It's funny. I have several readers who know me. I mean KNOW me. Interact with me on a daily basis. Seen me naked or drunk. Or both...
A bunch of us had a night out recently, where we began talking about the whole blog thing (sheesh, now we sound like we need lives...)
Blogs are the perfect places to be someone you're not.
Hell, the web is a perfect place to be someone you're not.
I recently read back over what I have written here to see if I look any different here than I perceive myself in real life.
I've met many people in real life that I first met online. I'm even going to the US at the end of June to hook up with a few more (and "THANK YOU, SWEETIE!" to the kind Xangan who offered me a bed on my trip. Not this time, but next time!) Nearly every single one I have met in real life has been just as they are online.
There are a couple of exceptions, one of whom is quite open about the different personalities. But just about everyone has been the same.
A couple of years ago, an old high school friend did the great Aussie exodus. She deferred university for a year and backpacked through Europe. I wrote her regularly. When she got home, she said the nicest thing to me.
"When I read your letters, I could hear your voice. You wrote like you were talking to me."
In our night-out blog discussion, I was assured that reading this blog is like talking to me.
This is the way I talk. I even try to punctuate it and lay it out the way I speak. If I was really anal, I'd even put in [pauses] pauses for effect.
So, there you have it. I am me, here or in real life. What you read is what you get.
And no, I don't have a funny accent.
So, are you you online? Or are you something you wish you were? Or even something you would like to experiment with to see if you want to be?
[Insert snippet of me as Buffy the cheerleader in a blatant bid for more e-props!]
Loved the Image of buffy as a cheerleader *G*. Like you I seem to be just like myself on my blog as I am in real life.....only difference is that because of the World Wide Web, the people I have met online has greatly influenced my opinion of myself (improved it actually).
"So, are you you online?"
I think I'm very much 'me' online. And one of the reasons I like reading your posts are because they do seem so very conversational.
Marc (CalmSilence) is very much the same offline as he is on line. A little shyer at times, but I don't allow him to be. :-)
I believe that I am the same off line as I am on, except that I can type my words and feelings easier than I can say them at times. Like Elsa said, I think I am more intense in person, because I often radiate emotions.
i think it's a misnomer that people act differently online than in person.... because online, you can be whoever you want to be, and most people feel the need to just be themselves for a change, something that ordinary life keeps from them.
I so agree with grandpaboy. I am definitely different online than offline (though Ladymisstree might disagree becuase she knows me in both incarnations). Online I say what I really think, but in the real world words never come out of my mouth the way I intend them to and I usually end up coming off as pretty stupid or pretty dorky. Online I can be myself without fear of getting shot down (which, if anyone here has ever read my blog, you'll see happens to me fairly regularly!).
And I can definitely vouch that Ladymisstree is just as eloquent and wry offline as she is here! In fact, it's really bizarre "hearing" her voice coming from the 'puter!
That's funny. When I lived in Germany for four years, MY best friend said the said thing about MY letters (that I wrote exactly how I TALKED).
I am probably a little bit freer online. I am typically more reserved/shy in front of a group of people. However, with my fellow Xangans, I feel very comfortable and at ease. ;-)
I can't wait to read all about your USA trip! Photos, please!
The Duchess
I am mainly myself, except that in real life I tend to be a little "direct" with people at times. That basically means that I can be a big bitch if you've screwed me over before. I think xanga just helps me realize these things about myself when I have to go back and read what I wrote.
hi there! actually just got into the oriental dancing. well aside form attempting it since i was 3. been doing the mehndi for a long time. yeah, the smell i was talking about is from after the mehndi is taken off. the sunless tanner is all over my body, not just my hands or feet. mehndi-wise, i use really good henna, i only have to add water, but i do make my own mehndi oil. it is a beautiful thing. haven't had to polish my nails since i got into it!!! love that beautiful brown sheen on my nails. and the zils... BRAND NEW at. would love any advice!!! the 'belly dance ' too! nice to meet you!
i am every bit the same in real life as i am online...usually when i meet net friends their first response is..wow you're the same as you are online..how else is there to be?
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I am pretty much the same off-line, perhaps a little more intense. I agree that most people are themselves and this is one reason it is so dangerous when someone one is not.