The interesting thing about blogging is that as a blogger, people only know you as much as you reveal. The temptation, then, is to only reveal all the things about yourself that are flattering. You know, posting pictures of the house right before guests came over and everything is looking pristine … not pictures of the house on a regular weekday. Not that there is anything wrong with sharing those high, shining and lovely moments (and yes, a clean house would be a shining moment around here!), in fact, it can help and inspire others. But none of us have clean houses ALL the time (some of us more often that others) and none of us are perfect. You know the friends you have who know your quirks and foibles and how you’re trying to do well, but sometimes mess up? They don’t just know your posed picture smile. They know you squeak when you laugh, and remember that time you laughed so hard milk came out your nose. And those are the kind of friends we like to hang out with, because they know us … and like us anyway. :)
But as a blogger we never think to share that awkward squeak-laugh, and definitely don’t want a video of milk coming out of our noses going viral online. (the latter is probably good to avoid, truth be told.) But if we never share anything that is not glossy-magazine perfect, we’re not fooling anyone. We’re just being one dimensional. That is why we see so many things on the web reminding us to be “authentic”.
Now, does authentic mean I’m wallowing in my mistakes? Nope. My goal is to get better at the things I’m bad at … especially if it is a matter of right and wrong. As an example of a not right-or-wrong situation, though, I’ve put on some weight in the last several months. I hate it. I’m embarrassed to say it. (Although if you know me in real life, you’ve seen it.) Sharing that information doesn’t mean I’m proud of it … I’m trying to get rid of it. But I’m also admitting it’s not where I want it to be right now.
With all that said, I want this blog to be an authentic place. In person, I love to laugh – sometimes too hard (in high school my Dad nicknamed one of my overly-enthusiastic-mouth-open-way-too-wide-roaring-gasping laughs as “not a date laugh”) and I love to laugh with others … even if they are laughing at me. And so, I invite you to point and laugh as I point out some of my less-than-stellar skills .. don’t worry, I’m laughing too.
Last week, I put up a poll of potential blog post topics to see what people are most interested in reading here on my blog. (By the way, if you haven’t voted yet, please do!) Of course, all the topics listed there are lovely, happy topics that I feel I have something worthwhile to share about … true and real topics, yes, but all flattering topics, if you will. And so this week I’m going to share the titles of less-than-flattering topics I could post, for your amusement. (Don’t worry, these titles are *not* really going to be the upcoming reading list here on my blog *shudder*). So without further ado…
How do you feel about authentic blogging?
Let me know in the comments!
( And, if you feel like it, you can share a blog post title from your own area of less-than-flattering expertise :)
Oh, honey, YES, YES, YES!!!! You said it exactly — striking the balance between being real and yet not celebrating one’s less-than-lovely states-of-current-existence.
Whelp, my life is full of opportunities to be real, and I’d just published a blog post about that when I read this. Great minds and all that…
Thanks so much Lori! I was hesitant to write this post for fear that I couldn’t hit that balance right (hello, old friend perfectionism) – but I’m really glad that you got both sides of that coin from my post, that makes me feel better, haha :) I’m looking forward to reading your blog post!
I totally dig your blog. I like the feel of it and your creations are awesome!
Thanks so much CereusArt, I appreciate it! :D
Great post April! There’s definitely a balance between sharing enough so people get a sense of who you are and sharing so much that potential customers or colleagues may be turned off by the product/service you’re offering. Life is messy, creativity is messy, and running any kind of business is messy so it’s good to acknowledge that and sometimes talk about the things affecting you beyond pretty photos of staged spaces or too many uber-vanilla posts in a row.
For what it’s worth, I think you’ve been doing an amazing job of letting your real self shine through – it’s been great getting to “know” you through teams, your blog, and of course watch your shop grow and evolve over the past year plus.
