Life Online
Posted by Jenny on 06/20/08 in Blogtoberfest, Daily, Talk Shop
Recently I had a guy tell me that he knew more about me than I think … when really all he did was successfully type my name into Google.
Yesterday Hooker told me about a troubled ex-coworker who recently tracked him down via his art portfolio. (Who said site optimization is always a good thing? Ha.)
Earlier in the week, someone I haven’t talked to practically since high school contacted me through Facebook to retell a funny story from our past.
Two weeks ago at an awards dinner I recognized an award recipient as one of my Twitter contacts.
On more than one occasion, I’ve gone out for a lunch break and returned back to my desk to an email that says “Oh hi. I just saw you in Downtown Crossing.” (PS, if you do see me out and about, it is FAR less creepy to actually come up to me and introduce yourself then for me to get THAT email 20 minutes later).
Having your life online and being able to track down (or be tracked down) has it’s ups and downs.
One of the best things that’s been a direct result of my “life online”:
Developing an entirely new network of friends and colleagues. I think pulling together Blogtoberfest really kicked this off for me. I never knew I’d get such a great group of friends out of it. (And even better? Though it all started in Boston for me, now I have friends all over the country entirely due to blogging - even stayed with a couple.)
One of the creepiest things that’s been a direct result of my “life online”:
Last week a guy asked me out on a date by listing a number of great things we could do (which, thanks to the help of one Miss Sarah, I quickly discovered was actually my list of “likes” on Myspace. Not inspired by, not ideas borrowed from … he read the god damn list off one by one. Eeesh.)
Your turn: best and worst parts of your life online.
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josh | Jun 20, 2008 | Reply
meeting people from the internerds is scary biznass. i met up with one (i wouldn’t call it a date.. it was more of an audition for a date) and i had to watch him nom the hell out of a shrimp salad sandwich (seriously? on a first meeting? shrimp salad? what a jerk!) with his crusty yellow teeth and i wanted to vom. also, i brought up the weather about 5 times in the 30 minutes i endured it, because that’s how engaging conversation was.
i still get messages :o(
internetz, i h8 u.
<3 josh
Ulli | Jun 20, 2008 | Reply
Best part? By far meeting a group of kick ass women and friends when I moved to Boston….Blogging helped me tremendously with building my circle of friends.
Worst part? Uhm, having some crazy ass internet dater (who I never went out with cause he was crazy) track down my phone number through my email address and, you know, basically threatened me with all types of stuff including ” I will come and kill you” stuff. Good times.
Jenny | Jun 20, 2008 | Reply
Josh you are an e-dating slut.
Ulli, that story scared the bejesus out of me.
Sarah | Jun 20, 2008 | Reply
My favorite part is when I run into people I haven’t seen in a long time - and they say that they feel like we talk all the time because they read my blog. As a lazy friend - this is a huge bonus. I also like the built in audience. Like if I have a random question about life/shoes/cooking whatever I just post it in my blog and I know someone will have an answer for me!
I can’t recall any negative experiences that I have had because of my blog (knock on wood!). Aside from assorted hate mail I get from Universal Hub readers when one of my Masshole driving stories gets posted!
josh | Jun 20, 2008 | Reply
one time i got this really creepy im all threatening me and ish and i got scared so i called 911 and they traced the im and the woman was all “omgz bb, get out! da im is comin from INSIDE YA HOUSE!!!”
p.s. - jenny’s a jerk.
Amanda | Jun 20, 2008 | Reply
Good: have made friends all over the country!
Bad: umm…not much there, and all resulting my own stupidity and poor choices.
Also: random, but there is a high school kid that works at my grocery store who looks startlingly similar to you. Every time I go through her checkout line I kind of want to ask her if she’s related, but I don’t want to freak her out, nor do I want to freak you out by e-mailing and saying “hey, I met your cousin!” or something weird like that.
And now this comment is too long. Sorry. I do that.
Jenny | Jun 20, 2008 | Reply
haha I don’t THINK I have any cousins who work at grocery stores???
Amy | Jun 22, 2008 | Reply
Creepily enough I had an experience just this morning. I got an email that I had a message waiting at classmates.com. It ends up being an….are you the Amy whose mom is… and dad is … this is your cousin. We miss you, blah blah blah please contact us we want to see you. Side note…this is my dad’s side of the family who I have not had contact with since I was 5. Court ordered no contact because my dad was, to put it nicely, a not so nice drunk. Not nice to my mom at all, banging down doors of my family to find us and trying to take me away.
Granted, I am a grown woman now, and hopefully can stand my own better than when I was 5, but I now know why my boyfriend keeps telling me that all of these online sites are so bad in some ways…people can find you and know where you are at any time. He even tells me it is so bad if I put things in “away messages” or “status updates” of specific places I am going. Any stranger wacko could come find you there. Hmmm….gives you something to think about!!
Victoria | Jun 23, 2008 | Reply
I met one of my best friends though my blog. Well, technically, I met her as we were both standing outside the old Tribe Theater. But we got to talking after she said, “This might sound random, but do you have a blog?”
And, indirectly, it’s through my blog that I finally made the move to Boston.
Negative? Too many disagreements over things I’ve written and whether they were written to express my thoughts or to serve as cryptic messages to readers. It’s always been the former, but people had a hard time believing that it wasn’t the latter.