While thinking about ethics, and admitting I need to read and think about this much more, I came across a dilemma this morning.
After reading two very touching post from two very different Chicago bloggers, both very eloquently exposing their explorations into their own loneliness, I felt that these two post were so personal, and so heart-exposingly open, that I feel like I'm betraying a friend's trust if I link to them.
Anyone who reads my weblog knows I don't talk about anything more personal then what access provider I'm fighting with at the moment. There's not a trace or hint of a break-up I went through over the winter in any of my posts. So I can't imagine what it takes to expose yourself the way these two writers have, to a potentially enormous audience.
What does this have to do with ethics? In my heart, I feel uncomfortable exposing these people to potential gawking eyes. I've always felt gossipers are repulsive, and thats kind of what it feels like. As if these authors thought they had a limited audience, and will suddenly realize that they are on live prime-time TV. I do feel confident they knew what they were doing however.
So the posts, the first by *link removed*, the second by anchulis.
So I have some questions I will ask anyone with a personal journal. What does it take to expose yourself to a potentially huge audience? Anyone ever get that feeling that you've suddenly realized that your on live TV when you thought you were just writing for a friend or two? And does anyone else think this this is a dilemma? And does it have anything to do with ethics? What advice do you give a potential blogger about being on either side of this issue?
POSTSCRIPT
Notice the removed link? Doesn't that look realy suspcious? Well, suffice to say that the link in question went to a site that exposed more than the author wanted to expose. We'll leave it at that and take up the issue again sometime when it's a little less timely.