Knitbloggers Anonymous?

I had a realization on Saturday night. I was sitting and talking to my mom, and the subject of knitters and NY Sheep & Wool (Rhinebeck) came up. My mom was with me last year when I walked up and introduced myself to Stephanie. At the time my mom didn't know what a blog was; her repeated question was, "But why would anyone do that?" Meaning, write about their life for anyone and everyone to read about it.

During the conversation with my mom on Saturday, my revelation was this: my mom's house is where I stay when I go to Rhinebeck. She enjoys the festival and comes with me every year. There is not going to be any way at all to explain to her how I know so many people this year without telling her that ....... drumroll......

I have a blog now too.

That's right Virginia, my mom doesn't known I blog. Of my family, only the people I live with and my sister know about my blogging. I also haven't mentioned it to any LYS people. And none of them have mentioned it to me. So far as I know, I blog anonymously. Um.... I mean, in my real life, no one knows I blog. That is, I keep my blogging private. Except to all of you. Who are here. Reading my ..... public blog.

Yes, its all very silly. But I got to wondering how many other people keep their blogging in a compartment of their lives. Do people in your everyday life know that you blog?

For fun, I set up a survey to find out the answers to my questions. If you're a blogger, take the survey and let me know how private your blogging life is. The survey is anonymous, and I'll share the gathered information at a later date. [Note: Because I haven't paid SurveyMonkey for a premium subscription, the survey will cut off after 100 replies.]

Click here to take the first official Too Much Wool knitblogger's survey

Let me be clear about something. I'm not really talking about hiding your blogging. I'm just curious how many people are private about their blog-lives. I've found the public/private aspect of a blog or online journal - as many people use their knitblogs - to be an interesting dichotomy since I first discovered them.

There isn't a lot of room for comments on the survey form, and the questions are pretty basic, so feel free to leave additional comments here.

Ok, I admit it. That was shameless comment-whoring.

Also, today is the 4th anniversary of the day when I quit smoking. Not a day goes by when I don't want to smoke, but I am also thankful on a daily basis that I can breathe. Go wish Vicki good luck in her goal of quitting smoking.

Comments

[Janet]

Congratulations on quitting smoking. That must be one of the hardest things in life to ever accomplish. I don't have a blog. I just enjoy reading others (your is the first one I read in the morning w/ my coffee). If I were to start a blog I think I would keep it to myself as long as possible. It would be my own private escape.

[Colleen]

Congratulations on being smoke free for four years! I'm off to take that survey....

[Norma]

I find most people completely UNINTERESTED. I'm not secretive about having a blog, just a tad guarded about work and small-town acquaintances. But I've found the family members and acquaintances I've told either seem completely clueless and uninterested in what a blog is, or they show a quick interest, saying, "Wow, that's SO COOL," and I make the assumption that they are going to follow it like a soap opera EVERY FREAKING DAY, then I later find out that they NEVER look at it. I just don't think a lot of people 'get' the genre. So much for my ego.

[Julie]

Good for you - 4 years. I quit nearly 20 years ago and still miss it - not every day, but in certain situations.

My daughter blogs but she doesn't write too much. Her last entry was in January.

[Jan]

Congratulations on the smoking. I never, ever have taken as much as one puff because after watching my Dad try to stop (which he eventually did) after years of a 3-pack-a-day habit, I knew I'd probably not be able to quit if I started.

Re: the blog questionnaire, you know where I am...the same place as you! I do wish I could be more anonymous because it would allow me to write with more abandon but since my daughter blogs and the whole family reads hers to keep up with her life in a foreign country, I know they will eventually come across mine.

This may be silly though because, like Norma's experience, I'm probably exaggerating anyone's actual interest. Anxious to read your comments today.

[margene]

Neena is my only family member who knows about the blog. Others have been told I have a 'website' but no one asked the address.
My needlework friends know I have a 'knitting blog' and are, it seems uninterested as they haven't asked to see it. A few of my close friends are interested and my best friend (not a knitter) said she has learned a lot about me from reading my blog. It is interesting to me that some people don't really care and some want to read everyday.
Great idea Cassie and I'll take the survey from work later.
Your Swan sister....

[Jo in Ottawa]

I don't blog (though mamacate is after me to start) but I read a few every day. One that I looked at (this blogger keeps 2 -- one fibre related, one personal) had instructions to her family in the 'about me' section that basically asked family members to let her know if they were reading her blog. That's an interesting twist on the 'more free' aspect of the writing.

I admit that I used to be like your mom -- wondering why people would do this. But as I read more of them, I am coming around to the idea that blogging might be interesting. A friend of mine (who blogs, natch) talks about the important thing in life being the conversations you are involved in. He applies that to the kind of work he does and everything.

so (hoping mamacate isn't reading this), I am beginning to see that there are some conversations in the knit-blogging world that I might want to be more involved in than I can through commenting.

Seriously considering trying Rhinebeck this year. Must get driver's licence first and find somewhere to stay (and maybe someone to travel down with so I know at least one person in person).

[Emma.]

I only miss smoking if I'm in the pub,drink in hand ! Luckily [or not] a rare occurance these days.
I'm very selective about who I tell about my blog.My knitting friends and husband [I don't like him to read it !] are about it.Most people don't 'get' knitting,never mind writing about it.
I really enjoy being part of this community and have developed some surprisingly strong friendships with people I've yet to meet.Amazing really.

[Mary Beth]

Hooray for your smoke free lungs! And the rest of you. Fun survey. I find most people just don't "get it" - that's why I don't really talk about it.

[Vicki]

Thanks for the good wishes and encouragement, Cassie. Oh, it helps!!

