Thoughts: On how people may react to their convesations being shared on blogs?
You have probably read blog posts full of conversations. Many bloggers post detailed conversations they had with their coworkers, while many others post detailed intimate conversations they have with their spouses. Many bloggers like sharing conversations, as it allows them to prove a point or show others something that they themselves find interesting. In real life, you can probably tell all your friends about the non-private conversations you have with others, but can you share those same conversations with others through your blog?
Is posting a conversation on your blog the same as telling it to someone in person?
While it may seem that posting non-private or non-sensitive conversations on your blog may be fine, posting your conversation with someone on your blog may not be the same as telling it face to face. Some people may have no issues with having their conversations posted online, while other people may think that you should not post their conversations online because then all sorts of online strangers, people that even you may not know, will know about some conversation and views about a person. A person may feel better knowing that their conversation is known by people they can find out or meet in person compared to knowing that their conversation is known by online people that they will probably never be able to meet.
I have myself posted some non-personal and non-sensitive conversations in the past on this site, like my favorite “An Off-topic introduction with an old man.” It makes me wonder about a lot of things today, like if the old man still lived in the same house, or if he would hunt me down if he came across this conversation online. Maybe it is a good thing that I moved away not only from his neighborhood but also from his city.
What is your view on this? Do you think people will react differently if they saw their conversations being shared via blogs in the online world compared to being shared in person the offline world?
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( May 15th, 2007 at 12:22 am )
I think that unless it’s done in a satirical and/or anonymous way, we shouldn’t share our sensitive conversations or correspondence with others online. Of course, people won’t like it. Would they react differently? This will depend on that person in question, the blog’s popularity and on certain circumstances.
( May 15th, 2007 at 12:01 pm )
Vivien-inspirationbit, thanks for the comment!
Good point: as long as it is done anonymously or in a way that hides the facts that can pinpoint an individual or an entity [like a service or a company], it should be all right, unless the specific purpose of a post is to show which company or person said what.
About a blog’s popularity, that is an interesting point you bring up: online, a blogger may feel happy if some prominent blogger posted their conversation online, but an offline person may not feel the same way. It may be because of offline people not caring much about prominent people online, whereas many bloggers online want to be like many of the online famous/prominent people. What do you think?
( May 15th, 2007 at 9:36 pm )
I agree with you: the values in the online and offline worlds are different. What bloggers consider being a sign of prestige is valuable only online and means nothing offline, and I guess the vice versa is true.
( May 16th, 2007 at 11:24 am )
Good point. Many values that are considered a sign of “prestige” or value online may have the opposite significance, or even no importance, and “vice versa.”
Many values that do not depend on the platform of communication or interaction [online and offline] probably stay the same, though other things like you pointed out change.