Inspirational lunch

Had lunch today with two semi-employed creative and talented friends. I thought it would be good for us to get together to help inspire each other, and it was really nice. Mike left academia where he's been teaching in the drama department, because he wants to do his own performing and theatre creation. And Rehana has a PhD in postcolonial literature and has been trying to find a job in academia - no small feat in this day and age.

I talked about my forays into techno-land, creating a website and blog. We discussed blogging in particular, their concerns that if they created one it would have to be formal/official and they would feel stilted. And I've thought, blogging is funny. Who is going to read it, what's OK to say, how much should you reveal about who you are? And what about the advantages or disadvantages of doing anonymous vs. identifying yourself? And does blogging attract people like me who tend to be loud (as an American, I feel I must keep up the stereotype in England), or self-revealing? And if you're in a field like academia, do you have to worry - what if other academics read your blog and don't think you're smart enough?

Not sure, but I'm enjoying the informality of it all. And since I see myself as straddling academia and practical-landia, perhaps it's easier for me to just expose myself, so to speak. Of course, who knows if anyone is reading this anyways, in which case it's all irrelevant.