Heartattack
The article about people being fired for blogging that scared me half to death -
http://churchtechmatters.com/2006/07/19/youre-fired/
This type of thing was huge in my drop-off in online journaling the last few years. When I first started with LJ in 2002, I was very excited. But as I wrote more, there so much self-censorship that I got frustrated and went back to journaling the old-fashioned way rather than having to wonder and predict whether someone might be hurt or offended. Journaling has always been a therapeutic and cathartic thing for me, so naturally many entries could be filled with complaints or venting. Now that I've almost completely switched back to online journaling, and the censorship is more or less second nature, I don't get to purge myself of negative thoughts as consciously. Who knows what it's doing to me?
Strangely, I am both drawn to and repulsed by online journaling because of its public nature - my friends can read on their own time and at their own pace should they feel like seeing what I've been up to. There's the unique interaction of commenting back and forth. (I don't chat anymore because it's too much of a distraction.) I'm free to write what I'm thinking and feeling, but not too free. Maybe it'll work like backward therapy - since I can no longer complain or critize through journaling, formerly the main channel, I just won't be critical anymore.
One solution might be to start a blog somewhere under an alias and selectively tell people about it. But where's the fun in that? Even Anonymous Lawyer eventually wanted to be known for who he really was.
http://churchtechmatters.com/2006/07/19/youre-fired/
This type of thing was huge in my drop-off in online journaling the last few years. When I first started with LJ in 2002, I was very excited. But as I wrote more, there so much self-censorship that I got frustrated and went back to journaling the old-fashioned way rather than having to wonder and predict whether someone might be hurt or offended. Journaling has always been a therapeutic and cathartic thing for me, so naturally many entries could be filled with complaints or venting. Now that I've almost completely switched back to online journaling, and the censorship is more or less second nature, I don't get to purge myself of negative thoughts as consciously. Who knows what it's doing to me?
Strangely, I am both drawn to and repulsed by online journaling because of its public nature - my friends can read on their own time and at their own pace should they feel like seeing what I've been up to. There's the unique interaction of commenting back and forth. (I don't chat anymore because it's too much of a distraction.) I'm free to write what I'm thinking and feeling, but not too free. Maybe it'll work like backward therapy - since I can no longer complain or critize through journaling, formerly the main channel, I just won't be critical anymore.
One solution might be to start a blog somewhere under an alias and selectively tell people about it. But where's the fun in that? Even Anonymous Lawyer eventually wanted to be known for who he really was.