Further Blog Coverage of Hidden Lives

Here are a few more of the early blog references to Hidden Lives:

- Blogsunday commented, "Are you afraid to tell people your deepest thoughts? Show the world your inner self and the one your truly are!"

- Dipping into the Blogpond reviewed Hidden Lives and described it as an online PostSecret

- The Japanese Polar Bear Blog also gave Hidden Lives what appears to be a detailed review. But still no Japanese entries!

- Syn's blog linked all the confessional sites in one spot including Hidden Lives (and PostSecret again!)

- The interesting (and different) Flying Debris blog also took a look at the site.

Enough for now although there were a few other blog mentions, from Sweden (I think) and Argentina (my Spanish is pretty rough) and inclusion in some link lists.

It's certainly an interesting exercise tracking the blogosphere. Random and very unpredictable!

Life is...

"Life is... rara, absurda..."

Hidden Life entry from paloma, female, 36 years old, Madrid, Spain.

From Early Days Looking Forward

The original motivation behind Hidden Lives was one of curiosity. Of exploration. Of reflection and expression. There's a line in my journal from a few years ago saying, "I want to hold a microphone out to the world."

Obviously there is great potential - assuming the continued growth of the site - in exhibiting or publishing Hidden Lives entries in different ways.

Invariably however, the bulk of the feedback I have received is about the functioning of the website itself. A typical example comes from the excellent blog Tomorrow's Playground:

"Hidden Lives could increase the ability to engage and hold the user for a longer period of time if they provide some more interaction. The ability to save your favourite posts or subscribe to member’s posts would be a good start. Then again, Hidden Lives is still in Beta so additional feature sets may be rolled out soon."

So. While my primary focus is on getting more people to unveil themselves at the beta site - this being the crucial test of the concept - I am certainly spending some time thinking about what the site could do in the future.

Previously I had separated the website from the project. But it appears that this distinction is getting less and less meaningful. So stay tuned for some posts on possible new features to the site for the future.

The Question Marks on Hidden Lives?

A quick visit to Hidden Lives shows a number of coloured question marks in place of people's images. Example below.No great mystery there. These occur when registered Hidden Lifers choose not (or neglect) to attach an image to their account. Early days of the site suggest that entries with images receive more votes of appreciation.

Right now, there's only 1 entry in the top 20 'most votes' without an image. But as you can see here, it is a very moving reflection (full entry) from Spain. Words reproduced below:

"I once believed that life was... predetermined, that problems will get sorted, somehow. But experience taught me that we are masters of our own destiny, and that all our dreams are reachable, we just need to stop complaining and start fighting for them. Regret only what you haven't done."

Submitted by Trucha, female, 32 years old, Madrid, Spain.

When I'm alone I...

"When I'm alone I... have been known to dance and sing around the house. It reminds me of being little and listening to the record player with my sister and thinking we were the only two who knew how truly great Billy Joel was."

Hidden Lives entry from alissa, female, 25 years old, Pasco, United States.

My hope for the future is...

"My hope for the future is... to marry my wife a second time. I hope to see her look at me like that again."

Hidden Lives entry from Xamine, male, 40 years old, Bergen, Norway.

(Comment: I find this such a touching entry. And such a stunning image.)

I still harbour a dream to...

"I still harbour a dream to... never work again."

Hidden Lives entry from beached, male, 34 years old, Sydney, Australia.

(Comment: Simple, honest and what an image.)

Early Blog Coverage of Hidden Lives

These sites below link directly to the early references to the launch of Hidden Lives.

1. The first blog linking to Hidden Lives was Zern Liew from eicolab. And yes, he is a friend! But his site(s) are well worth a visit for a new take on creativity and business.

2. A close second was Andy Polaine whose Playpen blog on education, interactivity and emerging cultural forms is most certainly worth a visit. Andy is also a co-founder of the Omnium Creative Network.

3. Next come the excellent and influential Indian tech tips site by Amit Agarwal at the Digital Inspiration blog. Amit was the first to compare Hidden Lives to the Post Secret phenomenon.

4. And then there was this brief post on Pro Web Art.

5. And another quick reference at A Day In The Life... .

6. By this time the traffic was slowly building and it was certainly given a boost by The Blog Herald's detailed review and post 'Do You Have a Hidden Life?'.

I'll try to post some more blog coverage in coming weeks as it is an interesting experiment in tracking.

It must be noted that in the first couple of weeks, for all the blog mentions, the biggest boost to the site - without a doubt - has actually been the traffic flowing from the brilliant StumbleUpon site. A new discovery for me and one that is an essential web surfing tool.

A Taste of Windows Into People's Souls

As entries are submitted to Hidden Lives, collages of images (13x7) become randomly populated. This is one of the early random collages.

The official launch of Hidden Lives (beta)

After years of contemplation and creative development, and months in alpha, the beta of Hidden Lives is finally here.

This is the official press release.Everyone leads two lives.

An 'outer' life filled with day-to-day activities and to do's. Jobs, routines, meals, meetings, bills, discussions about the weather. And then there is the 'hidden' life. Dreams, hopes, fears, hopes, regrets and imaginings. The things you think but seldom share.

Hidden Lives is an online space where you can anonymously unveil your hidden life. And peek into the hidden lives of people around the world. Draw back the curtains at the newly launched website.

Hidden Lives aims to become a unique global artwork brimming with intimate, beautiful and moving self-expressions from people all over the world.

You can also be amongst the first to see the launch video posted on YouTube. Pause. Reflect. Then unveil your hidden life to the world.
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For more information:
Justin McMurray
justin[at]ideogeny[dot]com[dot]au
www.ideogeny.com.au
14 March 2007