Safe blogging, part 2

So, at my boss’s insistence on using the word “blogosphere” around the office just to annoy me (use of that world is almost getting as bad as “
the Information Superhighway” once was and anybody who has read Microserfs knows what to do to those who use that term), I will revisit my initial post on the idea of “safe blogging.” About six months ago, I touched upon the challenge of practicing safe blogging– getting out what you want and should say in your own personal forum, but still riding the fine line between appropriate and inappropriate content (whatever those words mean), whether you’re talking about yourself, your friends, your family, other people you know, your job, your boss, or your co-workers. To be honest, the challenge of safe blogging is just the Internet version of people talking to each other about their personal and professional lives, commenting on political issues and world affairs, and in all the crosstalk, dealing with the consequences of people and companies getting mentioned. The reality is that no matter hard you try or no matter how much you might not realize, even the most trivial comments and definitely the most controversial ones will somehow get back to the subject of discussion. Everyone can attest to saying the wrong thing at a party and hearing about it the next day from someone else. Or telling somebody what you really think of your boss and then getting dirty looks (of course, a lot depends on what you said and what kind of dirty looks) the next day. Gossip is considered a sin and aside from the fact that it’s just not nice to be talking about other people’s business, it’s just plain dangerous. The shit will get back to you!

But because we’re talking about “technology” and this new phenomenon of “blogs” (which, by the way, let’s admit, have existed in many forms long before personal publishing systems, RSS feeds, and commercial blog services/sites), we think that somehow, the rules of engagement are different. On one hand, people think that because of the feeling of anonymity on the Internet (which is only a feeling for the most part and you’re probably easier to track online than most places), putting things out there on the Internet isn’t somehow going to bite you in the ass someday. On the flip side, some think that just because it’s on the Web, blog entries are factual, representative of something, and/or important. But outside of official news blogs (and even then), they are actually rarely factual, representative of the blogger only, and not that important to anyone, including the blogger himself. There are “blog celebrities” out there with extremely high readership, but for the most part, opinions expressed on somebody’s blog usually only represent that blogger’s opinions and are read by a very small audience usually made up of people he knows.

The real difference between online and offline opinion spouting is that for the most part, what you put online (and unprotected) is completely accessible to everyone, even if no one really looks at it. And with that key difference in mind, my rule of thumb before putting something on my blog or posting to another blog or putting anything on the Web in general would be, if I’m not willing to stand up in a crowded room filled with my enemies and say it through a bullhorn, then I probably shouldn’t do it. Also, when talking about specific people or topics that involve specific people I know (even if they aren’t mentioned by name or description), I wouldn’t say anything I’m not willing to say to their face. The point is that, it’s the fucking Internet people: it’s really hard to cop out and say things behind someone’s back. And while nothing may come of it most of the time, you have to be prepared for the worst case scenario– could you lose a friend, could you get sued, could you lose your job? If you’re not ready to face the worst case scenario (I’m not saying you have to accept it– you just have to be ready to face it and deal with it, whatever way you decide), you probably shouldn’t do it.

Now, your line between appropriate and inappropriate might be in a very different place than mine. And others around you, after reading your words, will most surely take the opportunity to tell you where to put your line. Personally, I think that there are general guidelines that bloggers, depending on the nature of their content, should use and then after that, it’s up to you. Ah, the sweet taste of personal freedom.

The necessary disclaimer

I’m going to revisit an earlier post on safe blogging in the next few entries, but for now, you may notice that I’ve added the annoying, yet necessary disclaimer to my blog front page. I have also had a Creative Commons license for a while, but for all of the hoopla about copyright these days (especially at work), my bigger issue right now is clarifying the line between this blog (and my personal role with Stanford as an alumna) and my professional relationship with the University. You would think that this is somewhat obvious (this is very clearly a personal Web log and is not served off of University resources), but just to be on the safe side, I’ve included the disclaimer. After all, plenty of people have been dooced for things much more innocuous than what appears here.

