Are you about to get ‘Dooced’?

Blog Layout

Are you about to get ‘Dooced’?

Do it anonymously. Don’t blog with your name or other identifying characteristics.

Use a pen name or pseudonym. And don’t forget to keep out identifying information about your employer as well. For instance, don’t write that you work at one of two daily newspapers in Atlanta. That narrows down who you are and where you work and your employer could figure it out—and you could end up paying some heavy consequences.

Don’t write your blog at work. This is always a bad idea. Using company equipment to write your blog could get you in a situation that would be better avoided.

Don’t make your name easy to “Google.” That means, as stated above, keeping things anonymous.

Use blogging services that password protect your blog.

Remember, cyberspace is not some alternate universe—it is the real world, and it can cause real-world problems for you if you don’t protect yourself. Blogs and posting comments online are a great new form of communication, and like everything we say and do in the brick-and-mortar work world, you should weigh your options carefully before acting.