You don't know me.

 You may think that you know me because you read my blog.  But you are wrong.  You don't know me.



The internet is a wonderful thing, and it allows us to communicate with people all over the world.  It also, however, allows us to create alternate versions of ourselves, avatars they are sometimes called.  So you don't know me.  You know my avatar.

And this can be confusing for people.  Today people gush over the "raw" or "authentic" posts or articles that they read.  They assume that they are getting a real person.  We become "friends" on Facebook.  Maybe we think we have some really close Facebook friends.  But it is all an illusion.

What goes on the internet only goes on through a series of filters.  This happens in personal communication too, but the filter there is only the human brain.  With the internet, blogs, Facebook, etc. the medium also serves as a filter.

I have been thinking about this post for weeks.  It has been stewing in my brain.  And you are reading it on a computer screen with no idea who I am or what state of mind I am in as I write.  What I put on this blog is all intentional.  It creates a persona for me on the internet.  Some are better than others at this, but everyone is doing it.

Some try to get around this but being "real".  But this too is just a construct.  They are only as real as they are comfortable being.  They are only as real as their readers will allow them to be.  They are just real enough to keep you coming back for more.

And there is really nothing wrong with that.  I do not begrudge any of the bloggers I follow for not being completely themselves on the internet.  If blogging helps you find a voice or a following, more power to you.
I just don't want my readers, or anyone else, to be confused.  What you get on the internet is an avatar, not a real human being, no matter how raw or authentic they may sound.

Enjoy the blogs, but get to know some real people, ones that you can actually see, touch, and even smell.

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