Let me start off by stating the following:

1. If you blog, don’t whinge about privacy.
2. If you do worry about privacy, use a pseudonym and no specifics - especially those involving your work. You can still rant without stating names, places and dates & times. And no photos. Ever.

Having said all that, I am 100% comfortable with my blog. Comfortable enough to post pictures, talk honestly about certain things and tell friends & family about it. I am not worried about my employment status either. The reasons why are:

1. My politics: I don’t spout extreme left or right-wing views. I’m conservative on some issues and I’m liberal on other issues.
   • I have liberal views on immigration, health, education, poverty and aid-relief to other countries.
   • I have conservative views on crime, unemployment benefits, and the WoT.

   I’m v. centrist.

2. Sex: you can guess my sexual orientation from my stories and the way I say “girls” in my posts. But I never reveal sexual likes and dislikes and I don’t go into details. This topic is highly subjective. I don’t want strangers judging me “normal”, “dull” or “a freak” so I don’t talk about these things. Bravo and more power to bloggers like Sarong Party Girl.

   In any case, this area of my life is so dry right now I got nothing to talk about anyway. And yeah, pun definitely intended.

3. I don’t bite the hand that feeds me: I don’t talk about work at all. That way there is no compelling reason to fire me, and I don’t burn bridges. Nor do I poison my future employment prospects in the industry that I work in. Even if I quit the industry, future employers may judge my work attitude using this. For an example of what not to do, check out Queen of the Sky.

   If I must talk about work, I’ll emulate re | me. She does it well and oh-so-anonymously. Unless you can guess who she is by looking at this:

   

   Then again that might not be her. It might just be XiaXue.

   

   Somewhere out there, someone just spat out their latte. Or maybe a macchiato or an espresso - re | me strikes me as someone who drinks strong coffee. Umm, yeah.

4. No dirty laundry: I don’t slag off friends or family. Nor do I reveal dirty secrets. I cherish their presence in my life and I value their trust in me. If I have any misgivings, I deal with them away from here.

   Plus my mom just figured out how to use the Net … love last night’s dinner mom! Laksa tomorrow?

In conclusion, blog safely and wisely. The caution that you should exercise with e-mails applies to blogs as well. Think before you hit that “Publish” button - is this going to come back and bite me in the ass? Leave the extreme openness and exhibitionism to the uber extroverts - they deal with the consequences better.