As Jon said, people like Alec and Suz have made their weblogs friends-only for the purpose of attempting to hide what goes in in their lives from employers, prospective employers, or the world in general. On the purpose of hiding such things from employers, I think that Claire’s most recent blog post (which talks about openness to employers) fully sums up exactly what I wanted to say. Well done, Claire.
Personally, I’m glad that searching for my name reveals this web site – I’d far rather that my current employer, my current and prospective clients, and my potential future employers see this site when they search for my name than any other, because this site is actually about me: raw and uncensored. Only an idiot (who I wouldn’t want to work for) would assume that just because they can’t find a weblog for somebody means that they must be “clean” and “innocent” – in the end, nobody is. But by being in control of my online presence, I can show off my talent: I can demonstrate my ability to run web sites, my writing style, and my unashamed approach to dealing with all elements of my life (with the obvious exception of things that I’m not allowed to write to the world about: NDAs and the like).
So: please – feel free to read my weblog, which contains accounts of my life going back as far as 1999, whoever you are, and if you find it affecting how you feel about me as a stranger (with reference to other strangers)… don’t forget – at least with me you’re getting the plain truth.
Edit: Incidently, Suz has tried to make some comments about this post, but hasn’t been able to (not sure why), so she’s made them on Claire’s post instead, and so I’ve responded there. The discussion continues…
I think that’s a bit of a naive view point, there are plenty of times when it’s wise to keep a separation between one’s personal views/life and one’s employment/business, especially if any of your views go against the grain with regards to politics, religion etc. When you’re self employed or working for a small firm where a lot hangs on your personal reputation this is even more important imho. There have been a number of high profile cases where employees have been fired for talking about their jobs and/or employers on their blogs too for example.
I think your sister made the best point in that conversation.
My diary isn’t friends only because I’m ashamed; it’s friends only because, like most people, I have levels of intimacy. I’d share things with Claire (my friend and your ex Claire) that I wouldn’t share with you, for example, and the web parallel to this is my friends only system and the assorted filters I have on my diary.
I’m not thinking of future employers; that’s why my diary is not linked from my website. I’m acting on a lifelong need I have had to choose who I share certain things with and who I don’t. More open people may not experience this, and that’s fine. But I’ve been that way for as long as I can remember, and it’s not going to change now.