HELL NO I Won’t Censor My Blog

{latest post} HELL NO I Won't Censor My Blog http://bit.ly/dpG9V8

RT @marianschembari: {latest post} HELL NO I Won't Censor My Blog http://bit.ly/dpG9V8 <- yes!

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HELL NO I Won't Censor My Blog | Marian Schembari http://bit.ly/9KAdmd

I like it! I've always liked hiring people with a pulse and sense of humor … otherwise they wouldn't be able to stand me :) Great post Marian!

RT @marianschembari: {latest post} HELL NO I Won't Censor My Blog http://bit.ly/dpG9V8 That's right-stay true to who you are. Loved this!

I agree with you Marian. Sometimes I worry about the stuff I tweet about…and I think twice and sometimes want to go back and edit…but it's important for people to be real online, because that is basically the key to engagement. I relate to what you're saying, your blog made me laugh and therefore you've engaged me…and it's definitely not the end of the world if you happen to offend someone online. Considering all the people you HAVE engaged, if someone is insulted by your language, and decides you're not worth following….f*ck'em. :)

Hi, No, I don't normally swear in public (at least not bad ones!) , but sometimes I feel like swearing at: my computer, Facebook, bad drivers. However, I do like the new way of swearing using acronyms: WTF, FFS, etc.

Glad you're out and about again.

Just saying what most of us think; go Marian! RT @marianschembari: {latest post} HELL NO I Won't Censor My Blog http://bit.ly/dpG9V8

Now I know that your situation isn't funny at all but the way you wrote about it just made me laugh so much. You are incredibly funny and you made more than one fair point in your recent blog posts. (I'm only just catching up! :) I loved meeting you the other day. Keep up the good work and I hope you enjoy London twice as much. Once for yourself and a little bit for me too cos I already miss it loads. :)

I used to only keep a private blog because I was so worried about what everyone would think about what I ACTUALLY think about and who I am. It wasn't until I gave into the idea of NOT censoring myself, being honest, and and open that I started reaping the rewards of blogging (and yea, all bloggers know that now).

So when the benefits of being uncensored outweigh the negatives, keep on keeping on!

Thanks to @marianschembari for mentioning me in her new post —> http://ow.ly/2bV1c

I think we all start out that way – even without a private blog we're the in-between generation. Old enough to worry about the repercussions of being online but young enough to do it anyway. After blogging for a while that way – being careful, private, inauthentic – we very tentatively dip a toe in, testing the waters. The more we do this the more we realize it's much more fun and our blogs are much more successful the open and honest way.

So happy we both figured this out! (however late it may be)

You’ve heard this a thousand times: “Be careful what you put online. It’s there forever.” Yes. Thank you, Grandma… http://bit.ly/dpG9V8

Ha! Marian Schembari quotes me in her blog post. Today is a GREAT day!

Here's a viewpoint… in a way, we as bloggers are entertainers. We need to borrow some style from performers. We need to be funny, dramatic, or provocative enough to get people reading. Imagine if the studios told Leonardo DiCaprio that he had to say “frak” instead of the f-bomb in movies. (oops… just gave away my sci-fi geekiness there). We would all find that incredibly lame, wouldn't we?

We pay for movies BECAUSE they allow characters to express themselves. Nobody says, “Jeez, Bob, can't wait for that new Nicolas Cage movie where everybody stands around having polite conversation.” I want the people I read to be the same as real people I know… with their real struggles, emotions, and observations. All my friends swear. So if you swear in your blog, you're just like my friends.

Hmmm… this is turning into a post for my own blog…. gotta go… thanks for the mention!

RT @marianschembari: You’ve heard this a thousand times: “Be careful what you put online. It’s there forever.” Yes. Thank you, Grandma… http://bit.ly/dpG9V8

haha the "lamebook" post is too much! RT @marianschembari: “Be careful what you put online. It’s there forever.” http://bit.ly/dpG9V8

Hell no… she will NOT censor her blog. Good for her. http://ow.ly/2bWVd

I approve of potty mouths.

Oh Colleen, I approve of YOU.

Fuck this……. ;)

Ok….couldn't resist. Your detainment drama seems like total bullshit. If they would actually stop you from entering because of an F- bomb, then the world has bigger problems than we know.

I actually do censor myself a bit, and I try not to curse too much. That might be because I have family that reads, or maybe it's because I have the fear of god in me, or maybe that's because I think saying Mother Funner is funnier than saying Mother Fucker. I don't know, but that's how I am in real life too. I can curse, but I don't make excuses to do so, although I do curse often.

Great read miss!

