December 7, 2012
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Weapons
« …Ne fais rien que ton ennemi ne puisse savoir…»
I don’t try to hide things here. If I’m not comfortable sharing something; it doesn’t get shared–not here, not anywhere. My Xanga isn’t a place where I “separate” myself from another presence. I understand people who keep a Xanga for that purpose–at times, I applaud them. But, that’s not me. I blog because I want to say something. (Note: I didn’t say that “I have something to say”–it’s a notable distinction.)
Most of the people who stop by and read are fellow Xangans–my Xangamigos, as I often call them. They are active participants in the Xangasphere and make valuable contributions to what’s happening not only to my site, but also all over teh Xangas.
Occasionally I see a searcher-transient–someone who stops in after getting linked from the Google. These interlopers leave almost always disappointed, I must gather. I’m a frantic tag-enterer; I want a strong connection between and among posts. I apologize if this upsets one’s Internet searches. Sorry guys.
Still other times, someone I know IRL will stop by…often at my invitation. When I post something of potential interest to the people I know IRL, I usually post the Xanga link to my Facebook wall. That way, when a FB friend feels the inclination, he or she can stop on in. This happens very rarely. “facebook.com” is almost never a referrer when I peruse my footprints. So, I can’t always tell that these people have visited. Other times, though, based on the time of day and the browser he or she used, I can make out who precisely it is who has visited.
I like having people over on my virtual site. But, this is only the general rule. What bothers me is that I believe (and I can’t be 100% sure) that there is a group of people–and many of them don’t know each other–who visit my blog to gather “ammunition” of sorts. I think it is their intention just to keep tabs on what I’m doing…and then wait…just sitting on that information…like they’re waiting for something incriminating.
It is a real possibility that I’m paranoid. But, of those weapon-gathering spies who I think visit my site, we never talk about what I’ve posted. Ever. So, I’m a little confused about what it all means. On the one hand, I don’t want to post something that will only be harmful. But, on the other hand, I don’t want to hide anything either.
How do you handle people you know IRL visiting your site?
Comments (6)
Hah, so I’m not the only one who reverse stalks people eh? I actually installed a tracker on my blog through statcounter.com because I found someone who kept coming back over and over, and I wanted to pin point who it was.
My story is extremely similar, I also post links on my FB to Xanga once in a while, and very rarely would anyone actually check it out. It’s strange, most of my posts on Xanga are quite popular, but in real life, no one seems to care. It seems like people have about 3 seconds of attention span on FB. If I post a picture, then I’d get a response, if I post a link, then nothing.
Well, no one is really that interested in me and my Xanga, a couple friends regularly visit, but unlike the creepy people you mentioned, we do actually talk about what I write and my pictures too, so it isn’t that bad. I understand what you’re talking about though, someone who stalks you are too embarrassed to admit they keep reading your stuff, so they don’t even mention anything when they see you. A bit odd and anti-social. A lot of people are like that though, I mean, how many Xangans do that? Follow your every post yet never ever post a comment or say anything. Weird!
Like you, I don’t really write anything on Xanga I wouldn’t say in real life. So it doesn’t really bother me much if someone reads it or not. My own private thoughts are usually just kept inside my head, or, on occasion, in a private post. So, nothing really worth hiding
That’s pretty much how I handle people reading my blog, even my mom reads my blog sometimes, lol. As long as I keep my posts to topics I don’t mind real life people knowing, then life is a lot easier.
I don’t mind people who come over and read my posts and leave a comment. But those who make a habit of leaving a one-page-long footprints without any word, make me uncomfortable. I just delete them or block them. I have heard that there are some who plagiarize. I do not want to be a subject of their ill gotten ideas to steal words and poems or what have you.
@XtremePsionic - The thing is, I don’t feel STALKED…I just don’t know exactly what’s happening/what the end game is. To be fair, I almost never talk to the faux-stalkers anyway, so I may have been a little misleading. Still, it’s jut a little confusing….I don’t think there’s an embarrassment there at all either. ANYWAY, I’m glad to know that someone else has the same experience. It just must be one of the new phenomena that the information age brings us.
@ZSA_MD - Luckily for me, I don’t have those kinds of visitors; the things I post aren’t particularly “plagiarizable.” One of the things that I like about Xanga is the way that it encourages comments on others’ posts–even if it’s someone you don’t know. Frankly, I’d rather have a Xanga visitor who occasionally leaves nasty, critical comments than someone who comes by constantly and says nothing at all. Thanks for reading!
hehe, there’s this old man whom I should not name, since he is quite popular on Xanga… there’s this old man who looks at EVERY single post and pulse of mine, but hardly ever say anything.
He’d go and post comments on every single female member on Xanga tho, often a bit flirty, and sends them postcards and gifts.
F**king creep, hahaha.
But I don’t block anyone unless they spam, so I let him browse all he like:P
I have my page set to block anyone that doesn’t have a Xanga account already. I keep my Xanga and Facebook completely separate, but I do give out my Facebook link through Xanga. My page doesn’t show up in Google searches, so I don’t have to worry about completely random people looking at my stuff.
@cook0129 - Some of my favorite visitors arrive through the Google–there was a week when it seemed like everyone from Ukraine and Russia visited my site after I listed “Serebro” (a girl group from that part of the world) in my tags for a related post. It gives me an undeserved sense of relevance. I don’t think I’m connected to Facebook through Xanga…I try to remain “faceless” here. I think it creates a sense of intrigue and mystery…maybe not. I think it’s fun, though.