Thursday, February 11, 2010

What You Write, Tells a Lot About You.

Of course you knew that didn't you? If I follow a blog for a while, I can get a good picture of the person behind the blog. Sometimes its a simple, down to earth lady, at home with a child or two or maybe more, content happily going on about life, finding happiness in the small pleasures of life, sometimes its a boy in the body of a man, looking forward to some fun and laughs, leading a life full of passion and enthusiasm, then there is that confused woman, who is still not sure of what she wants, or has not yet priorities-ed her life. Of course this works only for personal blogs, people who write about themselves, their lives, or if they write about ideas, or thoughts. The style of writing, the choice of topics, the frequency, the line of thought, it shows me so much about the person. I don't always consciously do it, but I often gain insight into the writers of the blogs I regularly follow. That may also be because I love observing people, understanding their thinking, looking into their lives and that just comes to me naturally.

It is so much fun unraveling the persona behind the writers. The first thing I usually percieve from the blog is whether the blogger is genuinely happy person or not. There can be many many states of being in between, being happy and sad of course and there are no generalisations, or putting into categories, because each person is so unique. I am sure I am not always 100% right, but most of the time I have hit bulls eye. Especially in cases, where the readership leads into familiarity with the blogger, a kind of bonding, I see that the person is exactly the image I had formed of them, based on their blog.

Having never done this consciously, it just led me down a line of thought yesterday, which made me wonder, how exactly do I form the image of the person beneath the blog. I put in some conscious thought into the process and I found somethings which I could piece concretely. Wondering if any of the readers might be interested in it, I thought of putting some general pointers to understanding the mind behind the posts you read.

Let me start with the blog of the reticent or the overwhelming. There are blogs which come up with amazingly powerful posts, rarely and occasionally. The posts may belong to a select group of topics or vary vastly in their theme, but there is no doubt about the fact that each post is a masterpiece. These people are generally perfectionists, and do not believe in giving anything but their best. They hoard appreciation, and perfection is a way of life for them. They will only post when they have something brilliant and exceptional to post, else they will not. Even if that means blog breaks of weeks at a stretch, there will not be any post unless it is brilliant. But in the same category, of rare blogging, there are also those who are shy and reserved by nature. The posts come few and far between, because though they enjoy the experience of blogging, they are not sure about how much of themselves they wish to share, and hence they come with posts only when they really really want to share something.

Many people blog to give vent to their thoughts or emotions which they cannot in real life, atleast not completely and openly. It may even be a case where, people prefer to express through writing than speaking. If you see someone regularly posting on one particular topic, posts which are like rants, or hints of rants, even if they don't have a personal touch to it, in all likelihood they have a personal experience of it, which is why the topic is close to their heart and often appears in their writing. It is like people choosing a cause. If one has lost a loved one to Cancer, they are likely to donate to Cancer research. No, this does not mean, if a person writes about the cause of human trafficking, they have been sold themselves, but if someone does write a lot about animal cruelty, they are likely to be great animal lovers themselves. As an example, if I keep talking about how the world is unfair to people who carry extra weight, or how the world is forever judgmental to the female body, it is likely that I have an issue with my own body image and the way it is perceived.

Some people hide, yes they try hard to hide what is truly them. I am not talking about bloggers who don't talk about their personal life on their blogs, or maintain blogs dedicated more to social issues/non-personal blogs. But those who work consciously towards keeping the personal posts impersonal. These bloggers, don't want to tell all, and keep their personal life, well, personal. The Internet is indeed not as nice as we would like to believe it to be, it has all kinds of lunatics lurking around, and these bloggers know that well and don't want to take any chances. They are likely to be cautious,level headed,confident and practical people in real life. Most of their posts are usually well thought, neatly formatted, well written, and unlikely to have any mistakes.