Bravo to you for being authentic. It isn't easy to be yourself online, but I've found the blog posts when I'm most myself are the ones people most relate to. Some of the most successful bloggers out there are the most inappropriate, poop-mentioning swearers (yep, I'm looking at you, Dooce) and still get to work with established companies. In part I think that's 'cos those companies know what they're getting.
If you were just posting rambling screeds of curse words, that would be different, but you use them in context and in moderation (mostly).

The way you put it — that for your job situation and the people you want to work with & who want to work with you — censoring yourself would probably be counterproductive. I remember a tweet you wrote months ago: you were so f'ing mad at a person who dredged your brain for great SM ideas and then didn't even have the courtesy to say thanks. FFS! At the time I wondered if it was too k'vetchy and frank but now I hope said leech got an earful (a tweet*ful?).

Haha, thanks Janet. I wish I could say they did, but…. who knows. Anyway, I really appreciate your comment and think it just goes to show that it 100% depends on the person, what they want to accomplish with their blog, and their very unique personality. What works for me may not work for others and that's okay!

What a terrible welcome to London! And don't censor yourself – it makes you more real. Enjoy the hell out of your next six months here.

Haha, yeah, my family reads my blog (hi mom!) and I definitely watch what I say because of that. I know a blogger who talks about sex a lot and I never EVER EVER could do that because that's just not me. But it's totally HER. Capiche?

Anyway, I appreciate the comment dude. And I know I owe you an email, I'm getting to it ;-)

Thanks Diane! No, it definitely isn't easy, but it IS strangely liberating once you get going. I still do feel a little ill when someone writes something nasty, but I also know the people that are nice here make great friends :) Hopefully someday you and I will meet :)

Here's to us all being authentic!

Dude, you are so full of brain knowledge it's ridiculous. Bloggers definitely are entertainers in one way or another. We all blog for a variety of reasons, but at the end of the day it comes down to who is the most interesting. Am I more interesting by cursing? No, probably not. Are there other words that may bring my point across better? Yeah, probably. But I do write like I speak, making it easier for me and more “authentic” for readers.

I love your thoughts, bro! Keep 'em coming :)

Hey man, I aim to please. The detainment definitely wasn't funny, but it does make for great ice breakers,conversation starters and infinite blog topics ;-)

Hey man, I aim to please. The detainment definitely wasn't funny, but it does make for great ice breakers,conversation starters and infinite blog topics ;-)

Elaine, technology makes me swear like a sailor even more than I already do! Ugh, especially Twitter when it's down, definitely WordPress and 100% my laptop ;-) That's probably why I'm such a potty mouth on my blog – it's all technology based!

Elaine, technology makes me swear like a sailor even more than I already do! Ugh, especially Twitter when it's down, definitely WordPress and 100% my laptop ;-) That's probably why I'm such a potty mouth on my blog – it's all technology based!

So glad I engaged you! Mission. Accomplished.

And yeah, I figure the people that do stay and read and those of you who come back are the people I want to KEEP engaging.

So glad I engaged you! Mission. Accomplished.

And yeah, I figure the people that do stay and read and those of you who come back are the people I want to KEEP engaging.

Yes! That's exactly my point Michael, THANK YOU. If you're going to stand me in real-life, might as well start preparing you for my personality here on my blog ;-)

Eh, I kinda disagree with you on this one! (First time ever?)

I think it's so important to have a personality, and you really let your personality shine through on this blog. That's part of the reason I like you.

But I also think it's possible to have a personality without swearing, and since that has the potential to offend readers (aka potential clients), I steer away from it. I love how you call yourself a social media thug, but does your blog really need swearing to do as well as it does? Nah.

But hell, I'm just one person. And no, I don't count “hell” as swearing :)

Je ne censor pas. The less I censor, the more my writing reflects the gut reaction I originally had to whatever it was I wanted to write about, instead of a watered-down version of something less likely to offend my future employers/friends/mom/boyfriend/mailman whatever.

you know, at my job in New York (not true of my current one so much) I used to say, if everyone likes me, I'm not doing my job right. Some people pleasers are not only obsessed with having everyone like them, but they want everyone to like everyone, although that often means appealing to the LCD and theefore making everyuthing dumbed down, generic, and inauthentic. While I am very careful on my blog and in my social networking world to keep things PG-rated (even though I swear like a sailor at home), I agree with you completely and I am glad you are being true to yourself. Is it limiting? Perhaps. But you're not trying to get every customer in the world. The client that is right for you will not be offended. In fact, it's like a very cheap and easy screening process!

