Privacy issues and blogs
I was reading a blog the other day and it had a lot of personal information. At the same time, the author made some conscious choices in what and how he wrote. It got me thinking again about privacy issues - both of bloggers and those they may include in their blogs.
The blogshere is an interesting environment. First, it is most often a “public” place. Few people make private blogs. Second, it is pretty much “permanent”. You can delete a blog entry or an entire blog, but that does not remove it from search engine caches such as Google, and Yahoo - nor does it preclude it from being copied in whole or in part into other blogs or publications.
Given its public nature, its important to make some conscious decisions about blog content. Some people blog like its a diary. Others blog like its a journal. Still others blog like its a marketing tool.
My personal take on blogs is “if I choose to write details of my life, that is my choice and I take the risk and responsibilities associated with it.” However, family, friends, and acquaintances may have a different perspective. for this reason, I try to avoid using full names, locations, and details of their lives. They do not edit my blogs so it’s only correct for me to protect their privacy.
I’ve seen a number of techniques employed on various blogs to protect privacy - some keep their blogs completely professional - work related or completely focused on a subject such as a hobby, sport, or discipline. Others avoid proper names or use initials. I occasionally use first names but I try to keep it to references to other bloggers who have already published the details I make reference to.
If someone really wanted to find information on an individual, they could do some digging and get what they wanted. I just try to make my blog an uninteresting source for private information.
Do you have a blogging policy ?
