Getting Personal
Getting Personal. How much is too much.
Henneke Duistermaat wrote a great guest post on ProBlogger this week about 11 Reasons Your Blog in on a Road to Nowhere.
Talking Heads reference aside (if you aren't sure what I'm talking about, watch this YouTube video of the Talking Heads Road to Nowhere), what struck me about this article was Mistake 8: You're Hiding Yourself.
Duistermaat states a key point in unsuccessful blogs is being invisible.
The key to a successful blog is personalization.
But just how much information should you reveal? And how much personal detail?
After all, this is a blog about traveling well for less so the focus is on showing you how to travel well for less. And not all the personal minutiae of my life.
That stuff I put on my personal blog. Which of late has been sadly neglected.
And that's where my dilemna comes in. I find it hard to put myself out there.
Part of it could be because I'm shy. (I know my friend Paula will get a good laugh at this one. Despite my protests, she does not believe I have a shy bone in my body.)
The other part, I'm very guarded. Add a touch of paranoia or what I like to call, being extremely careful and some might say I've got the makings of a conspirator. Think Mel Gibson in the movie Conspiracy Theory, but not crazy, racist or anything like that.
At least I don't think I'm crazy...
I just have a hard time coughing up information. Not that I'm keeping things a secret, it's just how I am.
So how do I reconcile blogging and maintaining my privacy, yet being open for my readers?
Apparently I need to open up more and connect with readers in the same way other bloggers who put their lives out there are connecting. Maybe then I'll be like Lucky and get someone coming up to me and asking for the sweater off my back. Or have people following me around trying to catch me like Brian.
I've got to start laying it out there. Consider this post as the first step in doing so.
Oh, and my husband wants everyone to know he's not as fat as he appears in that photo. "That photo makes me look like a huge fat guy." But this was the most recent photo of the four of us, so it will have to do.
So what do you think? Have I exposed myself enough?
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You make me laugh.
Hi Paula,
I aim to please. 🙂 Looking forward to seeing you at tomorrow's lunch. 🙂
Very interesting post. I loved the article you reference...OMG, I have done most of those wrong things myself!
Which leads to a dilemma...Blogging is a hobby (more like mental stress relief) for me...And what I do for a living is really incompatible with this crowd:-) So, do I keep hiding...hmm, decisions, decisions...Life was so much simpler in preblog days:-)
Hi TravelBloggerBuzz,
LOL, I think the miles and points crowd would be ok with what you do for a "real job."
You could always stay incognito until a designated time like Deep Throat.
I understand your dilemma. There is such a range between people that put it all out there and those who change every person's name, location, etc. I try to go middle of the road - I am not putting my daughter's name out there, but my husband is fair game. 🙂
Hi Mile Bucket,
It's a hard call especially with kids.
Word to the wise, Deb - offering to expose more of yourself on the internet will attract a very different type of clientele. ; )
Hey Ian,
ROFL, especially if they're your readers. 🙂 wink