And then there are also the exact opposites. There are quite a few posts, not all mind you, which are ill-formatted, lose track of what it was all about somewhere along the way, often untidy and with a done-on-the-go feel, feelings are poured out as is, without editing or refrain. These bloggers to say the least are not practical or cautious. Most of the times their posts are quite personal and relate to them directly.Their posts give a feel of being in a conversation with the blogger than just reading a post. They don't write for the sake of writing, but more to have their say, express what they think and feel. Their posts usually pour out directly from their heart.

There are ofcourse the favourites of all, the charmers. These are bloggers, who are universally liked. Unless someone knows them personally, and has some issue with them(which will again be very rare), no one has a harsh or negative thought about them. They have views, which are clear and precise, their posts usually leave you with a smile or a happy thought. When they write about a cause, you can see that they genuinely feel for it, and are really keen on changing that in this big bad world, and this is not done to generate traffic or to gain publicity. Their personal posts, are usually happy and sweet, because that is their attitude towards life, and even if the post is about something that has bothered them or something gone wrong, reading it leaves you loving the blogger even more for their honesty, and attitude. If you write in to them or comment on their blog, they are likely to welcome you with open arms, and treat you as an equal, with no sign of snobbery. May I please add here, they are my absolute favourites, because, I believe these kinds are genuinely nice people, with a sense of humour about life, and a generally friendly and happy attitude.

Some bloggers, blog about just about whatever they feel like. They get loads of comments at times, and none at others. They go on to write about what pleases them. There are quite a few posts, which seem to mean nothing at all, and yet are fun enough for the writer to write about. These bloggers are usually chilled out people in really life, with a devil-may-care attitude. They usually do what they think is good/fun/right/appropriate, and do so without social approval. They do enjoy appreciation, and people liking what they do, but would not change their opinion/view/way of living, even if faced with censure.

There are ofcourse many other characteristics that can be seen, but jotting them all down would just make this post too to lengthy and then the other small nuances, which help form the whole picture, like a bloggers reply to comments, and their comments on other blogs, also gives us a peek into their mind, but that is just another long topic. And then there are some which I cannot really put into words, but can just understand through perception. So, when I join the dots, the posts, the comments, the replies, it forms such a clear whole picture of the person for me, that after a while, I just know what to expect from the blogger, and usually I get just that.

For each thing that I wrote in this post, I had one or more bloggers in mind, and as soon as I thought of a particular blog, I could easily formulate my words for this one. So do you also read the blog and the person beneath it? What do you see?

22 comments:

Sraboney said...

What kind of blogger am I?

MRC said...

:D You do know that this one is going to get a lot of questions in the same vein as the first one? So tell me please...and I'll tell you ;)

Renu said...

very interesting and I can see the truth....I am so curious to know what type I belong to?.

Miss M said...

First time commenting here to tell you that your blog header is BEAUTIFUL. The best one I have seen so far in the blog world. :)

PS- Been reading you for quite some time though. :)

sraikh said...

We just chatted about this and I obviously suck in that I didnt even know which one I am...

I think when one blogs, one doesnt see see herself/himself..as others do... Like for eg, I dont think making twenty thousand valentines is a big deal,but to so manyt people,it is! Or the shoe wala incident...

Anyways I am rambling and I will stop

Anonymous said...

I read the person behind the blog too... but I have generally been quite wrong with my impressions... so I have almost stopped trying to build an impression rather just read the matter... :)

you have in many ways got all of us in this post and none in particular...

by the way what kind of a blogger m i ??

I m sure my impression in your mind is of Tom Cruise & Hritik Roshan put to gether... sigh... what to do... :P :P :P

D said...

I don't read so much into a blogger's personality through their writings because at the end of the day you only know as much about the blogger as he/she reveals on the blog. Of course, there are things people like to write about because those topics are close to their hearts but that may be only one facet of their personality. Also, if I do not blog about something does not mean that it does not figure prominently on my mental radar.

You can get to know what kind of a blogger someone is by reading their blog, but not necessarily what kind of a person they are.

Passionate Goof said...


Bones - Smart and aware!

MRC - I have just started reading your blog, so don't know much yet, but I get the impression of someone who i overall happy, with a sense of humour.

