Who In The World Is Westbankmama?
Right before my one year blogiversary, I went through all of my postings in order to add a few that I really liked to my sidebar. I discovered in this overview, that all in all, there were maybe one or two posts that I would regret signing my real name to, (and I'm not telling which ones...) but that all of the others were fine.
I started to think seriously about "going public" (an egotistical statement, I know, given the fact that I have a limited number of readers). I hesitated, though, because I wanted to go through the JIBs this year (if they will really happen) annonymously. I wanted to get whatever few votes I received just by my writing alone, and not because my friends voted for me.
I still want to wait, but in the meantime I have been tentatively offered to have a post of mine (with some rewriting and additions) published on another website. I would need to use my real name there.
So now it is a matter of which comes first - the reprint, or the JIBs.
In any case, I started annonymously because I wanted to feel completely comfortable writing. I found, though, that my natural reticence to reveal very personal things about myself and my family won out, even in an annoymous blog. So there is no need to be annoymous any longer.
Stay tuned....
7 Comments:
Go for it. It is liberating to be able to blog with your name. There are some things you can't write though because you know you will be insulting a family member or friend. So I have solved that by starting a second or more) blog that stays anonymous..... on the anonymous one I only write infrequently but when I do it is issues I cannto write about with my name...
Whatever works for you.
But I wouldn't hold out much hope re any semblance of order/actual representative voting within the JIBs this year, if last year was anything to go by- especially if you bear in mind how many zillions of new blogs there are now. They don't actually mean anything in terms of how popular you are or how good your blog is.
(And for the record- I got one last year and so that wasn't written from a point of bitterness)
There are definitely advantages to *not* being anonymous, some of which I can't say, ironically. But there's a clear freedom and comfort level when you're not anon - no worrying about something you wrote, about people discovering who you are, etc.
You did have a spurt where you wrote some (vague) personal stuff - it's always good to look through that before giving up your anonymity. Sometimes, it's the small things that come back to bite you.
I am semi-anonymous--anyone who knows me will recognize me pretty quickly. Also, I have told a bunch of my friends. But I'm not at the point where I would want someone searching for my name to find my blog because I'm shy and thin-skinned. I still try to avoid writing anything that I wouldn't want to put my name to.
Wow- your real name! I am waiting with baited breath! Seriously, though, I have never had one ounce of trouble from not being anonymous- and I have posted some very personal things. I really don't know what the hoo-haw is all about anyway. That's what blogs are for- connecting with others! Looking forward to what's next!
Aaww shucks, real name or not... you will always be westbankmama! :D
rafi - yes, I thought that if I needed to be anonymous again I could start another blog
tafka - yes, I realize that the blogs that win the JIBs are not always the best written - sometimes they just are popular for other reasons
ezzie - there actually have been a number of good posts that I didn't write because I didn't want to give away where I live. And the few bits of personal stuff that I referred to in the past, well, the people on my yishuv know all about those things anyway...
mother-in-israel - yes, you are right, I better grow a thicker skin pretty soon!
regina - yes, connecting to others is a wonderful part of blogging
baleboosteh - you're right!
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