Virgin blogging 2.0

A week or so ago, I decided that I'd try to join the cool kids' club and start a blog. I am, after all, a Professional Journalist and Highly Trained Writer.
So I cobbled together a few sentences, posted them and decided to give them a week or so to "breathe" — you know, like a fine wine.
Ten days later, I realized I'd made vinegar.
During those 10 days, I really began to study the blogs of co-workers. Then, I got brave enough to branch out to some of their friends. And I realized that I had been sold one of Life's Big Lies.
"Blogging is easy," one friend told me. "It's just like keeping a journal."
Not. So. Much.
Journals — or at least the ones I kept as a teen — are full of pitiful poetry, pithy prose and pretty pathetic pining. Journals are places to spill out your emotions, confess your inner turmoil. And they are meant for your eyes only.
Blogs, on the other hand, require some skill. Sure, you can fill one with emotional vomit. Who wants to deal with that drama?
The bloggers I read and admire walk a fine line. They are sharing their lives, but they also are carefully editing that sharing. Some things just don't belong in print.
Oddly enough, I found solace in that. I don't really want to live my whole life on the Internet. I want some privacy, some personal space even in cyberspace.
So, I revisited my first post. I'd broken a cardinal rule by oversharing. Instead of bottling the fruits of my labor, I poured it down the virtual drain and started a fresh batch.
Here's hoping there soon will be something worth toasting.