I am a blogger. I do not specialize in any particular area based on choice. Sometimes I will write about bullying, while other posts I will announce a giveaway. I like to differentiate myself as being that girl who has an opinion and isn’t scared to say what’s on my mind. To put it bluntly, I do not cater to popular opinion in all of my social media efforts.
I listen carefully to others, I sympathize with their lows and cheer on their highs. I read other people’s blogs because I have a passionate interest to support them. I’m a great online friend to have because no matter who you are, I still look at you as a human with a voice. I will never disclose your secrets to monetize on my blog.
Well it really didn’t take me long to decide tonight that even though I am prone to listening to true crime stories, that I will no longer do so online. Tonight, I was officially kicked off a group that was speaking about the Tori Stafford case because I was “TADA” a blogger. I wasn’t shocked nor was I insulted because really the last thing I said in the group was that I was waiting to hear all of the truth through the trial and not rushing to assume things on a Facebook group with a smattering of detective wanna-be’s.
To be clear, I have followed the case since the beginning. I was part of many groups in the past which I became ridiculously addicted to. I was told not to get so absorbed when the trial started. However, I did join this one group as a friend invited me. I’m too busy now to keep up with it like I did before and made mention of that several times over the last four days. However, in those four or five months in 2009, it was amazing to realize how caught up a person can get in their online non-existence.
So back to why I was given the boot! I was told that since some woman named Dianna Holden wrote a self-published book, that sold about 10 copies in total (probably from those who she spoke about) there was 2 people who were leery about having any other writer in the group. I was like …okay….if you can call a person with loads of grammatical errors and spelling mistakes throughout a self-published book a writer, than Bob’s your uncle. Even I do not have the grammatical style as a true writer does!
Yes, there was a total of about 37 people in that group and little did they realize that there are well over a 1,000 people in the real world, with daily lives following the case as well. These people are not banging on their door to see what they have to say because they are the gospel. No, their opinions (and my own) really doesn’t matter because it’s all based on assumption and “facts” from other online faceless names who were scurrying around and most of the time fabricating truth from reality to illicit more questions. If the cops and journalists were watching those groups, they must have had a hell of a time.
At the end of the day, what matters is what is presented at the trial. What matters is that justice will be served. Online forums have a sprinkling of compassionate people who want to know, ignorant people who think they know, and a few whack jobs thrown in for a little drama.
As a dear friend of mine commented on my last blog, “Let’s leave this family alone because the only reason their skeletons are out of the closet is due to the fact that their daughter was killed by monsters. We all have skeletons!” There is nothing posted online that has ever spoken the truth like this statement.
So realistically, I chuckle and giggle at their ignorance. They really have missed out on making an online connection….but do I really want it? Not in your life. I’ve moved past that addictive “I have to know” nature that I had in 2009. I don’t need in my life as journalistic reporting is quite sufficient.
It is times like these where one realizes that turning off the computer, calling a friend, and sharing a giggle in real time is what life is all about. After the computer is off, those online folks are gone.
