How safe is blogging?

This goes out to the blogosphere generally. It’s a question that up till now I’ve not had to think about too much. But today I found my blog on Google. This means it is now technically in the public domain.  The question I’ve been pondering is this: how safe is blogging?

I’ve been a big fan of VegHead’s blog at

http://www.fatsquirrel.org/bologs/veghead/

for quite some time now.  I happen to know him in a vague sort of way, and he has a great style of writing, some interesting thoughts, and the fact-o-meter is fantastic.   In it, he comments on his work, his mood relating to work, his relationship with his wife – not intimate stuff you understand, but just the fact that she is human, has feelings, both good and bad, and that the course of their relationship isn’t always perfect, though they seem happier than most as a whole, thank goodness.

One of my work colleagues asked me whether they could have a look at my blog.  I’m a bit wary to be honest, which is plainly ridiculous as, since its now Google-able, its there for all to see. And a surprisingly large number of people have indeed just done that. I personally know none of these people.

My fear is that something I say, particularly about work, will filter out, be seen as derogatory by my employer, and land me a pile of shite. I’m not being paranoid – Americans have been sacked for making even innocuous comments about their employers.  See

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00E17F63D550C728FDDA10894DD404482

for an idea of what I’m talking about.

Now I’ve not mentioned my employer by name anywhere on my blog, and nor do I intend to.  My return email address for comments is an international Gmail one. But it would not take a genius to work out whom I am employed by.  I’ve not made anonymous, for example, the name of my wife, daughter and family.  I’d certainly have no problem doing so if I believed it would cause embarrassment or hardship to them. Mostly, I’ll just refer to them, in these cases ‘a male friend’ or whatever.  But even if I made the mistake of mis-judging whether someone I knew minded being mentioned (eminently possible), that’s one thing.  It would be my responsibility to justify and/or apologise to any individual friend or relly I offended. My employer, on the other hand, won’t necessarily accept an apology. And I do take my financial responsibilities seriously. This means not rocking the boat, or at least not rocking it to the extent that would get me in front of a tribunal, or worse, sacked.  

Perhaps I’m just being paranoid. But my guess is, that since blogs are now taken seriously by employers in the States, it will soon be the case where someone British is booted out of a job for making comments their employer sees as hurtful to their business.

Mood: Pretty OK
Book: Adrian Mole and the WMDs
Music:  Anne Dudley