Having spent the morning indulging myself in reading a bunch of blogs on the web I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed. I can’t really keep up, and the distance and the gap to where I am is immense. I’ve mostly been reading back through the archives of people who have been blogging for years. It’s been a really valuable exercise in better understanding the lines of thought behind what those people are writing about at the moment.
I also feel pretty dumb by comparison now.
However, it’s given me real pause for thought in terms of where I want to go with my own foray into blog-land. It wasn’t really ever a consideration to do anything but host my blog myself. I wanted the freedom to do whatever with this space, but I am still working that out. My professional identity is multi-faceted – between paid employment and volunteering work – and how much of my personal life I want to be able to share remains unclear. What I am weighing up most heavily is the implications of putting anything I write into a public space. Reading back over some other blogs there’s a really rich and varied tapestry of topics, thoughts and opinions there, but there’s also strong evidence of privilege. I can’t imagine being able to write so openly on such a wide range of topics. Don’t get me wrong, I know I have privilege of my own – first world problems and all that – but it’s still hard. Imposter syndrome is a thing. Being a woman in IT is a thing. Considering how other people in my story would feel if I wrote about them is a thing. Fundamentally I believe that anything I put out there publicly moves beyond my control immediately and even if I curate my archive over time, become a serial deleter even, it’s too late. Calculating the potential future weight of my words is a bit exhausting.
With that in mind, I’m going to try catch 2 shows in the Cabaret of Dangerous Ideas series (part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe). Both by colleagues of mine. See what I mean about an overwhelming abundance of smart people out there. Hopefully I’ll have some more insight.
* Alternative facts: is the truth in the archive? (Rachel Hosker)
I totally recognise that. I’ve found and lost my blogging voice several times. Currently mute. Have gone all out personal confessional sometimes https://fragmentsofamber.wordpress.com/2010/01/24/things-i-wish-someone-had-told-me-when-i-had-my-first-baby-although-perhaps-they-did-and-i-didnt-lis-1/ and more recently https://fragmentsofamber.wordpress.com/2016/01/02/2016-40/ . Did I oversharr? Probably. Yes. But I don’t regret it.
I really like your blogging style. In your recent NGDLE one you said “Maintenance is a Thing”, I said to Kerry Pinny, (there’s a blogger on fire!) that makes me want to write a post on that phrase, spot on.
Yes, having a platform is a privilege, but there’s no finite blogspace, you’re not shouting over anyone else, you’re just doing your thing and reading it is optional. Don’t stop!
Hi Amber – thanks so much for taking the time to leave me a little encouragement – I enjoyed reading your posts and will totally be checking out your stubby thumbs next time we meet (and ever thereafter)!
One question if I may? I think you have 2 blogs and from what I can see have a little clear water between professional and personal (though it’s never that black and white). Does that help? That’s part of my dilemma – how much to mash up together here.
Also – if you want to tag-team something on “Maintenance is a thing” I’ve got a lot more to say on that subject. Show me what you’ve got and I’ll respond!
Thanks again – I shall keep plugging away.
I’ve changed my approach over the years. Started with a typepad blog with nothing
about work. Then at jisc I started writing quite a bit on the team blog. Switched from typepad to wordpress then leaked over work related things to personal blog there (“fragments”). All mixed up. Then started at Warwick University and wasn’t sure about boundaries. So started “Amberatwarwick” which is tightly related to my job, but it still leaks to “fragments”. So I don’t know the answer either!!!