Ethical blogging comment

This is reprinted from a comment I made to a post by Jenn on her blog.

The question of "ethical blogging" is one reason my style is to not write about day to day events in much detail. Furthermore, if one is in the habit of writing about people, especially friends, there is the possibility of hurting feelings by omission. For instance, "You wrote about the party yesterday, but you didn't mention me" and other grievances, spoken or unspoken. Perhaps this should not be an issue ("it's the other person's problem, not mine" etc.), but my position is not to go there in the first place. Self-control wins out over freedom in that area, even if "all things are permissible" because of course "not all things are helpful".

Far from having the issue settled in my mind, the question of what to put or not put in a blog remains a quandry. A "world readable diary" is a scary notion, a Pandora's Box I don't wish to open. Of course, one day "the secret thoughts of many will be revealed" (Luke 2:35), but are we prepared to face that day this side of Heaven?

You can see the effect of this quandry in my own blog, which can seem impersonal, even to me, not to mention sporadic--I'll feel more like writing when I want to write about some topic which may or may not be related to my personal life.

I sometimes view the blog as a writer might view his or her "opinion column," putting in personal things as it relates to the topic at hand. Other times, I want to give an update of what's happening in my life, so my friends can keep abreast of things in my life. That's the balance I've struck for now between wanting to share and concern over what might not be good to share.