My immediate family and one or two sisters know about my blogging. One sister doesn't have a computer, the other looks at my blog very rarely (but then she'll spend some time catching up); only one member of immediate family checks regularly (and sometimes even leaves a comment!). Most don't know what a blog is and I doubt that they'd understand. I find it more and more difficult, having never met a blogger but having read and "known" some for over a year, to not talk about them in my daily conversation. I'm always saying things like, "I read somewhere..." or "Someone said..." As far as I know I'm anonymous in my community; it's very weird to think I might not be.

[Beth S.]

I don't blog, for two main reasons: 1) I don't finish nearly enough projects to keep it interesting, and 2) its care and feeding would mean even less time in my day to knit. But I *am* thinking about setting up a little archive page for the items I do finish. A non-blog, as it were...

I admire all of you knitbloggers enormously. You help me get through the long dark workday with my sanity intact. Reading the blogs is almost as good as actually knitting at work--which I get away with only rarely. ;-)

[Janice in GA]

I don't keep my blog secret. However, I don't print my URL on cards and hand it out to folks I know either. I tell my family about it, but I don't think they visit it much. (The blog's mostly about knitting things, and since nobody else in my family knits, they tend to ignore it.) I put a link in the sig of my emails, so anybody can click on it from there and check it out.

I have to confess I don't quite understand why folks think that anything they put on the internet can be kept "private." Unless you're behind firewalls and password-protected sites, you should assume your stuff could be read by *anyone* with access to the internet. I blog with that in mind. I'm generally nice and non-controversial in my blog. But then, I'm generally nice and non-controversial in the rest of my life and my dealings with others. Other folks approach blogging differently, and that's fine too.

Blogging has helped keep me on track with my knitting. Reading other peoples' blog has inspired me to try new things. It's all good, as far as I'm concerned!

But then, I'm cheerful and non-controversial. :-)

[Judy]

I don't tell just everyone about my blog, because (a) I don't think most people would care one way or the other, and (b) This way I can say what I think. I have told a few real-life people about it, and I think a couple of them keep up with it, but no one ever leaves comments! WAAAAH!! (Talk about your shameless comment-whoring!)

[Larry]

I blog almost every day. Sometimes it's difficult to find something to write about though. An number of customers at my LYS where I teach know about my blog. Just yesterday someone asked for my URL. I don't write about things that I think anyone would be seriously offended by and I rarely name names. I'm made some terrific friends via my blog. And it's fun to be recognized once in a while as someone who blogs. My non-knitting friends know about my blog but mostly don't read it. My daughter reads it and some of my knitting friends. It's always a nice surprise when I see my blog listed on someone else's list of blogs.

[Cara]

Congratulations on your anniversary! Way to go Cassie!

My life is an open book, as I'm sure you know from conversations. I don't hold back anywhere in my life, so blogging is no different.

I was really interested in your LYS questions. It was really kind of cool up in Boston to introduce myself AS MY BLOG! Kind of like an alternate personality. If I had a real LYS that I frequented all the time, I would expect they treat me the same as anyone else, with respect and courtesy. Of course, if they didn't, I'd be telling the world about it! ;-)

I'd also tell the world if they did.
Thanks for the post.

[erin]

A sure fire way to know that I have had my limit in a bar: a) I'm speaking with an appilacian/Ozark drawl (I know quite an interesting combination I assure you) b) I have a cigarette in hand. Other than that, The smell makes me sick, as does watching the effects of a life of smoking take their toll on my loved ones.

[Alda]

What a fascinating question to throw out to Blogland! All the people close to me know I blog and my mother reads daily (she lives in another country) but when I'm speaking to clients (I'm a freelancer) I don't tend to mention it or include my URL in my email signature. Unless I've judged them worthy of knowing ;)

However, I do censor myself somewhat. I don't write about things *really* close to my heart. But then I wonder what blogger does?

Congratulations on being smoke-free for so long! Quitting is one of the hardest things I've ever done, but I've now been completely smoke-free for a grand total of 16 years! (After smoking a pack a day for about 10)

[Liz]

I've just gotten on the blogging bandwagon, and I made the mistake of telling my sister about it very early on. She, in turn, told my parents. The next time I spoke with them, my mom said, "What do YOU have a website for?". Now that they know what it is, they aren't interested at all. I think they were hoping that I was starting up some kind of money-making operation. Oh well.

Congrats on being smoke free for four years. :)

[Jenn]

Congrats on the 4 years! That is awesome. I don't tell people about my blog....partly because I just found out about them myself, and I think most people don't know that they are out there.

I don't tell my Mom because she works in her LYS, has never heard of them, and is almost 70....she isn't really into the computer thing!

[Lauren]

I haven't "outed" myself to my parents because I don't feel like having them check it daily, which I KNOW they would.

[Patti]

I keep a private journal for my angsty stuff. I have a couple people I share it with, but not the general public, for god's sake! lol

Yay for stopping smoking! It's a hard thing. The thing I never figured out was that I needed a different comfort thing.

[terri]

My mother-in-law checks my blog, and I find it uncomfortable. So I don't really dish or spill my guts as much as I might if it were total anonymity. Sometimes I write the best stuff on other peoples blogs because the great unknown masses can see but I don't care about them because they don't know me. RE: bloggers meeting bloggers. I was approached by a gal who came to an event I was blogging about going to. (English verb tenses??? It's my native language and sometimes I still find it difficult.) Totally freaked me out. The next time it happened was a a LYS where a gal asked me if I had a blog and recognized the sweater I was wearing from it. I handled that one much better. It's very strange going from anonymity to face-to-face.

[Estelle*]

Belated congrats...may I follow in your footsteps (damn, I want a cigarette!)