anyone would have noticed. Half of the people on my links are people I actually know (including a high school mate), and I believe there are several friends who don't blog but do read mine.

I suppose there's a certain degree of self-censoring in my writing but then, I'd be self-censoring even if my blog were totally anonymous. It's just how I am. I did write a piece on an issue I had with a friend and I know for a fact he had read it. The only reason it appeared in my blog was because I had felt very strongly about the issue. In the end, it didn't hurt our friendship, and hopefully it brought a little more understanding between us.

Will said...

My blog was never in fact meant to be a record of my life...I modelled it much like Jay's...little essays about life, love and why Prada never holds sales. But of course, I'd like to write about my passions, and I have come to realise that people do get hurt about things you say, so in that sense, I have to be careful about what I write.

I find in this case, honesty really is the best policy. I am true in my blog as I am in real life, so there's rarely conflict. I'm a total blogwhore, so I urge everyone I know (who's gay!) to read my blog.

savante said...

Tough love is what I'm a fan of. I tend to shoot straight from the hip, and I'm pretty free with the things I say - and it can be hurtful sometimes. But there are lines that even I don't cross and I tend to speak a lil more freely online.

Always tend to see the blog as a journal of sorts - sort of private - and yet public at the same time.

Paul