Blogging 101 for the real people

I superimposed my own abs onto that girl

There are some people I know IRL (see that? I already dropped a ‘blogging’ word) who know that I blog. There are some that don’t. And there are some who I actually have no idea about. Part of me prefers not to know, I like the freedom. But another part of me realises that I should have the freedom either way, regardless of who reads [enter something clever about quality over quantity in friendships!]

Previously I felt very Clark Kent. But here’s where my two worlds join. Here’s where I’m addressing all the comments I get about my blog. Here’s my blogging 101 for all my IRL acquaintances!

1. Firstly, IRL translates to ‘in real life’. It took me ages to work that out! And I have never used it in a sentence before this post. So does that mean that the people I know online are just fake people? Online life is my fake life? Personally I think it is a bizarre term. But I see it used often. So here’s a shout out to my IRL peeps!

2. My online friends aren’t creepy. Generally. If I mention a friend and you ask how I know them and I say on twitter or through emails or through our blogs… There really is no need to screw your face up. Whilst it sounds like I’ve signed up to MatchMaker dot com just to make friends, I can assure you this is not the case. And if the ‘mum with 3 kids living in Sydney’ is actually a lonely dirty old man, well at least he is entertaining and can hold a decent conversation!

3. When I start a sentence with “I read something the other day that said…” chances are I am referring to a blog. In fact, assume the same for conversations with “I have a friend who that happened to” or “someone I know said…”. Point is, I don’t know that many people IRL, just lots of fake people.

4. Everything you say to me or everything we do together won’t be blogged about. Most of the time. And don’t feel like I’m cheating on you if it is blogged about. Take it more as the fact that you impacted my life enough to get a mention.

5. Blogging is my thing. My blog is my opinions, my thoughts, my successes, my failures, my outlet, my entertainment, my me-time. If you don’t like it – don’t read it! If you prefer to not know the real me and would rather us talk about you over cups of coffee, then I’m sorry to hear that. If you thought you knew me before and reading my blog makes you think I’ve changed… you weren’t listening or hearing or asking before.

6. And finally… I love my blog! I don’t mind if you talk to me about it IRL. It’s not a secret. In fact I’d rather everyone knew I was Superman!

So let’s chat soon, yeah? I like you better IRL anyway xxx

Alexandra