Always available to write the Nerd Dancing post for you :)
Ooh, excellent point Katrina! I definitely agree that there is a point of “over sharing”. You can be authentic, and still keep private things private. Especially if your blog is related to your business, I think that line falls into a different place than a personal blog. Great point. :) This blog, for instance, I’ve been trying to distance a little from my shop .. different name, etc., and have a place to be a little bit more personal – although there are still plenty of “over sharing” boundaries even so. :)
And thank you so much for the encouragement, that makes me super happy to hear! It’s been a ton of fun getting to know you too, on Twitter, on teams, etc. And glad to know I’m not the only one out there who knows how to dance like a nerd, haha! ;)
This is great, and I agree that it’s nice to be real. I try to mix those in now and again (like the cocktail party horror when I realized NO ONE TOLD ME it was cocktail attire!!) because sometimes it’s too good not to share. I can totally write the perfectionist post, by the way. :)
Thanks, Kristen! Yeah, I could write it too … hypothetically … but in actuality I would never get it done because it would never be just right. ;)
Oh my goodness I love this post and love the idea of authentic blogging. I’ve found over time that I’m not alone no matter how much I think I might be. If I’m thinking it or doing it someone else probably is too so I need to be better at feeling less embarrassed about my insecurities and instead shout them out loud because by doing so I’m probably also helping someone else be less embarrassed. Hm…does any of that make sense? Aw…..my writing skills, one of those insecurities I was talking about. ; )
Awesome, awesome post!
Thanks so much Lindy! :)
And yeah, I do understand what you’re saying! :)
And I think you bring up a good point because it makes me think about the difference between things people might be embarrassed/insecure about but don’t really matter … versus the types of things that really do matter, and that we are working on fixing. I think both are worth sharing – the ones that are just funny and quirky to (like you said) help others not feel so embarrassed and know us better … and on the other hand the ones we recognize need to be improved I think help us stay humble to admit – and can get great moral support and encourage others along the way as well. :)
April – you have always been authentic for as long as I have known you. I do love this post – you bring up some great points and it is also VERY nice to know that I am not the only who doesn’t have a perfectly clean house everyday!
Loving those blog post titles – this one is awesome “Product Photography in a Messy House: Fun with Cropping!” I just did a DIY on a chair – reupholstering and I really had to zoom out to get the entire project in so I had to run the vacuum before I could go on ;-) Hee hee!
Brandi
Awwww, thanks Brandi! :D
Haha, I hear you on the cropping! Actually, of all the posts in that list, that one is probably to one I would be most likely to actually post about … might be amusing to see the uncropped vs. cropped version. ;)
Here are a few samples of my “Keepin It Real” life! LOL, But yes, I still refuse to post EVERYTHING!
http://perfectbutburnt.blogspot.com/2012/02/am-i-only-one.html
http://perfectbutburnt.blogspot.com/2011/12/keepin-it-real.html
http://perfectbutburnt.blogspot.com/2012/01/operation-organization.html
Haha, so great! The one about the biscuits … I can so relate. I love to cook, but baking … that can be a whooooole other story! Thanks for sharing :)
This is fantastic!
Some titles from my own life:
Number of Times My Babysitter Has Come in To My Son Watching Cartoons. Which is To Say: All of Them.
Things My Almost-One-Year Old Son Has Bruised Himself On This Week.
What I Wore: Pajamas, Pajamas, And More Pajamas.
I Had A Baby And Now I Think My Cat is Kind of A Jerk.
Hahahaha, I love it!! :D Thanks for sharing! The last one especially cracked me up – HA! Love! :D
Hi April! I’m so glad I’ve found your blog! I’ve recently been trying to figure how to write a blog that I’m going to be happy about, as well as does a good job selling my products. So far, authenticity (or in my own words, “being real”) is my number one strategy for how to do that. Actual ideas for content…well hopefully they’ll come soon. Thanks for a lovely and inspiring post!
Awesome, thanks for stopping by, Natalie! :)
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