The Oversharing Illusion

People often accuse bloggers of being navel gazing narcissists and over sharers. It can certainly appear that way to those on the outside looking in. I have now been blogging long enough to know better. Many of my friends began blogging as a way to chronicle a major life event (pregnancy, marriage, etc.) with friends and family. Some of their blogs gained followings and popularity and have evolved to be much more. I started blogging because Twitter told me to. Seriously. I was complimenting someone's blog and a few people told me I should start my own. I listened. I seriously do pretty much whatever my Twitter friends recommend. They haven't steered me wrong...yet :)

On Sunday I read Fadra's post about the filter she has recently had to place on her writing. I realized I do the same thing. Often. My blog is not a diary. Not at all. There is too much that I am not willing to share with strangers. A large portion of my readers are my friends. They feel like friends anyway. People that I communicate with often and sometimes daily. But what about the large number of people who find my blog by googling things like "where did the petite lap giraffes come from?" or "the Duggars are sex freaks"? Do they really need to know details of my private life? Probably not.

I suppose my point is I blog but am not an over sharer. It works wonderfully for some and I am not criticizing, it just doesn't feel comfortable to me. It is an illusion. I share some parts of my life and others remain a deep dark secret (I am a sorceress. I attended Hogwarts and everything).

Everyone has boundaries and I find them interesting. For instance I do not write much about my relationship with my husband. There isn't a particular reason for it. He is amazing but if you cared about him then you would read his blog. Okay he doesn't have one but you know what I mean.

I was wondering whether you have a filter and what your boundaries as a blogger/writer/person are.