Blogs are global and blogs are forever; it’s hardwired into their nature as nodes on the Internet. So I find myself wondering lately what people’s blogs reveal about their lives, and whether this is information that truly should be public, persistent and searchable by anyone, in any future time.
A quick scan suggests that a shakedown of fredshouse would yield a fair bit of personal data: my name, where I live, where I work, what I work on, what I read, where I’ve traveled, what conferences I go to, what my dog looks like, many of the gadgets I own, a bit about family members and friends, and quite a lot about my professional interests, hobbies, political views, and taste in music. It’s not even close to a complete picture of my life, and there are plenty of things I consciously choose not to write about in public. But still there is a lot of information here. In this regard, bloggers are more like public figures or celebrities than private citizens.
So what does your blog reveal about you? How do you feel about being a public figure? How do you think you will feel about it in ten years, or fifty?
…excerpt from: www.fredshouse.net…