Ever had a secret that you were dying to tell?
claudecf @ flickrYou know sometimes I wish people don’t tell me the things that they do because it then becomes something that I have to tell someone, and by extension – blog. In the recent past, unless the secret was truly sensitive or horrible, I didn’t think twice about writing it so long as I left the specifics out of it.
As my readership increases, so does the potential of offending someone because they know someone who knows someone who knows me. Now, it’s not just the stories of friends and family that I sometimes self-censor on, but I am also wary of writing about things that happened to friends of friends, people separated by two or three degrees of separations even. Oh, the things that I could write about if I didn’t give a shit about still having friends who’d willingly talk to me without worrying about me spilling their deepest and darkest secrets.
Being known for blogging is a double-edged sword. I want to be read because I like talking to an audience instead of an empty room. But that also means that I can’t write as freely as I could as before when only a small circle of family and friends knew the existence of this.
It’s frustrating at times when I know it makes for a good story, especially when I’m stuck for material. So it’s with a heavy heart to say that although I’ve been told and have overheard some fairly interesting things lately I can’t tell you any of them. So you’ll just have to make do with this: my mother made me a chicken-mayo sandwich for lunch today, using leftover Nando bits. It was very nice. Spank you very much. 
16 Responses to “Ever had a secret that you were dying to tell?”
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Damn! I thought you were going to spill the beans. I know what you mean. That’s what I call being a responsible blogger. Sometimes it sucks so much, I wanna go incognito and start another blog…
[...] = “34d024″; var mooter_wrapper_url=”"; var run_method = “onload”; var mooter_target = “0″; Ever had a secret that you were dying to tell? saved by 4 others Naruto0000000000000 bookmarked on 01/14/08 | [...]
tell lah … tell lah …
don’t like that lah….
we won’t tell anyone one ….
just between you and us ….
hehehehe
I totally know what you mean. What I do is I tell stories – similar yet unidentifiable stories to get it off my chest. For example… my post touchy was about a touchy woman, but it was not about the pimple, yet it was in a similar context. They never found out.
Your lunch sounds awesome.
And I do know what you mean – being relatively public about your blogging does have its bad side.
blur ting: hahah sorry to mislead with the title. I don’t want to go incognito though – “if you spoke and no one listen, did you make a sound?”
herman: yeah it’ll be between me, the ppl who comments, and the silent majority who lurks. Heheh.
rn: wow that’s truly metaphorical. I don’t have such skills. Hah!
alyndabear: yeah the lunch was fab! and yeah, even though I’ve learnt to moderate myself over time, ppl still automatically assume that I’d write it and would always precede conversations with “don’t blog this but …”
I totally agree.
When I first started blogging, it was a private thing where I could say whatever I wanted. This one is less private and I know my Dad reads it and my friends read it and my boyfriend knows where it is, so I have to censor more. I’d love to have a private blog where I can talk about anything and everything again … and who knows, maybe I’ll do it.
The blogosphere just LUUURVES gossip and scandal though
Although I don’t have a blog, I do know the feeling. Sometimes I get told gossip so juicy and am sworn to secrecy and it’s just SO hard not to tell someone! I must admit, I can be a bit of a gossip and have told things after hearing the words, ‘promise you won’t tell anyone.’
Although there are some things I draw the line at. For example, if someone at work tells me about a hook-up, I am likely to blab. But if the secret is something more disturbing for example a dark family secret, that’s not the kind of thing I would go telling everyone.
P.s. aren’t you lucky, your mum making you a sandwich from left=over Nando bits! Don’t take that for granted, I’ll tell you that much! Just hope you don’t get so used to it that you expect your future wife to do the same lol
‘because they know someone who knows someone who knows me.’
I know that.
Marcus eats leftover Nandos. You heard it here first!!!!
Katie: you’re right about the gossip and scandals – as long as it’s not us, we gleefully participate in it!
girlstar7: yeah some secrets aren’t ours to tell. And what do you mean my future wife won’t make sandwiches for me? That’s a pre-requisite! Hahah!
Dabido: yeah and don’t go spreading it around either.
Do auntie cook alot, my mom’s only once a week or every fortnight.
Lupin: yup I got it good – she cooks 5 times a week.
i get what you mean. as much as i enjoy blogging, i totally feel restricted at times. argh.
nadnut: it’s a safety mechanism though – prevents us from shooting ourselves in the foot.
[...] talked about self-censorship and keeping my mouth shut before. But it remains a tricky proposition. Some friends are ok with it, some friends are so-so [...]
[...] my blog a little less exciting and I have to think more about what people may think these days. It takes a lot of willpower to keep my fingers from the keyboard [...]