Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Online blogger coffee!

So many of you wanted to come to our blogger coffee, but were just too far away. Wouldn't it be fun to bring some of our discussions online? Each day this week, I'll be posting a question I overheard at our gathering. Feel free to join in!

Does your husband read your blog? Does your family know about it? If so, does it cause problems or keep you real?

Michelle said that her husband "outed" hers to his family with a photo of the new baby. My husband rarely if ever reads mine, as blogs are blocked from his workplace. My siblings know about mine, but I'm not sure about the rest of my family. I'm not sure I want to know!

39 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Meredith!

I just started my blog yesterdat, so the only one who knows about it so far is my husband. He is better at the tech stuff than I am, so I'm sure I'll be calling on him for lots of help. I'm not sure how I feel about people I know in real life reading my blog. I'm usually a rather reserved person, so it's sort of strange to think about.

Anonymous said...

Yes, my husband does read my blog. Daily. In fact, we showed him how to use bloglines so he keeps up with mine, my daughers' and a few friends that way. Most of his family (I have no living relatives left, save my kids and grandbabies) know about my blog. My husband's step mom reads it daily, but I don't know about the others.

This really isn't a problem for me. I am, for better or worse, the same on my blog as I am in "real life".

This was a fun idea, Meredith!

Willow said...

Yes, my husband reads my blog occasionally, but he doesn't say much about it. He lives his title of The Professor. My kids and their spouses know, some read and comment, some don't. My sil reads and occasionally comments. My fam likes it when I mention them.

Heather @ Marine Corps Nomads said...

My husband does read my (our) blog as he can (he's currently deployed). Our family also reads the blog. It's our way of staying in touch. I only blog things that I'm comfortable with anyone reading, so, as far as I know, it hasn't created any problems.

Christian - Modobject@Home said...

My husband rarely reads my blog -- he'll take a look from time to time but nothing on a regular basis. Of my family, my mom and one of my sisters read it regularly, but I think that's it. Besides my parents and sisters, I haven't mustered the courage to tell extended family and my in-laws about it. And, of my friends only my oldest and dearest ones. I don't really talk about my blog in day-to-day life, except with my husband, so friends, neighbors, and fellow church members don't know about it -- I think I like it that way, at least for now....

Kate said...

Hubby and most of my family knows I have a blog, but they don't read it. I don't have a problem currently with having a blog. It's a nice little outlet and information gatherer.

~Babychaser~ said...

My sweet husband reads most of my posts. Better than that though is his support of my blog! Just today he said, "Hey, I have something for you for the next time you blog something about frugal tips!" Isn't he precious! He gets excited with me too when I discover a new reader or have a chance to minister to someone through my blog! What a blessing!

Mrs. Pear said...

too much fun!

My husband only reads my blog in order to find the affiliate search links to Amazon and ChristianBooks.com

I think he figures that is my domain to chat with other women, and he wants me to have that! (Besides, it is all about house stuff and books!)

My family absolutely does NOT know about it, and I really aim to keep it that way!

~Babychaser~ said...

Oh, and I did tell my family and DH's family about it (the women anyway). I know some of them checked it when I sent the email around telling of it, but my mom is the only one who comments "regularly". You can find her comments... she calls herself "Ma" since she doesn't have a blog herself. :) Original huh? :)

Gina said...

My husband definitely knows about my blog because he's my tech guy. I don't think he reads very often though. The rest of my family knows and reads every day. My aunt prints off my posts and takes them to my elderly grandparents. She said they compete with each other to be the first to read the page. :-)

If I post something that I know might cause my grandparents to worry, I ask my aunt to just not take it to them. I rarely post anything like that though because I don't want us to be too exposed on the internet. I try to keep things pretty light.

Tammy said...

My husband checks mine, and reads the posts that are of interst to him. The posts that I ramble on about knitting or sewing? he scans through them. =)

My siblings/parents know about and read my blog as well.

Anonymous said...

My husband knows about my blog, reads my blog, and comments on almost every post.

On previous blogs, I've let family know where I am -- and that has caused a bit of a problem ... for me! I felt like I had to be careful of what I wrote, in case they think I was talking about them or something.

I didn't want that this time around, so the only family that knows exactly where my blog is, is my husband's youngest sister. She blogs at the Life with Christ domain too.
Everyone else knows I have a blog, but not where it is.

mama k said...

