Speaking towards critics of mine in failing to understand the difference between the two would be a further waste of my time. Therefore I see no need to speak to this for the umpteenth time.
There are dozens of blogs that focus narrowly on their main interests. I happen to be having dozens of interests and do them all here in one blog. Frankly I get bored thinking or talking about two or three subjects. Lots of stuff interest me. When I'm interested, I become analytical. When I become analytical I do background research and form opinions which I publish.
Let's talk about opinions- "a belief, judgment, or way of thinking about something"
The person above said, .."..assuming that the public should find something interesting about his opinions." While I most certainly do hope people find what I write interesting I'm also hoping someone else will share my concerns regarding a topic. Then contribute further to the discussion. Whether they agree or not isn't important. There isn't anyone who writes a blog who isn't expressing opinions. As far as motivations are concerned, no one's going to convince me when anyone writes they aren't hoping it will interest readers as much as themselves. Who's kidding who?
Anonymity
Remaining anonymous is paramount to me above all others. I will address this issue in depth and for ONE FINAL TIME
Before I ever had a presence on the internet I came to realize through the years there are lots of assholes in this world. I shall go through a few of them.
When my daughter was 15 she was stalked by a boy older then her who followed her home from a dance. This horny SOB somehow got a bug up his ass and hounded her for months. I won't go into all the details, but I'm 100% she did nothing to precipitate this. It's verifiable by a number of persons (adult chaperones at the dance), not just her friends. He'd ring the door bell. Call on the phone and make what I consider threats to both her and us for supposedly keeping her away from him. This is what happens when crazy people find out where you live.
One year later when my 17 year old son no longer wanted to hang out with some guy who was nothing but trouble. This asshole would start calling us several times a day. I finally had enough and left him have it over the phone. That's when it got really bad. He's start calling back to back and sometimes in the middle of the night waking us up. This went on for weeks where'd he call and threaten not just my son, but my wife. Sometimes he call 30 or 40 times a day. Sometimes threatening us with vandalism and physical violence. There was no reasoning with him. The guy was a complete mental case.
When I worked in radio people would call my boss trying to get me fired for something I said on the radio that displeased them in someway. Lord knows why? I also got calls at home and a note left on my car outside my house.
When I managed apartments we lived onsite. My wife and I were harassed when we turned down some couple's friend who wanted to rent an apartment. First off he had a criminal record. Secondly he didn't have a job and his credit history was FUBAR. I found a used sperm filled condom wrapped around the door knob outside my apartment one morning. My car got keyed and the air left out of my tires.
When I first started using the internet many years ago-- Anyone who ever used chat rooms can understand the need for anonymity. This is when I became truly familiar with how many psychos there are in this world. At one point I used my web provider for the free personal webpage they offered. Anyone familiar with how that works realizes it comes up using one's login ID by default. It then becomes only a matter of time before a hacker can crack one's password. Need I explain what inevitably happened?
Flash forward to when I started blogging here anonymously for good reasons based on my prior experiences. Since that time I had one fellow blogger threaten to "box my ears in" and offer a cash reward to anyone who could find out who I am. Someone gave him a false address that was actually Lou Hershman's and he showed up on Lou's doorstep. The same guy said he'd be on the lookout for me at an event on 19th street and elsewhere. Since I posted videos of myself on YouTube this person screen grabbed my face and knows what I look like. That forced me to take down dozens of videos I uploaded long before I started blogging here.
I have a listed phone number so people can easily find me when they need to. But I sure as hell ain't going to advertisement my name here. Anyone wishing to contact me can easily do so on this blog in comments. I have a wife. We watch our daughter's babies frequently. I want both of them to have the safest environment possible. Anyone who has a problem with that I don't give a shit. This little hobby of mine (blogging) I shall never allow to intrude on my family members PERIOD.. GET OVER IT ALREADY!
I find it astounding that some of my fellow bloggers still resent my anonymity but have no problem allowing 90% of the people who comment on their blogs to retain theirs. Because someone blogs shouldn't mean they are not entitled to their privacy or opinions.
Speaking of opinions.. they are just that. I'm not the kind of guy who believes just because of someone's educational pedigree, age, stature or the number of connections they have makes someone's opinion any more valuable then the next. Opinions are like ass holes. Everyone's got one.
If someone wants to put their name to a blog that's their business. Hey, if they want to stick their neck out go for it. I'll assume it's not because of ego or them trying to make a statement as to their accountability to get all the facts right. I won't hold that against them.
Going forward I will continue to do what I do with or without their support or their continuing criticism. I will admit I am disappointed. When I started blogging I was hoping we'd be supporting one another and encouraging people to comment anonymously or otherwise. After 5 years I've come to fully realize why I started blogging in the first place. It was to share my interests and opinions. No offense but it was never about making friends. Looking back, I still wouldn't have done a thing differently.
Anonymously Yours,
LVCI
Well said, Mystery Man.
ReplyDeleteI've been involved in the Internet for over 10 years. Building websites, affiliate marketing, blogs, etc. So much involving the Internet that anyone who wants to find out who I am doesn't find it difficult and on many of my websites I freely provide my name. Otherwise I would make my website registrations private.
Never had a problem until some nut job didn't like what I wrote. Attacks on my side business, personal attacks, calling my employer with false accusations. Thankfully, she is recognized for being mentally unstable and a possible sociopath with no credibility, but a couple of harassment convictions to her credit.
These days, if I was starting over, I would be anonymous.
Thanks for commenting. I will admit there was once a time I had a couple of sites and used my name for email. They lasted for a very short time before I got wise. This was many years ago before Google began archiving sites thank goodness.
Deletelvci, occasionally i post about blogging. you have on a regular basis complained about, and fished for, receiving more comments. your anonymity has been suggested as a cause of your complaint several times. i have encouraged you to continue blogging on more than one occasion. you're entitled to be anonymous, you're entitled to be disappointed by lack of comments, but you shouldn't
ReplyDeletebe so offended when someone connects those dots.
furthermore, the mention of your blogging dilemma was intended only as a segway into my post. i believe that bernie and i have more readers because we work harder at it than others. we establish some credibility on our subject matter by being involved with it, or at least being present when it is legislated. i don't believe that there are any rules for blogging, for either the writers or the readers.
ReplyDelete