Renu - Thanks.... No one belongs to just one category, they are just parts of their persona.

Miss M - May I say one BIG Thank You, totally floored by the compliment. And welcome to my blog.

Sraikh - You are a sweetheart and a superwoman, I have told you that 1 million times.

Hitchy - You don't have a woman's insight, so that leaves you handicapped Hitchy. You are a fun blogger. And I can never think of looks when it comes to bloggers, but you ofcourse, I have seen, and all i can say is, don't you dare insult Tom!

D - I didn't think you would. And no, it is unlikely to know a person 100% through their blog, but not impossible. Depends on how much and what the blogger writes about. Additionally, about having something on your mind you don't blog about, it is not necessary that the reader knows what it is, but they may have an idea, that you infact have something else on your mind. Isn't it?

MRC said...

:) Read your response to me and D, and am nodding my head in agreement. Yes, the blogger in me is exactly as you say, but (like anyone else) there's more to me as a person which I cant write about without breaching some one else's privacy.

And now, since a deal is a deal, here's what your blog says about you(to me)-

Your life at this time,is anchored by your son and husband.As a blogger you are honest,sentimental,sensitive, and generally happy but there's an underlying sadness about something in the past, which you sometimes hint at but would rather not discuss in an open forum.

Passionate Goof said...


MRC - You are a sweetheart. As I said, I am new to your blog, so I don't know you very well yet, but if I follow you long enough, I know I will get a deeper insight into you. I just will. :D About me, I agree with everything that you say, and the sadness is not in the past, its about issues in my life at this point in time, just trying to deal with it and brave the storm! Fortunately I have moved on from my past. :D

MRC said...

:D Thanks and Hugs. I like the slow , scenic route too, so read on , and I'll do the same.

The Soul of Alec Smart said...

True. You haven't written about the lazy blogger.. and that would be me! :D

Trish said...

I already told you..its a brilliant post!But I am curious too..what kind of a blogger am I?Or is it too late to ask that..since you've already met me?

Passionate Goof said...


MRC - Always more fun that way.

Soul of AS - You have become a non-blogging entity now.

Trish - I know you..... it is too late. :(

Roop said...

I'm the favorite one of course. :D

Sig said...

Interesting...funny how when we talked on the phone you said I sounded so similar to Roop!! :P

I wonder which one I am :P

I wonder if our blogs have revealed those similarities as well....lol I can only guesss hehehe

PS - tag on its way :D

Passionate Goof said...


Roop - You are nothing if not 'humble'. :P

Silvara - Yes, I know, your voices are just the same. Which ones do you think match you? Looking forward to the tag.

Smitha said...

That was absolutely brilliant, GM!

Such a beautiful analysis! And as I read you, I realised that you were spot on! I could identify bloggers in every category you mentioned :)

As for our own selves, I guess it is always difficult to figure out, isn't it? Because our own impressions of us might be different from what others perceive of us :)
This was such a wonderful read!

Indyeah said...

a lot of those categories seem to be so very familiar:)
I used to believe one can kind of (if not completely) know about a person through their words, the way they write..realized lately that its almost impossible:)
one can at best guess:)
But yes, sometimes one does hit the bulls eye:D

one is a little of all those people(whom you have talked about) at all times no?:)

(hugs):))

Passionate Goof said...


Smitha - Thanks. You could find the bloggers could you. Fun na, guessing what the person who writes the blog might be like!

Indy - Yes, its obviously all a guess. Depends on how honestly the person writes too. But so far I have come up with a pretty accurate picture of most. And yes, each thing I have mentioned here, is just one facet of the personality, and each one has so many different facets.

Sandhya Menon said...

Boy, do you have a lot of time :D

I don't mean that offensively. But there's a bit of every category in all of us eh?

Well done post, though.

Rakesh said...

I dunno what you think about me but i'd like to be counted in your favorite category :) "genuinely nice people, with a sense of humour about life, and a generally friendly and happy attitude"

I like that :)