Saturday, June 03, 2006

Blogging with no face on



hmmm... i noticed that most blogs i follow have no photo in the profile, even Jem back when she had a photo it wasn't a full photo it was just the corner of her mouth. the only exception is Manal and Alaa's blog and i follow them for the obvious reasons.


i just realized this recently, photos automatically bias you either towards or against a blogger, in my case most times it was against.
i just can't take a blogger (who's okay with everybody knowing who they are) seriously, i like to read about people's feelings (sort of a peeping tom) on their blogs, never was interested in the "today i went to work, had a sandawetsh fool and gaaly eshaal" blogger.



one other thing, i just saw a pic of one of the bloggers i follow daily, if i had met her in real life i probably would have never noticed her, and had i seen her photo before reading what she had to say i would have never ever paid attention, probably would have been my last visit to her blog, not that she would have cared aslan (she has a looooot of readers, i doubt she does it for people anyway, none of us should, it helps to have readers but yet no one started out with readers) but i would have missed out on getting to know her better through her blog, she doesn't strike me as the person in the photo, she looked older in it and not well dressed ( she sounds much younger, and a lot more vain on her blog)

i have a problem with judging people, i do it all the time, and it's subconcious too, within 2 seconds i profile people according to how they look, THEN i start listening, sometimes you can't help but be biased by what you see (it's a bad thing but i can't help) and with anonymous bloggers you get to form an unbiased opinion and you get to read deep emotions that the non-annonymous bloggers don't talk about

if only i could do so in real life

21 comments:

The Eyewitness said...

I liked this post a lot Kareem. I think most of us have this prejudice problems with people, especially when it is about how they look like.
It is really a great internal freedom when are not biased by the appearance of those we deal with or meet even occasionally.
Great Post.

Veeeva said...

it seems that i've scared the daylights out of many ppl and so i've decided it'll be for the greater good to change my pic...lol..

i just dunno y ppl won't put theirs..i mean, the rest of the universe sees them when they r on the street right?

yea.. sometimes one can't help being biased..its awful

Anonymous said...

u have to remember that while some people arent afraid to be identified, others appreciate the anonymity offered by not having a photo on their blog for various reasons
(i'm sure you can come up with a dozen of reasons on ur own)

on the other hand, what you're talking about is indeed something that we can all identify with.
i shamefully say that i really had a severe prejudice problem a few years ago.
thankfully its not that bad anymore (it's still a bit there but am working on it)

anyway, to summarize what i want to say, hear people out THEN judge them. i know its easier said than done, but at least if u cant help but judge people before u hear them out then at least have the will to still hear them out even if u judged them already.

nice post ya kareem.
PS. the hangout is empty all the time, (you should talk about it ba2a :P)

Sand-E said...

There's this whole appeal to creating the person you wish you were or want people to view you as that comes with anonymity. It's control at its peak don't you think? You could be the snobiest person you know but with the correct choice of words you become humble and down to earth, quite the intreguing social experiment!
I'm with still breathing on this one though... why the disregard for someone with their photo posted? Isn't it just a sign that they're comfortable in the skin they are in and totally willing to expose themseleves?
Maybe the appeal isn't so much in the exposure per say but the feel good sherlok holmes feeling we get in trying to understand the inner workings of other bloggers?

Pazuzu HSP said...

Personally I don't post my picture for 3 main reasons:

1- I don't want mail from some weirdos.

2- I don't have much pictures anyway.

3- If I post a picture and the people that read my blog think it's ugly or stupid or disapointing or anything... Whatever they think they won't dare to tell me, what they really think, many would feel compelled to tell me how much they like it. Anyway, it's really not worth the effort

...Oh not to mention that if I ever choose to meet anyone of my friend blogger I'd want to keep some sort of surprise, that's funny

maxxedout said...

dude why don't you create some margins or sthg
ana 7ases eny lazem a7ott el laptop 3ala seifoh we 2a2ra men fo2 le ta7t zay el yabany !

Pazuzu HSP said...

I like looking at pictures of people, and criticise them alot. (sorry)

Alluring said...

I have very high expectations towards the looks of people i haven't met, my imagination always makes me believe that any human i get in contact with is good looking.
I'm shallow i guess :P

And i'm with you ya koko, i find it unpleasant that some poeple post their pics on their profiles or any where online. My imganitaion is quite fertile, no need for people to ruin it by showing me the real them!

