Elizabeth, you make a good point that people have varying comfort zones with 
a digital presence, and that this is not necessarily a generational thing.  
You're right that the apparent ages ofr the people in the posted Frappr pix have 
a pretty wide range.

For an interesting take on the question of historians blogging, see
http://modeforcaleb.blogspot.com/2005/02/blogging-graduate-student.html .  
This was written by someone who then was a graduate student in history.  He is 
about to start a teaching job this fall and has just announced this week that 
given that and the imminent birth of his first child, he is stopping blogging 
for now.  The main reason seems to be lack of time.  The post to which I link 
above is a year-and-a-half old and dates back to when he still was a student.  
One of the people commenting there is an older, retired history professor who 
himself blogs frequently.  

There are a number of reasons why I post long messages here on the List but 
don't blog.  One of them is the fact that I am compelled to write about certain 
subjects because of the experiences I went through in 1989-1992 with the 
Nixon tapes.  Other topics I don't feel I can touch, at least right now.  There is 
some expectation for bloggers that they will post relatively frequently and 
on a broad range of topics.  Also, if they allow comments, there is no telling 
what respondents will say about the topics introduced.  A Listserv seems to 
give me more control, as I can dip into topics or retreat into silence.  And I'm 
just one of the crowd.  I feel comfortable on the Archives List.  However, 
each time I post something here I am aware that I'm leaving digital footprints, 
it's something I've always kept in mind.  Arel pointed to this issue in her 
recent posting about Lists.

We all have individual reactions to the whole idea of a digital presence, of 
course.    People who have been burned one way or another or had someone do 
something deliberately hurtful to them probably are more cautious than those who 
haven't.  I know I've developed some "trust issues" over the years, LOL.  
Sometimes I slightly envy those whose professional experiences have been sunnier, 
but whaddya gonna do.  Mostly I know "where I am" and am okay with it.

Back to digital pix, MySpace, Facebook, Frappr, etc.  The children of public 
figures really have it tough.  There seems to be an emerging industry for 
locating and posting pictures on some political websites of politicians' teenage 
or college-age children doing "silly" things.  Back in the days of 35mm film, 
when there was very limited circulation of personal pix, and schools used 
hardcopy yearbooks, they wouldn't have received that type of circulation. 

Maarja




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