Some of you may not know this but I am the grandmother of blogging. Not to be confused with the FAIRY grandmother of blogging. That is someone else.

My personal weblog, Kazoofus, is approaching its 6th birthday. In blog years that translates to a billion years old.

One of the things I have never done with Kazoofus is try to make it a big secret from people I know in my day to day life. That said I’m not walking into the office in Kazoofus attire advertising my internet hobby either. There is something to be said for discretion.

*coughs*

Blogging very publicly (google my name and see where it lands you) has its challenges and I learned that very early on in my blogging career. I also came up with a few very basic rules for myself with my blog. I think following these rules has helped me with personal and professional relationships and since I’ve never been fired for blogging, I’m gonna guess that I might be onto something.

The rules:

1. Be discreet. That doesn’t mean you should never mention your cervix issues in a public forum. What it means is do what you can to protect the privacy of those you blog about. Related to this be very careful about what you reveal about the company you work for. Company confidential means COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL.
2. MYOB. Do not blog about things that are really none of your business in the first place. Also do not write about people in your day-to-day life as if they cannot read. I don’t care how clever you think you have been about hiding your online identity, the more you blog, the more likely you are to be discovered. Murphy’s Law states that all personal and professional contacts must read the one post you want them to read the least.
3. Be courteous. Gentle ribbings are absolutely acceptable with the right good natured co-worker. Ripping the supply clerk a new one via a public forum because they gave you a blue stapler in error is not gentle ribbing. When in doubt save draft. If still in doubt, ask an unbiased friend or family member how they think the post will be received.
4. SMILE! You are on THE INTERNET! It is a big WWW and you just never know who might be reading. What image do you want to project of yourself to the world? Caretake that image. Negative Nellies need not apply.
5. Be yourself. If you are cheeky and fun in the office your online persona should match that. The internet is not the place that an employer should discover that you have a dark side.
6. Avoid blogging during business hours. I’m not saying NEVER blog during business hours but avoid it as much as possible. Respect that they pay you to work not play.
7. Respect company policies. There are companies that ask employees to not maintain personal blogs that discuss their work life. They clearly state such rules in their policies and procedures handbook. Know what your companies policies are and respect them in and out of the office. Talking smack about a co-worker after business hours on the internet may still be considered harrassment and may very well cost you your job.

This is not an all-inclusive list. I’m sure once I hit publish I’ll think of three more things to add to the list. But what I want to know is what are your rules for blogging? How has maintaining a personal blog helped or hurt your career?

Discuss…