You’re right, blog doesn’t define who we are, although there are people who take it too seriously and cannot separate it from reality.

Hope you enjoy your summer holiday!

I’m both, so I use it for both benefits.

Many world-class bloggers, for instance, don’t accept comments, like Seth Godin, etc. They have reasons for that. And others prefer to have private blogs, which is OK too.

I used to blog as a way to give back to Indonesia (with my Indo blog), but later it turned out not as good as I had hoped for. I received threats from some groups due to my political perspectives on certain things, no matter how “soft” I try to convey my messages.

I am, after all, a professional writer, so I can’t be too “touchy feely” with analyses.

So, a blog is just a blog, which can be an extension of ourselves. But just take it like a notepad. A place to take notes and it doesn’t define who we are.

Much love,
Jen

@Windmill: I don’t know, maybe I’m fortunate to not having those sick people intruding my blog. One or two spammers but 99% are genuine, although a few of them say something nasty. Lucky I’m like Rima, I don’t really care about what people think about me because I know who I am.

@Mulia: no dear you don’t upset me. I was just wondering why it happened at the same time as others. It’s your blog and you could do whatever you want to. But again I try to understand your point of view, which probably quite unsuccessfully since I’m a banci tampil hehehehe….

@Jakartass: spot on. I’ve learned from the e-mail’s CC & BCC netiquette, and I’d certainly be more discreet with others’ email addressess. I know we have a special bond!

I originally started blogging to keep friends and family in touch with me and, I suppose, vice versa. If I’d wanted my thoughts to remain ‘within family’, then I would have really appreciated the possibility of keeping it private. I can also see this facility also being very useful in e-learning, e.g. a class writing assignment.

But I also wanted to hone my writing skills and seemingly I’ve succeeded as, thanks to my readership, I’m beginning to get paid for some of it. However, I can never work out why certain articles, usually those I’ve dashed off rather than those I’ve painstakingly produced, attract the most comments. But no matter; as several say here, we mostly write for ourselves.

The aspect I suspect pains you the most, Anita, is that we build up social networks through our blogrolls and comment facilities; suddenly being left out of a social circle can hurt. However, life moves on and, as you’ve said a couple of times, Anita, Certain Friendships Don’t Last Forever.

As for folk asking to be removed from the ‘mailing list’, I would also stress the need to use Bcc, rather than ‘To’ or ‘Cc’. Not only does this decrease the kbs, but, as has been said, there are security concerns, and not just the annoyance of being spammed. None of us need sneaky trojans worming their way into our systems.

Note that I haven’t asked to be removed from your list; just mail me with discretion as well as your usual TLC.

mba, if i make u upset with my closing down, kindly apologize. as i said in my last post, u are one of the person i have learned a lot from and i thank u.

i also said, i could have said something sounds real as a reason, because of this or that. but the truth is, i just feel like it. it’s just what my heart say and what i want to do.

many of decision i have made in life are based on no rational reason, instead, just because my heart says so. this thingie with blogging is the same; because my heart says so.

but i do understand if people, including u, wouldn’t understand me. i have tried to put my feet on ur shoes. but i must walk on life using my own shoes.

best,
Big M

BLogs have become so multi-faceted by theme, content and purpose but that’s what essentially has brought it to where it is now and who know where to next?

However, from the short experience that I have had with blogging, I could add that there are uncountable “sick” people out there who themselves have migrated from iRC, forums and Messengers to BLogs without shedding their despicable old habits.

One of this article commentators mentioned that it takes dedicated hours to maintain a BLog. I might add that it also takes a substantial amount of time to clean up a BLog that has been bashed by spammers, bashers and the nebulous anonymous up-to-no-good.

Hence, in light of the above, keeping it private does have a sanity of its own merit even though it works against the Blog owner and it reduces the overall site visitors.

@Therry: I’m a “banci tampil”, so will never think about having this blog restricted *wink.

Anita, I can’t imagine what it will be like if your blog is restricted – the reason why I become regular visitor is because the contents make me think and I learn so much from your experiences, it’s a shame not to share them to the world.

And also, it’s nice to know there are people out there who feel the same way like I do!