# Who here keeps a blog? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 10, 2006, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-keeps-a-blog/352063 "2006-04-10T12:50:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-keeps-a-blog/352063/1 "2006-04-10T12:50:22Z")
I don’t. I’ve often wondered if I would enjoy doing so, because there are so many ways that you can utilise it. But truth be told, I’m lousy at keeping up things like that regularly, and so it would just die a rapid and dismal death anyway. Not ten years ago, people still kept diaries and expected them to be private, and for anyone else to trespass on their most private thoughts was an unthinkably abhorrent act. But now, it seems to be the complete opposite, and even the most private imaginings are gleefully shared around the world. Like admitting to voyeurism, or to masturbating over porn, these once very private personal things are now openly admitted to everyone. What an amazing thing the internet has wrought. Are you a once-private-now-public blog keeper? ---
**Author:** ![THespos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@THespos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/THespos)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-keeps-a-blog/352063/2 "2006-04-10T13:32:03Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Are you a once-private-now-public blog keeper? I had a blogger account when they first got started so that I’d be able to have web access to a daily journal I was going to keep for the summer. In fact, the blog was never made public - I password-protected the directory it was in. I kept the diary for the summer, downloaded the posts to one of my machines and then deleted it from blogger. At some point thereafter, though, I found I enjoyed blogging and installed [Movable Type](http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/) on my web server. My blog is mainly a writing exercise for me (to keep me used to writing something daily), but it does get a significant amount of traffic from folks in my business. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-keeps-a-blog/352063/3 "2006-04-10T15:14:43Z")
I do, but I don’t post anything that is truly private. Basically, I won’t post anything that I wouldn’t want my boyfriend, employer, parents, etc. to read. It’s basically a way to keep friends and family up to date on general aspects of my life. But honestly I am really bad about keeping it up, I don’t post too often. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-keeps-a-blog/352063/4 "2006-04-10T15:28:28Z")
I do, but it’s a garden blog that’s really a replacement for a garden journal - I just wanted somewhere to post pictures of my plants so I know what not to dig up and so I can look back and know what I did when. A few people actually read it, believe it or not. I haven’t been dong so well at keeping up with it, which is going to come back and bite me next year when I want to know when I planted my tomatoes. ---
**Author:** ![MissMossie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@MissMossie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissMossie)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-keeps-a-blog/352063/5 "2006-04-10T16:28:34Z")
I keep one. It’s not a lot of personal stuff, more like my own little MPSIMS. Occasionally, I’ll have more personal entries and I’ll make them either private or friends only. Like **nyctea** , it’s mostly a way to keep friends up to date on my day to day life. I have several friends who live out of the country, so our blogs are the main way we keep in contact about the stoopid (yes, stoopid with two o’s) things we do to amuse ourselves. ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-keeps-a-blog/352063/6 "2006-04-10T16:40:11Z")
I don’t - who’d want to read about my boring life? \*Saturday - I did laundry today - three loads. I ran out of quarters so I had to run to the bank in my ‘laundry day clothes’ which were really old and mismatched… Sunday - My bird is really loud today, it must be the weather… Monday - I finally did my taxes today. I’m getting money back woohoo!\* Does this sound like something you’d want to read every day? I have a journal via MS Word that I never plan on sharing with anyone. My life and thoughts are too common to interest anyone. I consider this board to be a journal of sorts. There are a lot of exceptional questions that require personal answers. Many times, I’ve copied a question too personal for me to answer on the board into my journal and written page after page of response. ---
**Author:** ![Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stark_Raven_Mad)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-keeps-a-blog/352063/7 "2006-04-10T16:48:25Z")
I keep a blog. My entries are intensely personal, but completely anonymous. I see it as a sort of public confessional - sort of like that website with the postcards, but wholly mine, without shame or pretension. I’ve still got a bit of that teenage angst and vitriol left in me, and I might as well channel it into something constructive. I’d be interested to hear **DocCathode** speak a bit on this. I came across his blog one day a couple of years ago (somehow) and have been a devoted reader since. He’s done some wonderful, and very surreal writing. ---
**Author:** ![Cowgirl\_Jules](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@Cowgirl\_Jules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowgirl_Jules)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-keeps-a-blog/352063/8 "2006-04-10T16:55:30Z")
All through my life, I tried repeatedly to keep a paper journal. I’ve always had sort of an internal narrative monologue going on, but I never really saw the point of writing it down for long. Until I discovered online journals, that is (before they were called blogs.) I read many for quite a few years before I decided that if I was willing to read some stranger’s mundanities, maybe they’d be willing to read mine. After all, as someone behind the scenes in rodeo, I had a fairly different point of view than the average housewife and crazy cat lady that I was reading. And I thought it might be a good way to keep in touch with my sister, who had recently moved out of state. So I started writing too, and discovered that it’s entirely different when you’re writing for an audience. It’s been very good for me to focus my thoughts and sharpen my writing skills. Even though my sister doesn’t read after all and I’m no longer part of a rodeo family, I still write. I wouldn’t really care if nobody read it, but it’s very satisfying and interesting to receive feedback. It’s a very personal site; I don’t get into world events or politics at all. Some people that I know (including my mom, which I have mixed emotions about) read me, and I do find that a little limiting, but it also keeps me from posting things that are _too_ personal. After all, I wouldn’t want to publish on the internet things that I wouldn’t be comfortable with my mom seeing. The one reservation I have about it is that I would be uncomfortable with men I’m seeing finding me by accident. Cowboy knew about it but wasn’t internet-savvy enough to find it, although he would have been the one man I’d have allowed to read it. The guy I’m currently seeing knows it exists but I’ve asked him to not google me. I’d rather he not be quite so far into my head just yet, if ever. ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-keeps-a-blog/352063/9 "2006-04-10T18:18:38Z")