Veeeva said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

3ala fekra there is another thing, i think its very interesting if someone posts a pic thats similar to how they think they look.

like forsoothsayer for example on her blog (she has a pic where she says she thinks looks kinda similar to her)

or my pic i am using for example (i drew this one myself as a self portrait for me, cartoonish style)

this is more interesting than an actual photo because it lets u see how the person views themselves (wether it was a drawing they did themselves or a pic they thought it looked similar to them, it lets u see how they percieve themselves)

maxxedout said...

the lines just seem endless .
you need margins .
but i can see them properly no problem .

Anonymous said...

I am a big fat Anti-Anonymity kind of person...you know what?? As u mentioned in your post..I don't usually write for people...yet in some instances I share some "I think informative, funny, etc" stuff, or such things ya3ni...I found that I started to have big # of visitors and don't enjoy MY place "blog" anymore..fa started a new hidden and secret one..3amalt 7arakat ba2a...w nick name..w aflam keda....I hated it...and deleted it...I felt like..it is ME..and I love that ME...achievments and failures...good and bad experiences...intellectual and childish thoughts...a beautiful blend..and a persona to celebrate..not that it is great wala 7aga...bas I admit when I screw up..and I party when I accomplish something...why should I hide.."that is my personal opinion"...including my photos...I go and meet bloggers..and I know most of my sidebar listed bloggers..fa I have no problems with my photos posted or not..yet I don't like to post photos..3ashan you know..it is not safe at all. But I did...it was a beautiful day..that I always want to remember..w ba3den dude.."how do u expect me to go in such a hot day walk, sweat, and eat" in my Zara shirts?? :D...mayenfa3sh..kaman..I look older than I sound?? I am 28...3adi ya3ni...didn't mean to shock you...bas hane3mel eih ba2a :).

Anywayz..I don't want to make this one long..but believe me ya Kareem..people are more about looks..of course being striking is super pretty would be awesome..but if not...there is much in a human being that would made him/her a hell of a flamboyant character.

“I was a personality before I became a person"

KareemFromEgypt said...

sand-e-sez: "but the feel good sherlok holmes feeling we get in trying to understand the inner workings of other bloggers?"

there's some truth to what you said

Nerro: nerro ya nerro i was shocked by my failure in drawing a mental image, that's all.

maybe shocked dih too big for what i felt, shocked indicates i fell off my chair, i was more like surprised? 7elwa surprised?

btw it wasn't just the portsaid images that i saw, kan fi bardo your "my photo" beta3et el bait to bait walk.

oh i thought we were cool? u removed my link :(

Anonymous said...

La2 I was playing in my side bar..and adding links w keda..I didn't remove it..we are cool ya Kareem :D

Jehan said...

so Kareem, why is it then that you would like me to post a new pic????

KareemFromEgypt said...

cuz your photo wasn't a full one, just a part of ur face, and a nice fuzziness inducing part if i may :) therfore preserving the sherlock holmes feeling/effect

ie: we don't get to see the full you jem

The AntiSocialite said...

hey, it's my first-time visit here, and i started thinking about the whole debate about the 28 year old lassie and the writer of this blog, and thus wanted to say that i think it's highly amusing (to me) how:

1- people write down 'i got sandwetch fool and got...' and expect readers to like it!

2- people put their photo and get cross if they get recognised and ostracised

3- the egyptian guys who are most critical of how others look in their sooraz are sometimes the ones who have the least right to be critical of how others look!

hehe, i jest. i'm sure you're all lovely :)
God bless you, and stay away from foul foool.
;)

KareemFromEgypt said...

ya3ni eh ostracized? translation plz C.O.M.

Jehan said...

ostracized- to be on the outskirts eg: as an Arab in the southern states, Ahmed was ostracized. Gets it?

So then WHY did you want another pic...hmmm kareem? silly egyptian man, so odd. I dunno if i wanna be a fuzzy-feeling inducing kinda gal. R U a fuzzy-feeling loving kinda boy? I feel that this would result in too many squirmishes.
fuzzy feeler....

- Jem

Jehan said...

ostracize can also mean to exclude, or to banish someone from a group.
:)