Everyone knows, but I don't think they read. My MIL and Mom will check in occasionally, but DH isn't into reading it.
I do have to censor myself a bit because I don't want to offend any family members who stumble by.

Stephanie said...

My husband knows, but I don't think he reads it, or if so, not often. Some of my family knows that I have one (I think my sister reads mine), but my parents don't and I don't really promote it. :)

Dirkey said...

My dh definitely reads every day, whenever something funny happens he always says your sooo going to blog this. His SIL knows but definitely not his mother and father. My family knows but only my sister reads.

Jennifer said...

Thanks for the invitation to coffee! I invite you ovr to my blog to see how I've answered your great question.

http://www.familymusings.com/2007/11/blogger-coffee-part-1.html

Jennifer

Saralyn said...

My husband reads my ramblings and our families at least know about them. We are off in no-man's land far away from our family so it lets them keep up with our goings and comings. I think, too, knowing anyone I know has access keeps me from letting my tongue get the better of me! You know, "let no unwholesome word proceed out of your mouth..."

Niki said...

My husband reads my blog daily. My family all know, and a couple of close friends and that's it, as far as I know. It doesn't really matter to me cause I is what I is...lol

Anne Marie@Married to the Empire said...

Yes, my husband reads my blog, although not regularly. He's told me multiple times that he likes that I'm blogging about our lives. If I post about his stormtrooper/Star Wars stuff, he'll often post the link to my blog on his stormtrooper boards. And when a tree fell in our yard, and he had a horrible allergy attack from chopping it up, he sent the link (with pictures) to his office to let them know why he'd be late.

Yes, my family knows about my blog. I let my sister know about it so that she can keep up with our lives since she lives halfway around the world. And I finally told my parents about it when we had home repairs done. I led them there so that they could see the pictures of the process. It's not that I was keeping things from them before, but for some reason, I guess I was worried about what they'd think. Silly, huh?

My mom has since told me that she reads pretty regularly so she can keep up with our lives.

Jenny's Vegcafe said...

Dh reads my blog daily. He even tells me stuff he wants me blog about. As far as I know, no one but my Mom knows about my blog in the family. Dh does give my blog address out to wives/female co-workers that he thinks are like minded. So, far I've gotten no feedback from any of them.
I sort of think it's like a scrapbook for our family since I've been very lax in keeping up with the baby books and the scrapbook I started.

Anonymous said...

My husband, sister and some real life friends know about and read one of my blogs. I've gotten very shy and self-conscious now about writing on it. I kind of now feel like I have to keep it happy and cheerful and I'm not as free to express myself. Don't get me wrong, I would never blog about anything I'd be embarrassed to talk about in person with someone, but having them read my writing is weirdly painful for me.

So know I have a public blog and a more anonymous one.

Amy said...

My mother-in-law reads my blog regularly as does my best friend. I don't think my own family reads it although my sister does mention things on occasion that she has read on there.

My husband used to read it religiously, but now he just reads it when I ask him to and he reads the things that interest him when they come through his feed.

I used to write about our family life and more personal things, but I found it to be invasive and so I stuck with what I really loved talking about which was just my everyday life as a homemaker. It is more comfortable for me, but I truly admire moms who can share about a more personal experience than what I feel I can do.

Janette said...

I read my daughter's blog- love the pictures daily. She reads mine occasionally. My sister reads mine pretty often. My husband- no way-lol.
I do watch what I say- but generally- what you see is what you get with me.

ccsmomma said...

I have told only 1 long distance friend about my blog as kind of a way to keep in touch. I just wasn't sure how my friends or family would react.

Anonymous said...

My husband will occasionally check out my blog. He knows I love to write and love to share my thoughts and ideas with others, so I think he pretty much views it as a hobby or outlet. My family and friends know about it. I only have one friend who regularly visits my blog and posts comments. Another friend lurks around there from time to time.

Mimi said...

My dear hubby doesn't often read mine. But, after I talked about the coffee, he remembered an idea he once had of doing a blog about a topic of great interest to him. I think he would enjoy it, though his free time for such is scarce.

LS said...

I'm glad we can do an online blogger coffee since I was bummed that I live way too far away to attend your gathering you recently had.

