BIANCA REGINA: Virtual Socializing

1 - YouTube.

I like YouTube. It's fun! I don't use it much, though. I went through a phase of watching everything they had by Sasha Baron Cohen, but haven't used it for a while

2 - MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn.

I don't use any of them and therefore can't really comment. I have little time or interest in virtual socializing. My time is taken up by actual socializing, and like I said before, because of my job, I have no interest in revealing anything very personal about myself. I have a website for my practice, but that's it. Who knows, maybe that's going to change one day, but for now, the world of virtual socializing holds little interest for me.

3 - Wikipedia.

Does it scare me that unqualified people create their own versions of reality? It doesn't. Because it's the same thing that qualified people do - and usually in a less open and fluid way. A book or even an encyclopedia will reflect its creator's subjective view of the world, too. Sure there is the danger of manipulation, but all in all, I think that there is more good than harm to be found in Wikipedia.

4 - Blogging.

I used to have my own blog. It was fun for a while, but I always found it difficult to find a "voice" that was neither too personal nor too boring. In the end, it seemed strange to have people who know me read about stuff that I might as well tell them myself. I don't believe that the internet as a whole needs my voice, so really, I was writing for myself. For which I have now returned to my diary.
I have conflicted feelings about blogging and its purpose. Sometimes it seems like talking aloud into a room full of people you don't know. Or that room might be empty! I like writing on this blog - it doesn't attract an audience, but I enjoy reading the other author's answers, and I like coming up with answerds.
Sometimes, I feel that blogging is self-serving, done to make yourself feel important. And I have found that when I blogged, on occasion, I - almost without noticing that I was doing it - edited the content for maximum impact. For example, when asked about absurd situations on this blog, I was tempted to write about a situation that really wasn't suitable - but would have been entertaining. Which I then deleted. Maybe it's just me, but I think that blogging tempts you to present yourself as more daring/exciting/entertaining than you really are. Which I don't like.
On the other hand, though, I follow a lot of blogs daily, all of them by women, most of them self-employed... so maybe I live vicariously through the self-disclosure and -presentation of others who are a little bit like me. In summary, for now, I'm a consumer, not a creator of blogs. I could see myself having a blog that's not about me but about some topic one day. Who knows!

5 - On the general state of the internet.

Yes, all in all, the internet is a very positive, good thing. I am know for referring to it for almost everything: shopping, travelling, entertainment... My life would be a lot emptier without it.