Language is an interesting topic because words really do matter — For myself I like to be as precise as possible – and I do feel that using some expletives are cop-outs — “shit” instead of “the work I signed up to do” for example… Cursing someone out because you're mad is just a waste of everyone's time. The most ridiculous word debate though is the term 'mommy blogger' – women who call themselves 'mommy bloggers' don't understand why the rest of the world think that all they talk about is how cute their kids are, but if you're going to use a name like 'mommy' to describe yourself – a term usually used by toddlers to address their parents, I think the ansewr is self-evident… anyway, some self-censoring is never a bad plan -but having a personality is also important, otherwise what's the point of reading what you write?

Shayna's got it. I love your blog – keep it coming!

I'd much rather read social media info from a “Marian” or a whoEVER than just some faceless, bland corporate-like social media blogger!

The whole point of social is transparency and authenticity. =)

And for the record, all of my clients swear.

Shayna's got it. I love your blog – keep it coming!

I'd much rather read social media info from a “Marian” or a whoEVER than just some faceless, bland corporate-like social media blogger!

The whole point of social is transparency and authenticity. =)

And for the record, all of my clients swear.

Great blog: post on the power, danger, and controversy of social media and on being true to yourself http://bit.ly/d7hijF

It's true, I've met the nicest people online, and people who really seem to “get” what I'm saying. And yes, it would be lovely to meet you one day :)

Don't censor you! No one should ever censor themselves! Especially not you, lady. You say more stuff instead.

That said, I do sometimes censor myself when it comes to swearing (well, online at least). I've realised that the posts where I swear a lot are often rants, rather than well thought out pieces. Obviously, I don't think that's the case with you, I don't think you swear all that much. But I know I need to watch it. I wrote a post I should have been proud of about a product called “Skinny Water”. It was just ranty and full of swearing and it didn't make me look good – had I waited an hour before writing, it would have had less swearing and more thought. So I censor myself, breathe, have a bit of a think. Most of the time, when I've done that, half of my swearing goes.

But there's still a time when only saying FUCK will do. I guess I've realised that for me it's more effective if I don't say it every other sentence :-)

Some *serious* discussion going on in the comments section of my latest post: HELL NO I Won't Censor My Blog http://bit.ly/dpG9V8

RT @marianschembari: *serious* discussion going on in comments section of latest post: HELL NO I Won't Censor My Blog http://bit.ly/dpG9V8

I think your last point is an interesting, Alexis – some people have different boundaries when it comes to swearing. Even some countries. Marian calling her friends “bitch” in NYC might be fine, but that won't fly over here in London (not unless you know there person pretty well, anyway). I'd be fine with it, but others won't. One person's language might offend one person but not another – and that's when you're censoring yourself to suit everyone else. There's no way you can know where to draw the line.

With everything you write there's a danger of offending someone. The difference is when you're using a strong word for effect, rather than to be gratuitous. I don't think Marian crosses that line, but I am curious to see how much Marian's language changes whilst she's on this side of the pond…

Shayna, I am SO your biggest fan – I love every point in your comment(I especially love what you say about mommy bloggers). I spent my entire senior year writing a thesis on the definition of the word “feminist” and how important even the simplest word can be and how we define things is – ultimately – determines how we define ourselves. The thing is, we so often forget this. Myself included!

Thanks sugar pie!

Of course it's possible to have a personality without swearing! My personality ISN'T my potty mouth, but my potty mouth is an aspect of my personality. What I'm saying is that I don't really feel like changing my language because I'm nervous about offending anyone. I attract a certain kind of client and I'm more than okay with that.

Haha, well, if I start saying “bloody wanker” on a regular basis, you all have my permission to boycott my blog.

Yay! I like gut reactions and concentrated versions of posts!

It totally is! And I love what you say about a screening process. My job would be way less fun if I worked with authors who were all generic copies of each other. And to be perfectly honest, most authors I come across are a little eccentric, meaning the species in general is more geared towards my personality ;-)

Thanks so much, Cassie, you're such a peach! And sounds like you've got some entertaining clients, yourself… lucky girl!

FUCK is a very powerful word and definitely suits certain situations more than others. I hear you on the rant aspect though. I definitely do tend to swear more when I'm angry or annoyed or frustrated with something. Which, to be perfectly honest is most of the time ;-)

Hehe! I'm going to make you say that over tea.

Hee. It always makes me laugh that primetime US TV can (or has in the past, anyway) got away with “bollocks”, “wanker” and “shagging”, which our pre-watershed TV would never get away with. Foil those censors, I say! ;)

RT @marianschembari: Some *serious* discussion going on in the comments of my post: HELL NO I Won't Censor My Blog http://bit.ly/dpG9V8

love this post!

I recently wrote a post about becoming more open and it just so happens you've mentioned authenticity as becoming part of that bunch. It's true. The more profound you become the more they'll hear you. From there on it's noise but at least it's your own.

