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January 29, 2002
Blog Stalker
Blogs. Internet Web logs. Diaries layed out for the entire world to see. Friends, family, enemies and strangers alike are free to browse someone's account of a personal experience, or his or her musings on a subject. Rarely do people post private things they would rather others not see. Still...
Recently my friend Rafi (whose blog inspired me to get off my ass and make my own) asked me if I had read one of the blogs on his links page. Now I enjoy reading my friends' and family's blogs. I also have no problems reading strangers' blogs. Call it cyber-diary voyerism. But there's that group of people who you recognize, and have probably met, but aren't friends. They're barely acquaintences. Maybe you were introduced at a (twice-removed) mutual friend's party while you were drunk. Maybe you only know the other person's name because you heard other people mention it. My point is, the blog Rafi asked if I had read, belonged to one of those "acquaintances".
No, I'm not going to tell you whose blog it was, but I will tell you it belongs to a girl. Reading the blog of such a person, especially a female, makes me feel like some sort of stalker: I know lots of interesting tidbits about her life, but she (presumably) knows nothing about me. It would be terribly awkward if we actually meet each other for real and she starts telling me some story:
Blog Girl: "So then, I came running out of the fitting room..."
Me: "Yeah, I know, and your pants were on backwards."
Blog Girl (hesitant): "Oh, did <mutual friend> already tell you about that?"
Me: "No."
Blog Girl (confused): "Oh. Did I already tell you this story at <previous social gathering>?"
Me: "No, we've never actually met, but I do know a lot about you. I know your cat's name is
Fluffles, you go swimming on Wednesdays at 7:00, you use Secret anti-perspiraaaaaaAAAAAAAAHHHHH"
Blog Girl returns pepper spray to her purse.
That's just one of infinite possible outcomes to me reading her blog. Of course there's always the chance that we'll fall madly in love with each other and run off to some remote island or something, but I find the former scenario a little more realistic.
Well, since Rafi recommended I do it, I did read her site. It was very good. Insightful, creative and contained no juicy private bits. I guess reading it doesn't make me some sort of creepy Blog Stalker. Her site even has a webcam where I can watch her every move from the comfort of my living room.