but does it really matter to a company how the worker feels, so long as the work gets done, thats what a lot of people forget work isnt everything, you can hate your job but still do it.

confidentiality is different, i have singed the official secrets act in my time of course i cant tell you why i did. but employers should allow that they have no right to interfere in what a person writes, or reads in the time away from work, thats the privacy i like, so long as the work gets done, it shouldnt matter

But if I have a complaint about work I will take it up at work with those who should hear at work. I think most people know where their comfort level is, and it’s different for everyone.

private life is private life, what i do at home is no one elses business, what i type about is no one elses business but me. they can say whatever they want about me, thats their right, i may dislike what someone says but i defend to the death his right to say it.

perhaps i am different to most people.

Mainly, it started off as an online diary of sorts. I wanted something I could look back on besides memories and pictures. My own words, with the intelligence level I had at the time behind them, showing a future me how much I’ve progressed. Also, it wasn’t to be too personal, as I wanted my family and friends to see it on occasion. Modern life had taken it’s toll on other forms of communication a while ago.

Plus, a blog helps me vent frustration, share joy, show off interesting things and express my feelings in a way that I normally can’t in person. Even though I don’t post as often as you, Britgirl (though I’ll have to try some of the time techniques you use!!), I love to write and I’ve been told on numerous occasions that I have a gift for it. Might as well use it!

And that’s why I worded my disclaimer the way I did, just to make it clear where I stood. Of course, the recent stories of where bloggers have been dismissed for blogging at work were an extra cautionary tale… I think this is where the term “Dooced” arose, after the blog of the same name.

On the personal side – exactly. I don’t feel it’s fair for my loved ones and friends to suddenly find themselves and their business on the web, just because I like to blog… so, except in very rare cases (where I’ve asked if they mind me blogging about something that may involve them) I don’t blog about friends and loved ones. And I always hide their identities, unless they are already public of course! My husband is an exception, but even then if I want to blog about something that involves him, I still ask him and don’t use his name… he never minds anyway. Everything else is fair game though!

That Loud… that made me chuckle… a controversial blog for you and a boring, benign and tame one for the family… I like it. I like it a lot. I actually think there are some things that family really doesn’t need to know… imagine the energy trying to explain what they will never understand in the first place!
But your comment reminds me again what an outlet a blog can be. Thanks for this.
Mercurior – Yep a blogger has the right to be as public or as private as they wish, say anything on their blog…but what I would also say is that bloggers still must be aware that what they say may have consequences they don’t want. I know if I wanted to I could say anything I wanted to about work, but I don’t want to. End result – I blog about exactly the things I want to

In a way, blogs are a little like email. But better and maybe a little more dangerous…. think about it

I come from a very, very conservative area in Texas. I started my blog as an outlet for my liberal opinions. I didn’t care at all (and still don’t) if I have any readers. I just wanted a place to put my ideas and opinions out “there”, knowing that no one I grew up with would approve. In fact, I only told one person I know about my blog, but I knew this person was another lone rebel in the sea of red in which we live. My blog is my secret journal, yet I’ve opted to let complete strangers read it.

This is directly related to the disapproval I’d get (not to mention ackward Thanksgivings) from family members if they knew it existed. (My other blog is boring, benign, and available to family members. *That* is where I discuss my daily life….with pictures!)

Plus, I have never considered myself a good writer. Blogging forces you to put thoughts together coherently or else people publicly call you a dumbass!

So, my blog is meant for me and my controversial, uncensored thoughts. I don’t have fanciful ideas of converting people who read it. I just use it to clear my head!

we complain about bad parents, its our right to say what we want tempered with a little common sense. but todays workplace/homeplace there is no difference, work is work and home is home in my mind, i seperate the two.

I’m not sure how the word got out but people did find out about the site — and from there, it was not very hard for people to figure out who owned the domain (this was before blogging sites) …. and just who this person was, as this is public info for the most part.

It’s not that I think writing about your (horrid) job is wrong. (But I would wonder (after some time) why the writer didn’t to try to get a new job.) And this type of blog would not hold my interest anyway.

My point — if I ever get there — is that if one wants to be totally anonymous that means more than just leaving your real name and other stuff off your site (though this is a good idea for some people to be sure). Steps must be taken if you want to totally protect your identity.

I don’t worry about this because I love my job and I don’t plan on slagging my employer or saying things I might regret. So I don’t. It’s not in my nature anyway. But I know that anything I say (no matter how I meant it at the time or if I was kidding or having a bad day) can be easily connected to me — by anyone including future potential employers, colleagues, clients, cousins or my vet — you name it. This is just the way it is. And I don’t want something stupid I said once haunt me for years to come. I say enough stuff out loud already .

My site is not just my blog but also my domain where I have in the past posted my portfolio and may well again. It’s been connected to me for years and is my presence online.

And as for personal stuff — that’s a shorter story. I don’t lead an especially scintillating (just slightly so) life but I’m the one who elected to put myself online for the whole word to know my business, my loved ones and friends didn’t. So I mention them only in passing (and when relevant) but I don’t ever want to embarrassed anyone) and I use an initial only. My blog is mostly for me and it’s mostly about me.

But even with all that — I still think its pretty fun.

An Egyptian whose outspoken views on Islam and politics in his internet diary enraged the government was jailed today amid an international outcry.

Police officers escort Abdel Kareem Nabil Suleiman to court
The 22-year-old former law student, whose own father has disowned him and called for his execution under Islamic law, was sentenced to four years by a court in Alexandria.

The convictions resulting from the views published on his weblog, sandmonkey, included counts for “spreading information disruptive of public order and damaging to the country’s reputation”; “incitement to hate Islam” and “defaming the President of the Republic”.

**** this is the cautionary side to blogs..

I sometimes get writers block, which explains the few post on 4 of my blogs, but I’m currently sharing my experiences in researching different religions (Janland!), which has surprisingly been interesting, for me at least. I’ve also attracted more readers, so that’s good! I, like you, enjoy the feed back from readers. I live for a detailed discussion, and thrive for debates.

I always write about what I want to say, if not I wouldn’t really care about blogging and there’d be no point in it. If people don’t like what I write about then they don’t have to visit my blog again, or at least know not to look at posts about a certain subject.

I like that your blog is a positive venue for child free people, as I am most likely going to be one. Even now when friends ask me if I plan to have kids and I say now I get the strange looks that translate into “What’s wrong with her?”. Nothings wrong with me, I just haven’t been programed or brain washed into thinking I must procreate. And I know I’m not the parent kind of person, so I’m not going to let a child in the world just so I can screw it over in life.

Sorry for the ranting. And the long comment.

http://mercurior.blogspot.com/2003/12/poem-by-me-number-5.html

with me i always disbeleive what tv ,press, governments, so called experts tell me, unless i have empirical proof. so my blog is pretty much my cynical way of thinking,, with some humor.

i used to censor, but then i got sick and tired of justiying my own reasons, the view that i as a person which encompasses the cf male choices, the male rights, the fat rights, and how the perception of being any one of these, seems to preclude you from making valid points.

like i say i wished there wasnt the need for abortions, people accuse me of being male, being anti abortion.. which is the furthest from the truth. i want people to be protected, use abortions as a last resort if other forms of b/c fail.. but because i as a man who says this, i must automatically mean this..

that boys need a male figure somewhere in their lives, like a girl needs a female, this must by definition mean i am saying people must only be taught by one sex.. no.. nothing could be further from the truth.. i just see a need in boys as i am one that i have to state my view, or the conversation just gets one sided and frequently demonises the other group.

and so on.. i have started to stop apologising for my own views. it may be unfashionable to give voice to certain topics..