tremble.com: IF YOU DON'T HAVE A RAT, YOU CAN'T BE ONE OF US.:
I've suddenly come to the realization that I no longer have much privacy. I've forfeited it, bit by bit. Some was intentional--this website, my decision to talk about my personal life in stand-up comedy, my compulsive need to show my penis on the bus--and other things were beyond my conscious control, although I suppose they would have been in my control if I exercised slightly more control. Most things I didn't notice, but now I'm struck by the cumulative effect. Struck and stuck.
Honestly, it makes me more wary about willful sharing, because lately I'm much more conscious of who might be reading my words, commenting on my Facebook status, clicking my links, watching my videos, subscribing to my Flickr stream, following my Twitter feed, etc. I've consciously chosen to engage in all of these aspects social networking tools, but separately. To see the picture of my personal life they create, all together, is a little intimidating. I could unsubscribe to all of them, in one sweeping gesture, but in this age doesn't that just make people think you're suicidal/dramatic? I used to be really amused when people would discontinue posting to their websites because they'd never just neglect them into obsolescence. Instead, it would usually end with One Final Post. A long goodbye, filled with all of the many reasons This Must Happen. Or worse, a pithy and obviously labored sentence meant to convey, in as few words as possible, the weight this website has burdened the author with all these many years, and their regrettable--but necessary!--acquiescence. Something like this:
unsubscribe.
3:31 PM
Dilettante Archives