I received an email from an author I like a few minutes ago: > [@Barry Eisler](#): > > Well, it’s finally happened: I’ve succumbed to the blog bug. If you’re interested in politics, language, and what’s going on in the world, as I am, I hope you’ll enjoy reading and participating in discussions on my new blog, The Heart of the Matter. The first post, “France in Denial,” about French labor laws and street protests (some of which I saw there last week while I was promoting the Rain books) is up on HOTM now; you can find it at: Does anyone else find it odd that a very successful author feels the need to start a blog? He writes fiction, but still… ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-keeps-a-blog/352063/10 "2006-04-10T19:34:14Z")
My blog, which I update rather irregularly, mostly consists of whatever random stuff I’ve done or encountered recently. I never post anything I don’t want other people to read. If I did post anything private, those entries would be flagged as “Private”. Y’all are welcome to read it: [http://terminusest.livejournal.com](http://terminusest.livejournal.com) ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-keeps-a-blog/352063/11 "2006-04-10T19:46:04Z")
I do, though I used to post to it a lot more. This year I’ve barely posted to it at all. Before I posted any interesting articles or things I found on the internet, but this year, I mostly don’t care. Though only 3 people ever read it anyway, so it’s not like it matters. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-keeps-a-blog/352063/12 "2006-04-10T19:56:29Z")
A lot of what goes on my blog is amusing links/jokes/interesting articles/memes/anything I want to comment on. I post as a way to keep people I know up to date about me and just to share what interests me. I do have a paper journal but I’ve never been good about keeping it. My most intense personal stuff goes there though, when I do think about writing it out. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-keeps-a-blog/352063/13 "2006-04-10T20:08:41Z")
I tried the paper diary thing as a kid. Never worked. I think one of the reason I still update my LJ after two years is BECAUSE it’s public–I love attention, and getting replies to my entries give me that. Now, if there’s something I don’t want someone who does read my journal to see, I don’t post it (or at the very least, make it friends only) but that rarely happens. I do find sometimes writing things out can help me sort out my own thoughts, and the feedback is helpful at times in those situations. I also use LJ as a way to keep in touch with friends. I have a few people on my friend’s list who’s entries I often skip, but in general it’s nice to see into their lives and/or thought processes, depending on the style of journal they keep. ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-keeps-a-blog/352063/14 "2006-04-10T21:47:03Z")
I do. I mainly use it to keep my friends updated with what’s going on my life. I’m about a 4 hour drive from home and I rarely chat via IM any more. They’re interested in what’s going on about school and life, when I’m coming home, etc. so I’ll keep them informed. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2006, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-keeps-a-blog/352063/15 "2006-04-10T23:01:53Z")
> [@Stark Raven Mad](#): > > I’d be interested to hear **DocCathode** speak a bit on this. I came across his blog one day a couple of years ago (somehow) and have been a devoted reader since. He’s done some wonderful, and very surreal writing. Thank you. But, why is it I only hear these things in other venues and almost never receive comments? Back To The OP My blog is[The Big Book Of Things Man Was Not Meant To Know](http://doc-cathode.livejournal.com/). More and more friends had livejournals, and the only way to read their friends-only entries was to get a livejournal of my own. I didn’t want to use private entries. I wanted something that anybody could read. But, I didn’t want my private life out in the open. So, I decided to cover everything in metaphor, use people’s nicknames to disguise them, and use slang known only to my friends. Friends can see past the odd camouflage and know what I’m really talking about. Every one else just gets a strange story. I try to avoid posting the plain truth unmixed with fiction, and to avoid posting pure fiction. The next entry will be on how I ran out of Temporil (one of the medications provided by the government to keep me from becoming totally unstuck in time) this weekend. ---
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-keeps-a-blog/352063/16 "2006-04-11T02:29:08Z")
I have a new blog, but it specializes on a certain subject related to my Disney fansite. ---
**Author:** ![drewbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drewbert/32/15890_2.png) [@drewbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewbert)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-keeps-a-blog/352063/17 "2006-04-11T03:51:57Z")
I do, but it’s pretty random stuff. The occasional thing that strikes me as funny or interesting, plus a few poorly thought out, lame political rants. Literally two, maybe three people actually look at it. Link’s in my profile, for the truly bored… ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-keeps-a-blog/352063/18 "2006-04-11T14:29:52Z")
I have a blog, but it’s pretty boring. It’s mostly a way for friends to keep updated about my life. It’s largely MPSIMings, cooking, and chat about books. Apparently my husband’s blog gets a reasonable amount of attention, because it’s mostly about a variety of martial arts. I like doing it. I don’t put really personal things in it, but it’s fun to maunder. ---
**Author:** ![OldBroad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ed655f/32.png) [@OldBroad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldBroad)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-keeps-a-blog/352063/19 "2006-04-11T18:01:55Z")
Yes, but it isn’t a personal blog - it is our boat blog. It’s purpose is to let family 7 friends keep up with our preparations and eventual journeys. It’s at [Sea Fox Logs](http://www.svseafox.com/blog/index.php) ---
**Author:** ![Tamryne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3e96dc/32.png) [@Tamryne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamryne)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2006, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-keeps-a-blog/352063/20 "2006-04-11T18:38:44Z")
I’ve had a blog for almost two years now. At first it was because everyone else had one, but since I graduated high school its a way to keep in touch with old friends, and keep updated on their lives. I also use it to help remind me of projects/papers I need to do. I used to have a blog to keep track of what books I had read and which I hadn’t, but since college started I don’t have time to read anymore. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-keeps-a-blog/352063.md?page=2)