The perils of blogging

This is old news for readers of Wonkette, but a couple of weeks ago the Washington Post Magazine had a long story about a Hill staffer who recorded her multiple sexual dalliances with various Washington politicos on a blog that, when it ended up being publicised, ended up gaining her quite a bit of notoriety. There are multiple angles on the story depending on your interests--sexual politics in DC, the meaning of fame in this day and age, gender and sexuality, the sometimes bizarre world of Hill staffers (probably Gretchen's favorite angle, since she used to work on the Hill and knows how warped things can be there), etc.--but what really interested me was how something intended to be private can become public quite quickly in the digital age. I never, for example, figured anyone other than perhaps a small group of friends would ever read this blog--and I wasn't even sure if a small group of friends would be interested! Nevertheless, I know that at least a few other folks have stumbled across the blog (which is good). It's easy to see how, if I didn't filter myself from time to time, things could potentially spin out of control if the wrong person saw the wrong thing on the blog at the wrong time. Of course, getting a six-figure book deal wouldn't be the worst thing that could happen...