Monday, October 6, 2014

Which Identity Where

please excuse my inexpert use of the "retouch" tool in iPhoto to get rid of my organization's logo on the backdrop

Well, I think we can all agree that I failed spectacularly at keeping my day job off social media yesterday!  As I become more confident of my role in my organization, the pride I take in what we do grows and I want to share that with everyone I know.  I'm still not sure it's entirely politic - which is why the 9-5 bit of my "day in the life" post from May 2013 was totally vague - but my career is a huge part of my identity and it feels strange to compartmentalize who I am professionally from who I am online.  This is one of those instances where what I want to share of myself diverges from what the blog (and blogworld) needs to have shared, so thank you for indulging me.

Remember when I took a month-long hiatus from blogging in February?  (I wrote about it here, if you don't.)  Honestly, it had a lot to do with work - or, in that instance, the lack thereof.  I was unemployed at the time, having lost my job in a round of cuts as my former employer tried to weather a storm, and I found it really challenging to maintain my whole sense of self while not at all feeling confident in my professional identity.  Without an office to go to and colleagues with whom to interact, I found myself expending a lot of the energy I would have invested in work relationships on blogging relationships.  I'm not sure how better to explain it, because I do absolutely value and treasure the friends and connections I've made through social media, but the dynamic I like to have with coworkers is different from the one I think it's possible to have with casual blogging acquaintances given how and why I blog, and I was getting them confused.  Stepping away from the blog was a way of separating the two; it helped remind me that I didn't emotionally need to make blogging fill the professional void of unemployment.

There's no moral to this story - though I was offered the job I currently hold only a few weeks after that blogging break, so maybe there should be - but I wanted to tell you about it.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on the balance and/or blend, dear readers.

 photo 866de425-8336-4c63-9efd-1c4dd8bf0e62_zpsafe0d56b.jpg

12 comments:

  1. It's a totally bizarre balance, walking the line between the things that take up so much of our daily life and all the other things that come together in our blogs. I really envy people who get to blog about their work! I think you've done a fabulous job of creating an online community away from work, though!

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  2. Does it make me a bad blogger/iphone user to say that I didn't even know there was a retouch tool? Personally, I don't think that you need to blog about your work to have a fully fleshed out blog. But if you were to blog about it- I'd love reading it! x

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  3. I think it is finding what the balance is for you. When I worked in property management and blogged I would say general things like today was long or some people are rude but I left it at that as people can be horrible, vindictive and irrational when it comes to renting and it is always best to not make the tenants angry at all in case their tenancy ending comes to a court trial.
    In regards to Fredrik it is so hard as I am so proud of how good he is doing in nursing school but when you are dealing with peoples medical care there are actual laws involved. He was just at a place for four weeks and due to the type of care they give I could not mention it at all and even when we were out together in public we had to be careful of mentioning the patients or the place.

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  4. I think that it's ok to separate your personal life and work life. When I was teaching, I rarely blogged about my job. I knew that I had the constitutional right to, and there were some days that I wished I could have just vented about the ridiculousness that happened that day, but I also knew that it could potentially jeopardize my career.

    Now, I often blog about work, because it obviously makes sense to update readers with new cards and such. And I also find that there are similarities to running an online business in comparison to being a blogger. My biggest struggle is not writing or posting in social media about my frustrations that are related to my business. I think that is where the fine line runs at the time being. Sometimes I do a really good job with it, and other times, I vent about something only to backtrack and delete whatever I wrote in hindsight. However, that creates a whole different topic for debate-- whether or not those with online presence should be forced to paint a falsely perfect picture of their lives.

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  5. dont worry girl -- we all need to find a balance that works for US. btw you look beeeautiful and i love your dress!!

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  6. As a teacher, I worry al the time about how I will be able to keep a blog and be able to teach. It is dodgy ground to say the least - that is why I am taking baby steps towards being more anonymous!

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  7. I find the balance I little hard, I don't share my 9-5 at all in my (barely updated) blog or social media platforms. Sometimes it's because I don't want to, but largely because I actually can't. I sometimes find it hard to not share this huge part of my identity and my passion for my job in my "online persona". I think I concentrate on more of a hobby focused (i.e photography) point and then also, my blog and social media become escapism, which I quite like. Sorry for the rambling! Love your dress!

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  8. I work for a web design company. I manage our social media and the social media of select clients. Maintaining a presence on social media (and being very careful about it, alas) actually supports my role in the company.


    You and Jon both look stunning!

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  9. You guys look fantastic! I've blabbered about this on FB with you before, but I'm all about transparency. My employer likes it, for the most part. I'd love to at least hear a little bit about what you do!


    Sometimes I write vague posts about work life (i.e. lessons I've learned) but I never really link to my employer. On social media, I do talk about them, but that's part of our internal SM strategy (gotta get our name out there). Part of the reason I love blogging is because when I move on from this job, my blog comes with me.


    Anyway, I think it's a challenge to stay away from the topic of career when it is such a big part of who you are/how you spend your time (assuming it is okay with your employer, obviously. Sometimes it isn't and that's cool too!).

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  10. I definitely think there's a delicate balance on this sort of thing. I love hearing about what people do, and in some sense, don't mind sharing what I do. But on the other hand, I've only recently started being more wary of people knowing where I work. The whole privacy thing does worry me a lot more than anything else though.

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  11. Like @gladleynet I love hearing about bloggers' day jobs...it reminds me that not everyone is doing the blog thing full-time and that everyone has stuff going on offline. Where I've settled for now is posting on Twitter under my full name, which I've mentioned or connected to my blog before, but not posting about the specifics of what I do. It's information that could easily be found but I don't think the two are connected. I also err on the side of not expressing many political opinions online, as I don't want my beliefs to be seen as the beliefs of my employer...and also, I am generally fairly private about those topics anyway.

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  12. I agree there is a balance...and it's different for everyone! I'm still trying to find mine! PS you look fabulous in that dress! So beautiful!

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I love reading your thoughts and suggestions! Please do leave a comment so we can get to know each other better.