My husband helped me figure out how to set it up and he'll occasionally help out with tech problems. He doesn't read regularly but skims it briefly every few weeks. Since I write on very feminine topics, he isn't super interested and has trouble keeping up with my many, many posts since he's the sort of guy who writes one tiny paragraph a month.
Having friends from church and my in-laws and parents occasionally reading my blog definitely keeps it real for me and reminds me to be honest, to not use it to "vent" about friends (since they would know who I'm talking about) and helps me to portray myself as I really am, not a perfect person as many bloggers do.

Anonymous said...

I only kept my blog a secret for about a week. Then I was so excited about it that I couldn't keep it a secret.

From the get go I wanted my blog to be a social aspect of my life instead of a journal. Not just a scrapbook and not a place to vent. I would like to eventually make some money with it.

My husband knows and occasionally reads. My mother and MIL both read faithfully; as well as my closest real life friends and other church members.

I do think about who reads it whenever I post something. It helps me to be kind and remember not to go on a rampage.

Thanks for the invite. Will we do this again soon?

ChiefFamilyOfficer said...

This is a fun idea, Meredith! My parents occasionally read CFO - or at least my dad does, my mom has actually never mentioned it since I first started blogging. My husband never reads, and my friends occasionally do (I've tried to explain that they can even subscribe by email but most of them just don't get it - oh well). I don't know if the rest of the family even knows that I have a blog!

Michelle Smiles said...

As I said at our coffee, I wasn't particularly amused to be outed to all of our family and real life friends originally. It changed the way I wrote and made me censor myself sometimes. But I've used my blog to document so much of our adoption process and now milestones with Sabrina - it is an easy way to stay in touch now that we've moved away. It is probably for the best that everyone can keep up with us that way. I know the grandmas love the photos.

As for my hubby, he set it up for me (he is a computer geek) when I originally wanted to start blogging. He does check in but I think he likes to read the comments more than the posts. I was surprised - I think I hurt his feelings by not blogging about his amazing anniversary gift this year. He keeps asking me if I've blogged about it yet. And it always makes me laugh if I forget to tell him about something that happened and he reads about it on my blog.

Mary Ann said...

My husband reads my blog every time I post. My family reads it regularly but do not usually comment as well as some real-life friends. This has turned out to be a bit awkward since sometimes they (family)totally misinterpret what I write and tend to critique/criticize. If I were to start over again, I would stay pretty anonymous.

Monica Wilkinson said...

Great idea to do the blogger coffee online! :)

My husband does read my blog faithfully each day! Sometimes it is blocked at his work - but other days he can get it.

My family does know about it - some of them choose to read and some do not.

It doesn't create problems for me that they read it - but it does prevent me from saying certain things, which I'm sure is a good thing!

Anonymous said...

OKAY, now I wish I had a blog, if only to attend Meredith's event!

deb meyers

jay n tricia said...

As you know, my hubby is not only a reader, but a co-owner of our blog! I love sharing this with him, and I know husband/wife blogs aren't as common as individual blogs. But much of the purpose of our site is to keep family and friends who are far away up to speed on our lives. We think of it as our "ongoing Christmas letter" of sorts. Though we dabble in other topics/things from time to time...

I always post knowing that family is reading...as well as other people. While I occasionally pour my heart out on an issue that is near and dear, I am generally fairly reserved given the public nature of putting written word out on the internet.
~Tricia

ashley said...

My husband only reads my blog if I say "hey you should read what I wrote the other day..." I think all of my immediate family reads it, though my parents only hop on once every week or two. I recently found out that my 80 year old grandmother reads my blog every day. :-) She then sends me letters with responses to my posts. I guess she hasn't figured out how to comment. :-)

Karla Porter Archer said...

my husband knows about it and occasionally reads it (sometimes I have to tell him to) But he knows if anything happens, I'll write about it.

Blessings,
Karla

Anonymous said...

My husband only reads my blog if I sit him down at my desk, pull it up on the screen, and stand over his shoulder. But my friends and family read it often, rarely comment online, and I sometimes think no one is reading until they make a comment to me and I know that they are lurking!

Nicola said...

yes, my husband reads mine with some regularity. my mom occasionally reads. my mother in law occasionally checks out photos, and i think my sister in law reads. an assortment of friends read it, too. so i have to be careful what i write and how i word things, as mine is a frugal log, brain meanderings, and journal, all rolled into one.

LeBlanc said...

My wife will read my blog once a week and I think my dad does every day. Actually, now that I think of it most of my family reads my junk. It hasn't caused problems yet, but I am still kind of young.