Private Blogger: Is It Possible? Hell Yes!

Credit

The idea of being a blogger and being private doesn’t sound right. To stand out from the crowd, you have to be real and relatable and to do that you need to be a person of the people. Faceless corporations can’t appeal to the same base because they aren’t living in the real world according to consumers. The problem is that blogging is a personal platform which puts your details, as well as your thoughts and feelings, out into the public domain. Now, you won’t be totally off the grid, but the following tips can limit your exposure. Here’s what to do if you’re a privacy-conscious person.

Contact Details

Don’t feel as if you have to list every contact detail known to the human race. Yes, it’s better to have a variety of mediums on a site, yet it’s down to the individual. Usually, an email address will suffice because followers don’t need to phone or text to get in touch. Plus, you can converse via the comments section or online through social media. Just be sure to separate the blog’s accounts from your personal ones. Too many bloggers use their real names, and that makes it easier to identify an individual.

Business Address

A second option is to forego using individual details altogether. Instead, you can opt for a virtual mail address which uses a business street name and zip code. It’s perfectly legal, by the way. The benefits include making the blog seem more professional than using a Gmail account, for example. However, the best advantage is the buffer between you and the audience as they will only be able to get in touch via mail. Seen as everything gets scanned and forwarded to you, it’s easy to operate from anywhere in the world, too.

Pen Name

There isn’t a law which says you have to publish material under your birth name. Plenty of authors, actors and musicians use pen or stage personas to guard their privacy. Granted, it also adds to the mystery, but that is a by-product. All you have to do is think of a cool and completely unrelated title that lures in readers. If you want to commit fully, the blog can center on the theme and the content can link also. Look at the way Anonymous gained a huge following and compare it to the trouble Julian Assange is in at the moment.

Plea Bargain

Naïve though it may be, you shouldn’t dismiss a proper conversation with your followers as an option. The fact that they are interested in you is a sign of their loyalty and dedication. Still, it doesn’t mean they won’t back off if the attention gets too much. The internet isn’t renowned for being a vehicle for well-rounded people with pertinent ideas. But, they do exist even on the Web and they will listen. Just ask for a little extra privacy and explain the reasons why and the heat should die down.

As a blogger, how do you segregate your personal life from your professional one?

Passing the Time On Your Phone: Good or Bad?

https://unsplash.com/photos/4l-e7U6c5ek

Everybody has a smartphone of some kind now. While people might go to digital war (keyboard warriors, and all that) about whether Apple, Samsung, Huawei, or any other brand is superior to the others, one thing we can all agree on is that our phones have become a sort of safety blanket when we find ourselves alone in public.

The question is, why though? What did we do while waiting in public or sitting on the bus or even just relaxing at home before we had our smartphones? It seems like a long, long time ago that anyone didn’t whip their phone out at the first sign of boredom, but is this a good thing or a bad thing?

GOOD!

If you are someone who hates strangers striking up conversation with you, then having your phone is a great way of signalling that you are not to be spoken to. This doesn’t always work, of course, but it certainly gives you a bit of a buffer when in public.

Furthermore, those of us with busy lives (all of us, then) might want to take this time alone in public or even at home by catching up on anything you’ve missed during the day. Whether you want to check the group chat or scroll Facebook or keep informed on what’s been going on in the world. You might even need to update your blog or answer some work emails, getting this time to yourself and fixating on your screen will help you know what’s going on all over the world.

BAD!

But why would you want to be on your phone when you have the whole world in front of you? If this is something you have heard before, you understand that moment of clarity when you think ‘Oh yeah.’

Being on your phone constantly does seem just a bit too antisocial, especially when surrounded by friends and family. Furthermore, playing games or browsing absently can quickly turn minutes into hours, and you run the risk of missing your bus or train or perhaps more importantly, life itself.

A BIT OF BOTH?

There are positives and negatives associated with being on your phone when you feel like you have nothing to do. For some, it might be that you want to complete the new Final Fantasy for mobile, which can be downloaded here: finalfantasyxvapp.com/company-info. However, picking the right time and place is most essential to not looking rude or ignorant.

These messages you get sent are not going to go away anytime soon. If you can give yourself a quick update here and there, but not get sucked into the screen, then you will start finding yourself with less and less dependence on your phone when in uncomfortable situations. Who knows, you might just see something you won’t forget.

JUST PASSING TIME

Perhaps we do rely too much on our smartphones as a safety blanket in some situations, but this is okay. It only becomes a problem when you start gripping to this blanket even when you are around people you love and trust and like. While you don’t need to bin your phone now, consider if you need to check this email or message right now. You’d be surprised what you miss in the real world when you’re too busy worrying about what you will miss online.