I saw something on another blog, one that I follow, this evening, which has given me pause for thought. The blogger mentioned me in a reply to a comment from someone else, as an example of the point he was illustrating. What he said was in no way offensive or intrusive, and was only based on things that I have put into the public domain myself, via my own blog, but it was unexpected, and, probably for that reason, somewhat disquieting, in the sense that once you launch a piece of your life out into cyberspace, it's there irrevocably, in some form or other. Even if I were to delete my blog in five minutes time, it would still be available to some through Google Reader, or perhaps Wayback Machine, if anyone was interested enough to look for it, and it would still exist as zeroes and ones on my hard drive, until it chanced to be overwritten by something else. Some people strive for immortality, but, when you think about it, it's very much a double edged sword.
Chapter 2 of my new story seems to be expanding exponentially - it's already substantially longer than Chapter 1, and still has some distance to go to reach its conclusion. If it sprawls much more, I might need to find some way of splitting it into two, although I can't see a sensible way to do that at the moment, or else prune it ruthlessly. I suppose it's better to have too much material than too little, because it's more likely to be beneficial to the final product to edit than to pad out.
Love & best wishes to all
Sammy B
So true, so true. We live in immortality!
ReplyDeletePeace <3
Jay
Hello Jay
ReplyDeleteIn some ways, it's appealing to think that something, hopefully something good and worthwhile, you've done might be remembered after you've gone, but, on the other hand, there are benefits to anonymity, being able to live your life relatively undisturbed. Who knows which is best?
Love & best wishes
Sammy B
I've tried a couple of times to recover a deleted blog via the Wayback machine, with no luck. I've lost count of how many times a blogger has had second thoughts about a post and deleted it. Of course my immediate reaction is to open it in google reader. I do feel a little guilty, but they are often fantastic posts.
ReplyDeleteI think I've said before, I keep my blog a little more anodyne than I would like because of its permanence and the risk of discovery. That's another reason I prefer commenting, just that bit less visible.
Hello Billy
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about staying away from controversy - I've chosen not to, but I know I'm running a risk in blogging the way I do about the subjects I post about. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I suppose, and I have benefited from the feedback I've been lucky enough to receive, although thinking about some of the negative consequences that could result if my real life ID was linked to this blog does give me a few jittery moments, every now and then.
Love & best wishes
Sammy B