Hey offline friends and family, this page is for you!
Thanks for being here!
There’s still something sort of weird, awkward and vulnerable to me about putting content on the internet that my offline family and friends read. I sometimes find it hard to express things well online knowing the range of people who will read it, and who will read it out of the context of my relationship with them. I also sometimes find it hard to read friends’ online content out of the context of my friendship with them, thereby gaining access to this inner world that they haven’t really shown me offline. So I wanted to write this note to you about how I plan to deal with some of the things that can arise in this intersection of offline relationships and online content.
Firstly, and most importantly, I want to reassure all of you that if I use stories from our friendship or ideas we have discussed in my writing, I will be careful about how I (don’t) identify you. I’m very aware that not everyone wants their name or picture posted all over the internet and I want to respect your boundaries in that. Consequently, my default will be to refer to you guys anonymously, even though this means not always crediting you with your awesome ideas and input in my life. If, however, you would LIKE to be mentioned by name or would like to be tagged (with a link to your online content) then let me know and I’ll try to do that. (Basically, if I’ve mentioned someone by name or used a picture of their face then I’ve got their permission, or they posted it online in a public sphere before I did.)
Secondly, and also importantly to me, I hope that if you read things online here, you’ll make the fact that you’re reading and following along visible so that it can become part of our relationship. I’d love to have offline conversations about the things I write online, and I hope you will realise that what I write is a momentary snapshot of a journey I’m on, and that your relationship with me is part of that journey. You may strongly disagree with something I’ve written – let’s talk about it. You may learn something you never knew about me – let’s talk about it. I hope my offline relationships will only be enriched by this step I’m taking into blogging.
Thirdly, and this is related to the first point, you may recognise a conversation or story in my writing and know the person or place I’m referring to. Please would you respect the way I have spoken about that and not reveal that person or place’s name in the comments – either on the blog or on other social media? It’s easy to do, but important not to do. Thanks so much for respecting people’s privacy.
Fourthly, if you feel uncomfortable about how I’ve told a story that you are connected to in real life, or you think you’ve got the wrong end of the stick, please contact me and tell me! You may also be interested to read Wylde & Free’s About page, where I talk about the fact that whilst I believe my writing is true, it more true to the sense of an occasion than to the details of a particular incident. In other words, it’s “based on a true story.”
Finally, thank you. I think you know you mean the world to me, and have been a huge part of bringing connection, beauty, adventure and freedom to my life, so thank you for being part of my journey so far. Writing online is scary; I’m glad I’ve got offline friends and family I can be myself with too.
loads of love,
Rachel