Page 87 - digitalliteracy

4.2 Communicating Through Blogs

The terms and conditions of many blogs require people to use their own names, which can
open you up to personal safety risks if others do not agree with your opinions. Other blogs
allow users to remain anonymous, which can also be dangerous because some people are
willing to say things anonymously that they would not say if their name was attached to the
comment. A good rule to follow for posting comments on any type of blog is not to say some-
thing online that you would not say if you were talking with someone face-to-face.

Decades ago, when many people kept diaries, they poured their deepest thoughts and desires
onto the pages, but the diary had very secure privacy settings. The book had a key lock, there
was only one copy, and the copy was usually hidden somewhere, away from prying eyes. Of
course, web blogging is entirely different, since it is accessible to billions of people.

Thus, the first thing to remember is that what you write will likely be accessible by someone
forever. This means that something you might casually compose and post at a younger age
might resurface when you are looking for a job later in life. Employers often scour the web to
learn about you as a person. To make sure they do not find anything unsavory about you, keep
your posts clean and appropriate.

Second, even if you use a pseudonym for your blog, it does not mean you are completely pro-
tected or private. If the pseudonym is ever connected to your real name in any online activity,
it becomes quite easy to match your online posts together. Similarly, any photographs of you
with a pseudonym can be associated with photographs with your real name, because photo-
graphic face recognition software is advancing very quickly and may soon replace a password
as the way you log in to a computer.

Third, by providing personal information about yourself in a post, you may inadvertently
make yourself a target. For example, let’s say your friend writes a post about his surprise
30th birthday bash last Saturday. He posts pictures of the gorgeous decorations his friends
and family put on the outside of his house, as well as the new car he bought for himself. He has
now publicly announced his birth date, provided information about what his neighborhood
looks like, and given out his license plate number, all of which may put him at serious risk for
both identity theft and robbery. Let’s hope his next post isn’t about an upcoming vacation,
because then everyone will know when he won’t be home to safeguard his house.

Fourth, there are privacy controls you can use while blogging. For example, you can set your
blog to remain private and allow only people you know to read it (such as family or class-
mates). However, keep in mind that if any of these accounts are compromised and a password
is hacked, all of your posts could suddenly become public.

Just because you have to be aware of privacy issues does not mean you cannot have fun and
make productive use of the web to connect with other people. One way to do this is through
social media, which is discussed in Section 4.3.

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