Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Poll Results - Website for the real you?

Here are the latest poll results:

Do you have a website for the real life you?

No = 5 votes
More than 1 = 2 votes
Facebook = 1 vote
MySpace = 1 vote
Personal website = 0 votes
All of the above = 0 votes


I voted "no". I think my sister started a Face Book page but when I tried to view it it said I needed to be a member first. I don't really like sites like which require people to register just to see their content.

On the other hand I've been considering getting a website for myself and I can't make up my mind how to do it. MySpace seems so last year and for little kids (sorry Sand Dog), but I don't like requiring people to register just to get to my site (Face Book).

On the other hand I don't know how to design a web site. That is way over my head. Eventually I'd like to take this blog to it's own site (if I ever get more than 10 readers, maybe) but then I'd have to design one, or have somebody do it for me. Then there's the whole question about maintenance and what do I do if something goes wrong. And if I'm fiddling with things there's bound to be something that goes wrong.

If you put aside where you've got a personal page then you have to answer the question: do I want my personal information out there? Yes, I have a blog and talk about things in my personal life, but if you passed me on the street you wouldn't know who I was. I kind of like that. My online persona is Pengwenn and while it is the real me it's also a shield I can hide behind if I don't want to get to personal. So, at the same time it's the real me even when it's not.

I can be frustrated and pissed off (and maybe even drop a swear word or two) without having to worry about people looking at me and judging me for not being "lady-like". I can flirt and tease my fellow gamers, putting all kinds of fantasies in their heads about me, without having them "hurl their cookies" when they find out what the real me looks like. It's all innocent fun and nobody gets hurts. They go to bed with their fantasies and I go to bed with my anonymity still intact. It works for me.

Getting a website for the real me would destroy all of that. I don't think it's a bad thing for people; I just don't know if it's a good thing for me. As a girl I was taught to protect myself and there are a lot of predators on the net. I've had a couple of people on my friends list that I've deleted because they were starting to creep me out. Having a website would be like opening my front door and inviting all the weirdos over. The only weirdos I want to meet are the ones I can kill . . . or at least mute.

Now I do have an email address that I'm willing to share (just not out here in the open) so if anyone wants to get past the "Pengwenn shield" (to a more personal me) just drop me a comment or a PM on Xbox. If I know you (and like ya) I'll let you know what it is. If not . . . well then I guess you'll have to play some arcade games with me until I DO like you. Oh, and it helps if I win. :)

4 comments:

Kralon said...

Your comments on anonymity are all very valid, but we are living in an age where "Big Brother" is always watching you. A lot of people seam to think it is alright to share everything about their lives with everyone else. The problem is the real creeps will find out who you are no matter what you do to protect yourself. As far as sharing identities with people on XBOX Live. The last thing I would do is publish any of my personal information like email, Myspace, or Facebook, information on XBOX Live or any other Website. The last thing I need is some 14 year old, pimple popping, potty mouth contacting me on my computer. It is kind of nice that for Facebook and Myspace you can set your privacy so that you have to accept friends so that you don't have a bunch of creeps eyeballing you. I have some of my former high school classmates that have found me on Facebook and I have the luxury of not adding them. If it doesn't feel right to you to do something, then you probably shouldn't do it.

Pengwenn said...

When I first created this blog I had the comments set up for approval. That meant I got an email message and had to go in and approve the comment before it would show on the blog. It got cumbersome so I turned that option off.

On my writing blog (which I deleted and restarted . . . sort of) I was getting spam comments and some real jerks (which is why I deleted it). There's still a part of me that holds out hope that we're all adults here (or at least civilized human beings) and we can behave ourselves online. I know that's far fetched, but there's a very small part of me that's still an optomist. The rest of me is a practicalist.

Zak said...

For me myspace was easy to get up going, face book seems easier, but I haven't got the hang of it, but its the one I mess with the most. but you are right about myspace, its mostly kids, huh Dennis. ha ha ha ha

Anonymous said...

Zak, Zak, Zak, will you ever learn????? NO! So I move on. Part of the whole face book and my space is knowing how far do you let your info go. If you have it on "friends only" then you approve of who see's it. I have a lot of people who I play with online on my myspace and now my new face book. If I dont know you then you dont see it , period. You have to know who is seeing it. If you become good enough friends with a person and something happens where your paths cross then at least you know something about them. My my space is about fun. Music videos and flashy signs. Take Zak for example. I found out that his wife has a lot of talent in painting and I also found out that a 2 by 4 with dry dirt on it looks better than him hahahahah "Got you back"


"Max"