Serendip is an independent site partnering with faculty at multiple colleges and universities around the world. Happy exploring!

Revisiting an Issue

jrlewis's picture

An important theme in our course discussions is the relationship between authorship and identity.  We have talked about how the internet allows a sense of anonymity for the author.  However, there are many examples of the "outing" an online personna by connecting an blog author to biographical details about a life.  There is a secondary sort of "outing" connecting a blogger's description of a character to an actual person.  A LiveJournal rant about an ex-girlfriend created an enormous amount of drama in my group of friends when they realized her identity.  Our class questioned a previous visitor about her decision to include someone in her travel blog and post pictures without informing the woman.  So I guess I'm raising these questions again...

I recognize the name of Geeky Mom blog and the way she references her family as a gesture towards anonymity.  However, Geeky Mom’s name can be found by perusing several of the links she includes in her blog entries.  What I find intriguing is this partial anonymity and the personal nature of her blog.  She describes not only herself, but, her immediate family: Geeky Dad, Geeky Girl, and Geeky Boy.  So I wonder how these geeky relative feel about being portrayed in a blog.  Are they happy about it?  Is this blog a high-tech cousin of the family scrapbook?  Are they concerned about their privacy?  Do they read, discuss, and suggest input to the blog?  How much is the blog a representation of Geeky family as opposed to Geeky Mom? 

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
To prevent automated spam submissions leave this field empty.
5 + 0 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.