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Bloggers Without Boundaries: Are the Lines Getting Too Blurred?

Posted: 01 Mar 2009 06:18 AM PST

In this post Jonathan Fields from the Career Renegade Blog and author of the book Career Renegade talks boundaries.

It's Sunday morning, you're up early, the house is still quiet. And, like any self-respecting blogger, you take this time to meditate, set-up your day and plan what you'll do with the family, today. Not!

That's what you know you should do. But, instead, you wander over to your computer, check your blog for comments, check your subscriber and traffic stats and maybe crank out a quick post or video. Then, you jump on twitter to check your timeline, follower numbers and reply to any @'s or dm's.

A few minutes later, the kids wander out and your day really begins. Breakfast, then the day's activities. It's all great fun, yet, you still find yourself reveling in those random moments in the rest-room, where you linger a few extra seconds to check your e-mail, IM, twitter and stats once more on your trusty iPhone.

Congrats!

You've become a card-carrying member of Bloggers Without Boundaries.

You've lost the ability to separate your virtual community from your real-life community. And, in fact, what happens in the ether, for you, may play an equally important and impactful role in your life as what happens in flesh and blood.

Question is…to what end?

No doubt, the line between social media and socializing has become hopelessly blurred for many. I'm sure I am not alone in counting a number of twitter and blogging relationships among my "real" friends. In fact, I speak with certain online friends far more often than I speak with other face-to-face friends.

In the thick of this social media wild west, the rules are literally being made up as we go.

Along with the rapid fire commingling of online business and online friendships comes the near total evaporation of the "time" lines that separate family time and work time.

Add to that the ubiquity of smartphones with apps that give instant access to social media wherever you go. And, many bloggers end up blogging, tweeting, e-mailing and IMing seven-days a week, often sneaking it in with smartphone-driven mircobursts.

All of which makes me wonder…

"What's the net effect on our humanity and ability to maintain intelligent boundaries between work, play, family and friends?"

Has the expectation now become that bloggers and social media marauders are available 24/7? For people like us, is there such a thing as a fixed workweek or office hours anymore?

Is social media the new Crackberry?

Has the ability to micro-burst a small bit of work by smartphone become an ever-present intrusion on personal and family time? Or, has it allowed those of us who work largely online to take immediate action on something that, a few years ago, would've been spinning in our heads for hours until we could find the nearest computer or returned to our offices, and given us the ability to be more genuinely present between the offending digital distractions?

Put another way, is this technologically-driven blurring of the lines between work and play and time spent in each a good thing, a bad thing…or just a thing?

Curious what your thoughts are. Let me know in the comments below…

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Jonathan Fields is the author of the new book, Career Renegade. He also writes Awake@TheWheel and CareerRenegade.com and produces Career Renegade TV and the weekly Renegade Profiles podcast series.