Careful What You Blog

I have been blogging for over a year now and have posted nearly 330 articles on various topics. I have gotten hits from nearly 7,000 places and dozens of countries around the world. Now I know some of them are my family and friends but some of them are complete strangers and isn't that the point of having a blog? Putting your opinion out there so that anyone and everyone who stumbles across this portion of the web can get a bit of your opinion whether they want it or not. If they don't want it or don't need it then they'll move on to the next one but the point is, your opinion is out there. What many people tend to forget is that though you are putting your opinion out there, even if it is for a select few, it is still accessible to anyone with the time and inclination to find it. Don't believe me? Google your name sometime and you'll be surprised at some of the places that come up with your name. Hopefully none are incriminating.

Many people out there, even those who should know better, seem to think of the web as Vegas, that what goes on on the web stays on the web and that's really not the case. I mean I moved my original web page, the very first one I created back in 1995, to GeoCities and there it has remained. I abandoned it to a degree a few years ago after I realized that it takes time and effort to listen to soundtracks and review them on a regular basis. Writing blogs is not much easier but at least in this freeform it gives you the opportunity to write on whatever it is you wish. But I digress. What I'm trying to say is that the efforts I undertook in 1995 are still on the web and unless someone or something comes along to remove it, it will probably remain there for the rest of the existance of the internet. Or at least until Yahoo sells of GeoCities and they delete all old files. Still, the fact remains that those looking for soundtrack reviews will probably stumble upon that site after some searching and then whatever opinions or writings I may have made back then will still be available for perusal by anyone wishing to see my opinion. That can be a good thing or a bad thing. It's good from the standpoint that your opinion will remain out there through the annals of time. The bad thing is that your opinion will remain out there through the annals of time.

Take for example the case of Karl Brauer, an editor with Edmunds.com; the online car magazine. He was recently pulled over for speeding and given a ticket. Being an internet reporter, Brauer posted his experiences on the website replete with pictures and description of the incident and his take on the case. He decided to go to court to contest the ticket on the off chance that the officer in this case would not be able to make it to court and the ticket could then be thrown out. Unfortunately his plan backfired. Before their docket began, the officer approached Brauer and asked if he really wanted to go through with the case in court and when Brauer admitted that he did, the officer pulled out copies of Brauer's blog with passages highlighting his admitted guilt at speeding. Needless to say the blog entry was allowed by the judge and Brauer was found guilty. He paid the fine and took the punishment but he finally realized that others probably peruse the web as well and that being the case, they can find what they're looking for too.

Now Brauer goes on to argue in a follow-up blog that while the judge accepted the officer's side of things and took the blog as evidence of guilt, the judge didn't use all parts of the blog. In particular, the judge ignored facts that contradicted claims made by the officer which could have helped sway the verdict in Brauer's favor but still, these legal matters aren't what concern me, rather the fact that an opinion and admission of guilt posted on the internet can be used against you. Still, this isn't the first time things like this have happened. I mean there have been cases where stores have been robbed and then the idiots perpetrating the crime film it and post it on YouTube or their MySpace page. I guess they figured no one but those in their 'circle of trust' would see the videos. Search for 'idiot robbers' on any of these sites and you'll probably find the videos.

That being the case, I would never post anything that I wouldn't stand in public shouting out. I know that those reading my posts probably can figure a particular slant one way or another in favor of one thing and against something else but for the most part, I try to remain as neutral as possible. I mean anyone reading closely will still see I hold some very strong opinions on important topics such as whether coffee is healthy for you or not; whether "Star Wars" is the best movie ever made and whether the "Redskins" will ever make it back to the playoffs. Whatever it is I write about, I keep the thought in the back of my mind that someone looking for me will find what I've written but also the fact that someone not looking for me may find what I've written too. It could so happen that a crazed "Star Trek" fan is looking for dissenting opinions on their show and they want to take out their ire on someone, perhaps that someone would be me. I have been referenced on pages regarding my opinion on the future of Tysons Corner and on the kissing incident between Shilpa Shetty and Richard Gere. I didn't know of course that I was being referenced and though I'm given credit, I was both flattered and shocked that someone found my page and felt it good enough to quote from or at least reference. Guess that means I have to think about what I say even more now right?