This week one of my friends sent me a link to her newly formed blog (unfortunately, not a Family Says site). I was navigating around and clicked on a link that said “next,” assuming it would take me to the next blog entry. Instead, to my surprise, I was taken to the next alphabetical person’s blog. I have no idea who they are. I quickly navigated back to my friend’s page. I was kind of taken aback at how easy it was to view some random stranger’s personal thoughts and feelings.

I think that privacy on the Internet is somewhat discounted when it comes to the extreme popularity of blogging. It’s so common for the younger generation to have “their space” that they share freely with friends and use to look up acquaintances. But for some of us in older generations, we aren’t quite ready to give up our privacy like that.

We like the idea of sharing thoughts and feelings in a way that used to be reserved for the daily diary but hesitate because that puts a lot of us out there. The feeling could be compared to running through the grocery store naked. Thankfully, Family Says stands ready to hand those seeking privacy a proverbial pair of shorts.

I’m glad that I have friends who share glimpses of their lives with me via blogs, but I am also glad that when I share glimpses of my life that I have complete control over who sees what I’m sharing. It helps to foster the intimate feeling that I hope people feel when I share daily struggles and triumphs.

I have to wonder how many others there are out there, like myself, who view themselves as private people. Listen up: Family Says is for you! Join in the fun! Here at Family Says, private means private.

Posted by Mindy on August 27th, 2007 and is filed under Our Philosophy.