Hi Natural – Have you missed your calling? Should you be an actress? I do know what you mean though. Depending on what we write, a different “muse” may surface.

Hi Julie – Authenticity is important, isn’t it? But, can we care TOO much? I think that’s a sign of true compassion and empathy which is a good trait to have.

Hi Stephen – I know what you’re saying. Transparency is good, but like you said, we do need to draw a line in the sand and say, “no, this needs to be kept private”. I don’t think anyone would expect a blogger to reveal every detail of their life, just as we don’t expect our friends to, but we do expect each other to “walk their talk”.

Hi Catherine – That’s right. 1) there are some real nutters online, and 2) anyone who blogs consistently would have a hard time hiding behind their blog. It would be too easy for them to slip up, either in a post or in comments on other blogs.

Hi Diana – You’re welcome, and thank you for the inspiration.

I like your example, and what you say appears to be very common – “they just wanted friends, to feel liked, to not be lonely”, so they say what they think others want to hear. It’s sad they don’t feel comfortable being themselves and reveal they are lonely and are looking to make friends.

Hi Annie – Having read your blog, I guessed you are very much real. It shows in your writings.

I echo pretty much what Vered said – I could have written it myself, word for word. LOL

Anyway, I do use my real name but not the names of most people in my family like my husband and children, etc. I use aliases for them. And part of that is I’m rather reserved but more of it is because of my abusive ex-husband.

Aside from the aliases for my family, everything else is real and is exactly what you’d get in person.

~ Annie

Annie Anderson´s last blog post..Best present ever

I’ve met people who were different in person than they were online. My main experience with that was just prior to starting college, when Facebook was brand new. There were a couple people I exchanged IMs and emails with before the semester started who were so talkative, so full of positive energy and excitement. When I finally got to know the in person, they were sulky, moody, and complained about anything. This is another example of people using the internet to hide who they are; by acting/speaking the way they think people will like them. It wasn’t malicious or anything; they just wanted friends, to feel liked, to not be lonely. And it’s easier to say the right things online because you have more time to think about what you’re going to say than in conversation.

P.S. Thanks for the quote.

Diana Freedman´s last blog post..Snip URL is Better Than Tiny URL… By Far

That said, I am more careful of the folk who don’t use their real names and don’t blog frequently. I think that if you’re blogging every day, it would be difficult to hide the real you over a long period of time.