Age - How old are you now?
I'm 24 (birth date: 75/09/07)
When did you started your online diary?
I started my journal (Private Goes
Public) in March 1998
Marital Status?
I'm gay, un-single (but not living with any significant other)
Occupation - What kind of work do you do?
I'm a student in Social Science (I'm preparing the equivalent of a PhD
here, in Paris)
Hobbies - What do you like to do,
besides keep this diary?
I'm a poet, I also track music, and design websites.
Location - Where are you from? Where are
you now?
I was born in Mauritius. I've been living in Paris since 1994.
Do you communicate with readers of your
diary?
Yes, many of them. By e-mail, mostly. And two or three readers are close
friends I've given the URL to...
How much email feedback to you recieve
from your diary? Is it mainly positive or negative?
The feedback is mostly positive. Newcomers leave a message in my guestbook.
Long-time readers (most are fellow-journallers) have become friends throught
time, and we react to what each other writes...
Have you met any new friends because of
the diary?
Yes. But I've never "met" them offline...
Has your motivation changed over time?
No. But the frequency of my updates has.
Do your friends and family know you keep this
journal/read it? If
so have
you had any really negative experiences as a result?
If not why?
My friends and parents both know I keep this journal. Some close friends
have the URL and read it. My parents don't. Really negative experiences I
can think of: not being aware that my then-boyfriend was reading my diary,
and learning it after we broke up...
If you had to do it over again from the beginning, what
would you change?
The first layouts, which were awful (i'd just learned HTML!)
Do you have any favorite entries?
Yes. But I can't remember any particular one right now...!
What do you look for in an online journal, as a reader?
Style. Insight. Quality in writing. Intelligence. Wisdom. And signs of a
"twisted" personnality.
Do you use your real name in your diary?
No. I use a pseudo.
Do you censor yourself in your diary?
No. I don't have that impression.
Do you ever use fiction techniques such
as imaginary dialogue?
Yes. Sparingly.
Do you ever significantly edit/rewrite
past entries?
No. I believe in inspiration, and automatic writing. The only "editing" I
do, is sometimes changing the layout of the entry, not the content...
Would you describe your diary as
traditional, essay, novel, rant, letter to someone, a theme journal, or
something different?
Something different. But I don't know what! Not traditional, that I'm sure
of!!!
What is "one word" that would
describe your diary's content?
Transparence?
As an online diarist do you consider yourself
a Web celebrity, an
exhibitionist, a public figure, a writer, an innovator,
or something
different?
An mixture of all these, in varied proportions...
How do you tackle the mechanics of Web
design and how do you deal with your frustrations when you can't do what
you envision.
I've pretty much progressed in that field, and I manage to get the ideas I
have into code. When I can't, well I either fight my way into learning new
techniques, or forget it all and try something else...
Why do you think people are interested
in what you have to say?
I don't know if they are interested in *what* I have to say as much as *how*
I say it... Anyway, it remains a mystery...
What compels you to design beautiful
pages and to write from the heart (beyond just the usual question of
"why an online journal")?
Isn't that what you call an "artistic drive"?