I applaud you for not censoring your blog. I'm not quite there yet- although I'm trying to be.

My twitter and blog are completely separate from my work. I have nothing on them indicating the company that I work for, and I don't knowingly interact with anyone from my circle of clients. I never talk about work in any social media, except to say something positive. All that to say, my twitter and blog are for my personal use. While I keep work separate, I do realize that when people follow me or read the blog, they are absorbing what I say, dissecting it, and forming opinions about me. I also realize that since I don't know all of these people, there could be unintentional effects from someone reading what I post. Which makes me a bit afraid to be completely honest in the blog or twitter. I'm working on that. I'd like to have a true “screw the rules” mentality . I applaud you for doing it. It takes courage to be completely who your are and deal with whatever the fallout may be. Your authenticity shines through. And a well placed “Fuck” can be quite powerful. Cheers to you for not censoring yourself.

I read the whole saga of your detainment, and I can't believe that happened! I know the airport folk in Edinburgh and London were a little unforgiving when I studied there, but luckily studying abroad gives you lots of paperwork to prove your purpose. I can't believe it's been suggested that you censor your blog- I enjoy your perspective and I don't see how a few choice words make you deportable… unless of course those few choice words include bombing, terrorist, or anthrax.

My reaction to @marianschembari's blog post, HELL NO I Won't Censor My Blog? FUCK YES. http://bit.ly/bXY27P

Good for you. In this humble writer's opinion, swearing is *part* of a good vocabulary!

Hahaha, way to totally crack me up, Amber. Thanks!

I often forget that so many more people use social media for personal reasons – I'm a bit of a workaholic and have a hard time separating how I use things for my personal and work lives. That's also why Facebook is the one outlet I keep private ;-) That all said, you make some really great points, Ashley, thanks so much for contributing!

Oooh, great last line there, Thu! “It's noise but at least it's your own.” LOVE. IT.

Well this is an interesting one for me in a number of ways :)

Do I agree with you in terms of authenticity and transparency? No :)

I look at it as no different from face-to-face interactions. There are things you will discuss and say in front of a small group of people that you won't say standing up in front of 1000 people. We all do it and it doesn't make us inauthentic or non-transparent.

The key for a blogger is to make their own decisions as to what is appropriate/inappropriate for them, what they will or want blog about and remember that “online is forever' (yes I'm chuckling while writing that :) ).

Unfortunately people do regret what they have said or done online. I get enough emails from people asking me to delete their blogs so they are removed from searches because they have erred in judgment. And being the person that has to tell them to the good news about Google and how it caches web sites — isn't a fun part of my work.

But I do agree that it's a blogger's own choice what they are like online, it is an important part of building relationships with readers and makes them stand out from others.

I use my parents as a gauge for what I post online. I'm sure people have lots of different relationships with their parents, but I only post things I am comfortable with them reading. So far, so good!

RT @marianschembari: HELL NO I Won't Censor My Blog http://bit.ly/dpG9V8

# UWP part of alumni tent tradition at Wisconsin Farm Technology Days – stop by tomorrow through Thursday! http://bit.ly/bXY27P

[...] just came across Marian Schembari blog and read her “HELL NO I Won’t Censor My Blog” post. The first picture caught my [...]

Marian,

Please do not censor your blog. I'm often accused of being cranky and at least slightly inappropriate myself, and some people have gone out of their way to let me know they don't care for me and my style of doing things. Those who do, however, get what they came for, and usually a whole lot more. The value a coach or consultant provides comes in the relationship and the relationship won't be real unless you are. Keep being yourself. And while you're at it, tell me how to be less boring. I think you're good at that. I will not, however, be seeking advice on immigration and international travel from you. I trust you'll understand. I can imagine no greater circle of hell than a British detention facility with generic chips.

Google is the canary in the mine, and should remind us that kowtowing to dictators inevitably leads to a diminution of our own freedoms. The thought that moral suasion will change the heart of a communist is proof of our own desperation and continued GREED for cheap labor and shoddy consumer goods.

Censorship is fucking lame!

I guess it all depends on what topic you’ll be writing about. At Yakezie.com we’ll be focusing largely on personal finance and lifestyle. So perhaps in the occasional lifestyle post, there will be a swear word or two, but it’s pretty clean otherwise. I guess I just don’t swear much in real life, so swearing is definitely not there when I’m writing b/c it takes a lot more thought writing than speaking.

Yeah, I think it definitely depends on your audience the topics you write about it. I pretty much only swear in personal posts and ones where I’m ranting. If a swear or harsh comment isn’t necessary then there’s no need to include it. Nothing worse than swear words that have been just thrown in – they rarely make their desired effect that way!