The Importance of Being er, Truthful?

Well, like many I've been following the We Tell Stories Penguin 6 week special (for those of you who haven't heard of it it's well worth a look).

So, I haven't found any of it mind-blowing literature but I did find one story thought-provoking, although it's the medium rather than the text.

I'm talking about Slice.
Slice is told through two fictitious blogs by the main character (Slice) and Slice's parents. Now these are real blogs (whatever 'real' may mean in this context) hosted on recognised blogging sites and, as would be expected, the entries have attracted followers and so comments. Some of the commenters (is that a word?) are other fictitious friends of Slice from home but some of them are avid readers of the blog.

Now my question (hypothetical I hope) is, what if someone stumbled across these blogs through the ether and was unaware of the Penguin Six Stories connection? Would they fear for this girl's life? In essence, would it matter to them if the girl was real or not for all the difference they could make?

Truth and authenticity is a subject much debated in the realm of traditional oral storytelling but I fear it is less contentious an issue there than in the virtual world. I firmly believe that all stories contain truth, whether it be a true tale, or culturally accurate, or resonates with the human soul. (To clarify, my definition of 'truth' in this context is similar to 'believability' - if the story doesn't ring true on some level then it simply cannot function as a story.)

And I suppose that this blurring of reality/fantasy or fiction/non-fiction can occur on many other planes (e.g.'The Man Who Planted Trees') but is 'truth' (as in the events actual occurring) important here? If you can identify with or be inspired by a character in fiction (or popular media culture) then is the emotional reaction less valid for its fictitious underpinning? If so, try telling that to the thousands of girls who broke their hearts crying over the break up of Take That. (Which btw I wasn't one of.:-))