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My “return” to blogging has been a long time coming. But the concept has been plaguing my mind lately.

I consider blogs, in part, biographies of the less-than-famous. Written by people who are, generally speaking, out of the public eye. These people aren’t interviewed by journalists or featured in documentaries, so the way for the average Joe to learn about them is simply to read their own words. Read their blog.

One of the hard parts about having, lets say “unusual” interests is that it’s difficult to find people who share them with your, or people who are vaguely interested enough to listen when you go on and on about them. The internet makes this considerably easier. No matter what your interest are, you can inevitably find a community focussed on it if you look hard enough. Of course, this is also one of the ever present dangers of the internet, but that’s another story.

Having a blog, i think, is a good excuse to pretend you’ve found similarly focussed individuals. You know that google et al will pick up on the keywords you include, and will increase the flow of relevant traffic in your direction. You hope that this will bring in the like minded people, and you sit back waiting for them to contact you.

The problem is, if you primarily write for a desired (but potentially fictional) demographic, how do you also write for the people you know? The real life inhabitants of meatspace that read your blog because they know your domain name, or because they have your business card, or because they work with you.

As a human, or at least a close approximation, i act differently to the multitude of folks i meet and liaise with. To some people i’m Geeky, to others Weird, some might call me Emotional. Some people consider me a bit of a Joker, but a few people consider me Serious. Some know not that i won’t suffer their crap, but one or two know they can make fun of me without the risk of offence. To some i’m Philosophic, others think i’m simple minded and easily amused. I’ve been called Sociopathic, Relaxed, Aggressive, Cruel, Cold, Warm, Moody, Generous. Some people consider me some kind of Tech Support, to some people i’m their Emotional Tampon and others consider me Artistic. I’ve been called a Mans Man, and i’ve been called a Womaniser. I’ve even been called a lot worse than that!

I don’t know which of these are true and i don’t much care, but what i certainly do care about is the evident truth that people make their own judgements, and formulate their own opinions based on your differing actions.

The way i joke with my friend Shaun for example cannot translate into my friendly banter with Elliott, and vice versa. The effort i put into enunciation around English people is greater than it is around my fellow countrymen, especially those inhabitants of the armpit of Scotland that i call home. These changes in speaking style give me reason to second guess my writing style. Am i being too formal? Too informal? Too niche? Is my use of slang appropriate?

Too many people in my opinion, are guilty of trying to become the latest undiscovered writer. They write as if the world is reading, when the truth is it’s just a few random Googlers and your aunt Sarah. There’s no need to stress over your grammar and print out the blog post so you can proof read it later. The truth is that the people reading want to learn about you, and the person you are. They want to see shadows of you in the words you type.

Which brings me to my real concern. If everyone sees a different part of me, which parts to i let spill out onto my blog? Do i type this so Shaun appreciates it? Add some discussion about exciting death techniques or tell that i want to drill a small hole in his skull, tie a starving woodpecker to his nose and watch as it feasts on his living brain? Well i could do that, but the truth is that Shaun probably didn’t get much past the first paragraph, it’s not like i’m writing about southpaw video game controls or anything.

I know other people read my posts, i can tell because it taints our conversations. But they don’t comment. So should i write specifically for people whose only evidence of readership comes from Google Analytics and the scattered hint in conversation. Should i flavour my blog entries with things they’ll find familiar and comfortable? Perhaps i should leave them out of it entirely. Should my tone and attitude differ from post to post, suiting the subject matter?

It’s hard to formulate an opinion, and it’s somewhat scary to consider that friends of mine may find my writing unfamiliar, but on the other hand people that don’t know me may get a better impression of who i am.

Where’s the middle ground?