are you still reading?

I ask because as the new school year begins, I’m considering starting a pseudonymous blog instead of (or in addition to) this one. Blogging (academic and otherwise) has changed since I first started the old blog in March of 2003. And my life has changed drastically since then as well. I no longer feel like I’m a part of the academic blogging conversation. WorkBook has largely been personal the last few months, which is ironic given that I started it with the intention of making it even less personal than Thanks…Zombie was. Clearly I need to blog about personal stuff, but I’m not sure this is the best venue for it or that you are the best audience for it.

I’m sorry for subjecting you to such angst-ridden, video-indulgent posts over the summer. Some major revelations and realizations took place recently, though, and somehow I woke up a week ago in a very good mood that is not going away. I feel good. I feel optimistic. I’m excited about the new semester. I can see myself using WorkBook to write about my teaching and research, but the personal stuff is going to be more problematic.

Here’s why: much of the tumult of my recent life has grown out of my marriage, divorce, and subsequent related events. And soon, I’ll be going on actual dates with actual people. I very much need to write about these things in a blogging environment with reader response. But since it’s not too hard to figure out who I am (and more importantly, since some of my readers know the other people involved in the tumult of my recent life), it’s not fair to these other people to write frankly about personal stuff. So I’m toying with the idea of a pseudonymous academic/personal blog.

What do you think? (And even if you have nothing to say but are still reading my blog, please leave a comment so I have an idea of my readership.)

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23 thoughts on “are you still reading?

  1. I’m reading. Do what you want with your blog, I’ll probably read both, since I usually like the music-related posts. But would def. be interested in an academic blog.

  2. I’m reading, too, and would be happy to read whatever you want to write. But I do see why a pseudononymous blog appeals at this point. Maybe two blogs?

  3. I’m reading. Have a second blog if it is useful to you (and it sure sounds like it would be). I care about and would read whatever you end up writing, be it scholarly, angsty, combination of both, etc.

  4. Still reading. I like blogs that are a mishmash of personal and professional (sort of like my own, which drifts), so of course I vote for that. But you should do whatever you want.

    I don’t think you’re totally disconnected from our little academic sphere. Instead, you’ve managed to achieve That Cousin status — you know, the one who sort of drifts by whenever, and everybody says “Oh, hey! It’s George!”

  5. I’ve been reading ever since zombie. I don’t know you well, but I’ve been following you for a while and would like to follow you wherever you go.

  6. Still reading. Obviously I’m one of those readers who knows all of the players (I was there before the beginning), and I’ll continue to read whatever you post here (and elsewhere if you’re open to that).

  7. Still reading over here too! Glad to hear that your mood is up. I totally understand the urge for a pseudonymous blog. I’ve been waffling on that myself over the last several months for different reasons.

  8. Not only am I still reading, but I was just visiting this blog a day or two ago to make sure my Bloglines subscription hadn’t gone wonky and dropped posts. And I was starting to get worried about you, especially given the tone of recent posts. And then when you showed up on my blog, I was happy to know you’re still out and about in the blog world. Anyway, I would happily read this blog *and* a personal blog.

  9. George, I read for the personal posts since I’ve always felt we were cut from the same mold, so you help me understand myself. I absorb what you write, and one day I hope to have something worthwhile to say in response to your postings.

    Professional postings interest me less since I’m more a digital library developer and less a humanist all the time.

  10. Still reading, of course. And while I can see the appeal of a pseudonymous blog, I’m not sure that they can ever truly offer anything more than a rather flimsy form of plausible deniability–at least for the long term. And especially if you hold onto an already existing audience who knows your identity.

    Have you considered instead looking at something like LiveJournal, where you can limit certain posts to only friends, while making others public? I’ve not used LiveJournal myself, so I might be misrepresenting how it works, but a feature like might be better suited to your needs? The problem of course is that you might fail to draw any new audience to your “friends-only” posts, especially if your public posts are more professional in nature.

    Anyway, for me, I would have a hard time keeping two disparate online identities truly distinct, and based on your experimentations with pseudonymous blogs in the past, I suspect we may be alike in that way. Just my 2 cents.

    Either way, I hope you keep blogging.

  11. Hi George,

    I’m possibly a day late and a dollar short to this conversation, but I’m still reading/lurking. And would love to read about your other adventures as well. I’m trying to figure out a lot of similar things right now…albeit with a much slimmer readership. But, yeah.

    cp.

  12. Still reading, still interested. I love Krista’s “That Cousin” summation; it’s perfect.

    It would be really cool if you could have called your potential new personal blog “Junebug vs. Hurricane,” but since you did a post a while back toying with that title, I guess using that title is off-limits. You won’t be able to use “get along, little bloggies” either (which I still WISH I had thought of myself!).

  13. I’m still reading too, though my blog reading in general has taken something of a dip recently so I’m not quite current these days. Some of your personal posts on your previous academic blog were inspirational for me to write about personal issues on my own blog, so I would definitely want to read what you write, wherever you write it.

  14. i’m totally still reading – although i’m not sure why this last post didn’t show up in my rss/feevy.

    i’m for blahging the way you want to blahg. but i’m especially for blogging under your own name. a voice that is meant for and heard by many publics (personal, professional, teaching, research) is a stronger voice.

  15. Hey G…
    Still reading for the occassional personal posts because I miss having you around here and wanna see what’s going on in your life. As much as I enjoy your writing, the professional stuff has always been a distant second place for me.

  16. George —
    I’m still reading. I do it because it’s one way that I know what’s going on with you. Whatever you write, personal or academic, signed or unsigned, I will read. Maybe not always immediately after it’s posted, but when I get the chance. Keep writing if it helps you.
    — Mike

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