Content won’t change much. I just did’t want anyone thinking I put the disclaimer there just because I got in trouble or got scared. It’s more because of things like, after explicitly asking not to refer to my blog in an article for which I was being interviewed (explicitly agreed to as just a person, not an agent of the University), my blog still got linked to, the most potentially incendiary quote was taken out of the context of a very lengthy email and used, and the distinction between personal and professional was not made as clear as I would have liked since many people have enough trouble separating the personal from the professional. I don’t really blame the author of the article– it’s not really his job to protect me from the problems of “unsafe blogging,” but in any case, this disclaimer is my own preemptive change.

Happy Holidays

Several hours and dollars later, I finally bought and setup my Christmas tree. It’s even bigger than Sindy-size this year! There’s a part of me that regrets encouraging the whole idea of cutting down trees for the season, but I do love having a real tree. Growing up, for whatever reason, we always had an artificial tree that we would take out of the garage or basement every year and decorate. Looking back, it was actually quite a pitiful plastic tree even in it’s prime– I’m not even sure it stood more than five feet high and it was probably purchased in the mid-70’s– and by the time high school rolled around, we didn’t even bother putting it up anymore. Participating in all the holiday traditions– holiday decorations, gift giving, etc.– is almost kind of a novelty to me. We certainly celebrated Christmas in our family, but by the time I got to high school, the need to follow all those traditions faded away. Like I said, we didn’t put up a tree and we usually didn’t even exchange gifts– there wasn’t a lot of extra money in the first place, so when we bought things, it was usually out of necessity. And while many kids in the same situation ended up getting very practical gifts– clothes, socks, etc.– we didn’t even do that. For my family, the logic was, “if you need a new coat today and we have the money, we’ll buy a new coat,” not “we’ll buy you one for your birthday” or “we’ll buy you one for Christmas.” Don’t get me wrong– it’s not like my parents didn’t celebrate those occasions, but they were usually celebrated by going out to dinner. And on Christmas, we would usually go to church for Christmas Eve or Christmas morning service and if everyone was up to it– sometimes people had to work or just couldn’t put in the effort– we would get together with family and have a huge meal (Korean food, of course) together. As we got even older, even the latter stopped and we usually ended up eating lunch at one of the Korean restaurants near our church (which, of course, would be open) and calling it a day. My point is that, in the end, Christmas was more about the opportunity to get together with each other at least once a year– when I lived at home and was younger, it was about getting together with family members. Although we lived within a short drive of each other at first and then later, only two hours away, we rarely ever had everyone together under the same roof. And now, it’s one of the few times that even the four of us in my immediate family are under one roof, with me living in California, my parents in New York, and my brother in… whatever city he happens to be living in this year. Of course, I’m not saying that we’re somehow above presents and that it’s a big ol’ love fest– most of the time is passed running errands, watching TV, catching up on sleep, and sharing meals. But, instead of giving gifts or putting up trees or sharing mushy sentiments, for us, Christmas is about slowing down for a moment, coming together, and stepping back into the ordinary motions of our old life under one roof again.

World AIDS Day

Before I forget and am lame, just wanted to remind everyone that today is World AIDS Day. It’s been almost twenty years since the first AIDS cases appeared in New York and San Francisco. It’s strange to think that for many young people today, they have never known a world without the threat and fear of HIV and AIDS. But also, those young people have also never known a world without cocktail drug regimens or where AIDS was so unknown, so feared that an American President would fail to say the disease’s name in public and everyone believed that it was only a disease that affected gay men and intravenous drug dealers. For many young people, new drug treatments and complacency have made them believe that AIDS is a manageable disease and that when we look at images of a still healthy Magic Johnson after so many years, they wonder if it’s really a big deal.

Well, of course it is. We must not forget that millions of people in America and around the world do not have access to or cannot afford expensive drug regimens, that many people in America and around the world, with or without AIDS, do not have access to basic health care. Five people die of AIDS every minute and almost 38 million people around the world are living with HIV and AIDS. While we must accept that we live in a world with HIV and AIDS and that it affects everyone, we must not grow complacent. HIV has not gone away.

Take some time today to learn more about HIV and AIDS, to remember those we have lost and those who continue to live with HIV and AIDS. Consider giving some time or money to support efforts to fight this virus and this disease, whether you decide to help support a national research foundation or a local community service group. And in the end, let us remember that one of the biggest challenges to fighting HIV and AIDS is the stigma associated with the disease– let us remember to fight prejudice, in all its forms. After all, it is our lives that are at stake.