Outerings Abound

With everyone outing and outering themselves online these days, it might be useful to look at the nature of blogging (again) for the purpose of creating some rules for what should, and should not be said online.

Yes, I start with the premise that certain things should not be said online, and this is not a freedom of speech thing. The context here is what one should not say online, if you are at all concerned about your privacy, or garnering undeserved attention.

Are there any rules we might point to?

Categories of writing: personal experiences, fiction, news, opinion, analysis, etc.

Blogging is different than writing in a diary, and different from writing in a magazine. A blog entry is simultaneously perfectly accessible and perfectly hidden. Exposing a minor personal detail in a blog comment is unlikely to have any repercussions whatsoever, unless it does. Threats to privacy are directly related to how much interest there is in your personal details. If you're a noname schmuck, you are completely free to act like an insane person without worrying too much. If you're famous, all bets are off - you now have no choice but to be concerned for your privacy.

But at the same time, the blogging experience liberates, by recontextualizing the personal essay. Readers learn over time to not blush when someone says something crude or revealing, because such talk is ubiquitous on the internet. Indeed, bloggers clearly feel quite at ease at divulging personal experiences online. A reader of a blog learns to expect a more conversational tone and less adherence to typical conventions of other media such as newpapers.