"Next Blog"

Have you ever clicked the "Next Blog" button in the top right-hand corner of Blogger blogs? You come up with the weirdest things.

Lots of people are pouring out their hearts annonymously. Broken hearts, yearning hearts, lustful hearts, angry hearts, cheatin' hearts, wild hearts, yeah, and some pretty inane hearts.

I've been thinking a lot about the nature of the internet. Blogs make it so everybody can have their say online. But now instead of little girls hiding the keys to their diaries, people are publishing their feelings for, literally, all the world to see. And in the anonymity there is much "safety." So they say things they would never think of saying to a person face-to-face. For that matter, they say things they would probably never say out loud about somebody, or at least face-to-face.

But there is much boldness in the dark.

It makes me think about my own "personality" online. To be honest, most people who read this are ones that I'd never have expected. Which teaches me a good lesson: don't post things online that you don't want someone to mention to you in broad daylight the next day (like your MOM). This isn't a bad thing; it makes me remember that the 'online' in 'online journal' is an important modifier. When I want to pour out my cheatin', lyin', breakin', all-around-sinnin' heart - especially if it's sinning against somebody specific - I shall do it in the little black journal that sits underneath my alarm clock with my black V5 Pilot precise pen. It takes a little bit more time than typing, but that's what it's there for. And it stays between me and the only One who perfectly forgives and sanctifies those problems!

Another lesson: I just read (quickly, albeit) a book called Habits of a High Tech Heart for ethics. It's a bit wordy, but a decent book nonetheless, and he has some excellent points about the way that technology has significantly cut down on how we build community. It's a reminder to me a) to use technology in a way that enhances community rather than mitigates the "need" for me to actually interact with people and b) to be myself online (in addition to not publishing slander online).

Initially when I started this blog, I was hesitant to reveal my 'identity.' Yeah, most of you know who I am anyway, so that doesn't matter. But I've been a victim of ID theft, so I'm reticent to put my personal info online more than necessary. At the same time, though, I realized that if I'm not me and not talking about things that matter to me in a real way, there is only a false sense of authenticity on this blog. So that's the point at which I started to refer to 'WTS' rather than 'my school,' and the like.

Yeah, I'm rambling. That's because it's 12:30 am and it's finals week!!!

Final (but not brief) thoughts: I recently watched an 'extra' to the Bridget Jones's Diary DVD. There's a section on it about dating advice (which is all terrible), and in particular they're talking about the advent of online relationships. The woman who created Sex and the City commented: "Now you can go on a date while sitting at home on the couch in your pajamas - it's a dream come true!" yeah, if you're married to someone and he is there with you! The people giving advice also had no qualms about giving wrong info: if you're 37 and weigh 160, OF COURSE you should say you're 27 and weigh 130! There's just so much wrong with that, I don't even know where to start. So I won't... buenas noches.