Safe Blogging

More often, folks ride by, wave, and ride on. The place is over a year old now, and my weekly average number of visitors is around 190. In other words, I’m not a big name, and that gives me a sense of security in my anonymity.

Earlier this year, I was reading a “how-to” book about writing and was learning and enjoying the experience until the author addressed something that just happened to be a pet peeve of mine. With all the self-righteous fury of a three-year student of the craft and no understanding of safe blogging, I walked into Peppermint Place and gave the man my opinion, using examples from a couple of novels I had just finished.

It was a great post. You should see it. I was convincing in my argument, clear and concise, naming the famous author and his best-selling book, and shooting some humor into the critique. Unfortunately, I was not even thinking about safe blogging at that time.

Ever hear of Google Alert? I hadn’t.

I received a response from the writer. Who knew he’d respond to a little podunk site like mine? The man was incredibly gracious, giving me my point, then scoring another of his own. I was so awed that he visited my little place, I felt like a teenager who has just met Brad Pitt.

I wrote another article, including his comment from the previous one, and clarified that I agreed with him overall and bowed to his expertise for the most part–although I stuck with my argument.

Well, I did mention cyber-meeting him in a post describing my stellar year. And guess who came to visit? Uh-huh. The man himself.

Being one of millions of bloggers leaves us with an alluring sense of seclusion and obscurity. Don’t fall for it, my friends. Although this experience gained me a friend, a similar incident cost me one.

Always be careful what you write. There is no telling who will see your words, either immediately or in the future.