Roll Call

Blogging is an interesting phenomenon. It offers us a window into our friends (and strangers) lives and opinions, at least what they allow us to see. We learn about each other in this strange non-verbal, faceless environment that has become synonymous with our 21st century modern world.

Sociologically, blogging represents yet another way we are losing touch with each other in an increasingly plugged-in world. We "communicate" but hardly ever talk face-to-face. Blogs, texting, IM, e-mail, cell phones, MySpace... all mediums in which we can keep our fellow man close but at an arm's length distance of our own making.

What also fascinates me more than this new way I maintain my friendships electronically is the manner in which the blogosphere allows me to learn about total strangers and peek into their personal lives without them ever knowing (or wanting to know me). Virtual peeping, I suppose.

When I was shackled to my cubicle in Corporate Hell, I stumbled upon a few interesting blogs of total strangers. Whenever I was stuck on particularly horrendous conference calls or when ennui had just gotten the best of me, I would read these blogs.

One was of a women who lived in NYC, worked in publishing, had two cats (one of which was a Sphinx), and liked to cook. She posted interesting slice-of-life stories about living in the city as well as her photos of random stuff. During the time I read her blog she had foot surgery that kept her laid up for several weeks, stopped blogging for a while, then returned to chronicle her wedding plans. I learned a lot about this chick, probably more than some of my current friends, as she was pretty forthcoming and open in her posts.

The other blog I used to read was a stay-at-home mom in the Midwest who had a young daughter, a husband who loved to snowmobile, and a nutty dog. She hated her neighbors (one family in particular she called The Nappers) and was trying her hand at writing fiction. Her posts were funny and acerbic. She seemed like someone I could be friends with in real life. I never posted comments or made my presence known to either of these women, and there were times that I felt like a weird stalker, reading their personal blogs. But then again, they were putting their personal thoughts out into the public domain.

I don't read these blogs anymore. Once our for-real friends started blogging and then I set myself free from the confines of Corporate Hell, I lost the URL's. Wonder how they are doing?

What I getting at here is I often wonder who is out there lurking about and reading my weirdness. I know of a handful of friends who read my blog on a regular basis, but beyond that is there anyone else?

So hey, if you're reading this, leave me a comment. Drop me a line. Curiosity has gotten the best of me and I'd like to know who my audience is for this drivel I pour forth from my keyboard.

Or don't and continue to lurk about the cyber-shadows, peeking through the curtain where I've left open just a little. 'Cause I know you like to watch.