SINCE the late 1990s people have been putting their lives, opinions and and insights on the world wide web. This phenomenon is called "web log" or "blog". Blogging has, since its conception, branched out into various different fields. Now one can blog, vlog (video blog), photoblog, art blog, podcast (audio blog), mix-and-match, or throw it all together as one cacophony of visual, auditory and written bites.
Blogging is an excellent way to vent. To get up there on your soapbox (without actually owning a soapbox) and make your opinion known to all who care to read, and some who don't. You can rant about your job, bitch about your neighbour's dog, and even air other people's dirty laundry, even though its not yours to air.
As such I thought it appropriate that my first blog post, be about blogging. More importantly, the danger of blogging. In and of itself, blogging is fairly harmless. Putting your thoughts and opinions in an online journal is not a dangerous thing per se and in fact it can be very good for the soul (if you don't mind the whole world reading it). It's just harmless creativity, right? So how can it have any dangers?
Well, the problem doesn't lie in the concept, but in the content. The dangers of blogging lie in the fact that everybody, and their mother, thinks they can write. Which is not entirely false, anyone can tell a story, which is essentially all writing is. It's recounting a scenario, or expressing feelings, experience and so forth. Where most people fall short is, knowing which stories to tell and which ones aren't yours to tell.
Luckily for the gen-pop there are very few rules regulating the Internet, so you could probably get away with calling your boss an arsehole in your blog, legally speaking (although if they read it you'll most likely get fired). However, there are certain things that, although not illegal, are ethically or morally wrong. These are the things most people cannot differentiate between. Everybody is prone to bad-mouthing at some stage and doing this in private, among friends and family is one thing. Putting it on the web for all to see is a different thing entirely and could lead to more problems than it's worth.
Although it may seem like harmless fun, what you say could be damaging to others. This is why they teach journalists certain techniques of saying what you want, but in a way that prevents legal action (because once it's in an official publication, it can have legal ramifications). You'll notice in certain instances they wont use a persons name, or they use "alleged" and other leading words. The kinds of words where the reader knows what is implied but the publication cannot get into trouble for. An extensive vocabulary and subtle insinuations can keep you out of a lot of trouble while blogging too.
The other thing that could cause a problem is what you blog about. Example, just because you know the CEO of a certain company is a trans-sexual, drag queen, who's having an affair with his secretary; doesn't mean you should blog about it. Tabloid journalism has become vastly too popular and some desperate journalist could pick up on this and then its over. Which might be acceptable to some people, but it's neither ethical nor is it 'cool'.
At the end of the day it comes down to this, "If you can't say anything nice, rather don't say anything at all." Or if you must, say it in such a way that doesn't destroy a person's life and possibly get you run out of town by a lynch mob.
I'm just sayin'
