LJ Idol 58 Sit Down and Shut Up-Ranting LJ Style

[puppetmaker]

I'm putting this under a cut so you can chose to read it or not. I don't want it just popping up on your friend's page. It is my entry to this week for LJ Idol. I hope you like it or at least are given something to think about



A rant can be good for the soul. It allows one to clear their head and get some of the junk that is stored up inside out to be examined. A well-done rant can be a thing to behold. I have read some that are exquisite in their use of language and argument. A poorly done rant can leave one feeling very unsatisfied. And sometimes a rant is just that a rant. Not done for the offering of solutions or other ways to look at the problem but to just get the bottled up feelings out.

I have ranted in the past about various things. I have had lengthy discussions with friends over topics that I know we are never going to agree upon. I have made myself heard above the din.

But there is a lot that I don't rant about on this web log or any of the others that I have. I have a written journal that I keep most of that in. And I have a couple of close friends I can go to with anything and I know that they won't judge me but listen and offer support. Then there is my husband that I can tell just about anything to and he will support me. I have a good support system which I know is a blessing indeed.

There are a number of reasons why I don't rant very often here. This is, to my mind, a public place. It may be my corner of the Internet but it is still accessible to people that I might not want to know certain pieces of information about me and my family. I know I have a couple of people who are passing information onto others that I would really like out of my life but because of how my life is tied up in my husband's, it is not possible for me to totally isolate myself.

What I say can affect my husband who like to call himself a Vaguely Important Person. To me he is a very important person. But I know there are people out there gunning for him. So I have to be careful not to give them any ammunition. And I do have to seriously hold my tongue at times when I have information that the general public doesn't have that I can't say anything about. I just have to sit and watch people slam the man that I love which makes me very angry.

I would like some day to find another position in the editorial field or in some other form of entertainment where I could utilize my unique skill set which would be a boon to the company that finally hires me. What I say here can be a make or break for my getting and job and, more important, keeping that job.

I have had friends who have had things that they said about previous jobs or employers on their web log come back and haunt them in future jobs. There was an article I read in the New York Times I believe about employers and colleges looking at their applicants various social online activities including their web logs, my space pages, face book and web sites and used that as part of their criteria for whether they would get the job or a space in the next class. And what is put out here does not go away. You might delete stuff but it is still out here somewhere. Nothing really goes away. And even if you delete it on your hard drive, it is still there as a number of criminals have found out much to their chagrin.

So I hold some rants back. I avoid some topics on purpose. I try to keep an open mind about what I read on the Internet.

But there are times that a good rant is the only way to go. And I will read and listen to those who need to rant about various subjects even if I don't agree with them. It's their blog and their space on the Internet. Rant away.

Comments

[jenandbronze.livejournal.com]

You have made some interesting perspectives into this entry. I think everyone should digest this one with care. Great job!

[baxaphobia.livejournal.com]

I am very careful not to use names of people who might be effected by my rare rants. But I certainly realize that thing really aren't confidential on the net. So far so good. I suppose if a person is in the public eye more, such as Peter, things definitely get a bit more complex. It's too bad people feel they need to take what you write and use it against you or/and Peter. People honestly need lives.

[rosepurr.livejournal.com]

This is well thought out and articulated. And true!

[paigemom.livejournal.com]

I have a bit of an idea what it's like to live in a "goldfish bowl" because of who your family is. I do not envy you this.

[brightflashes.livejournal.com]

But there are times that a good rant is the only way to go.

So true and I agree with Jen. One needs to read this with care - so much wisdom to be soaked up! :)

[shadowwolf13]

I try to always keep in mind that any employer I apply for asks for my email address, and I am connected all over the net by that address.

Great post!

[lilmissmagic71.livejournal.com]

*nodnod* Very true points...

great entry! Much to think about!

[walkertxkitty.livejournal.com]

Well written. I find myself exerting self-censorship in some areas of my life for some of the reasons you covered. My husband works for a Fortune 200 company. He's their best programmer, their top Admin, and he holds the futures of many other prominent corporations in his hands. There are just some things you don't want getting back to his workplace.

[kittenboo.livejournal.com]

very good points, my husband is no where near as famous as yours, but he is well known in his field. I do think about that sometimes, and don't write about anything that could ever make him look bad.

It is a fine line though

[alycewilson.livejournal.com]

I agree with you completely, and for the very same reasons as you, I try to limit the negativity on my blog. I almost never talk about work for that reason.

[wickedsin.livejournal.com]

just as a unified practice, I don't participate or vote in LJ idol, but I did enjoy this piece and thought I should let you know.

[thenodrin.livejournal.com]

I have a friend who was interviewing potential new hires for an engineering firm and part of his review process was to Google their names. He found that this sometimes led to their thesis topics, or sometimes entire works, and that often helped him find good fits.

One potential hire had his MySpace account come up from a Google search. My friend, and some of his coworkers, also has a MS account, so he took a look.

The potential hire had made a blog post about the interview and was very unflattering. He was insulting to the firm and to my friend and said in his blog that he would take the job if offered but would keep looking for something better.

He didn't get that job offer from my friend.

And, everything that I post, I think, "Is this something that I would say / have said to the person in question?" I posted that there is a supervisor here at work whom I don't like, and did so in verbiage that would make it impossible to not figure out which one she is. Before posting, I thought about it and decided that she had to know I didn't like her, I'd said it enough times in the office, that seeing it on the internet shouldn't make any difference.

It is also why I try not to say my real name or my place of employment in my blogs. I got an intercompany email advising that if I advertize where I work, then that would make me a self-appointed representative of the company. Since I don't want that filter (not without pay, anyway), I try not to mention the company that allows me to pay my bills.

I guess what I am saying is that I understand and agree. :-)

Theno