On privacy and authorship

Privacy may seem like a strange concept to bring up in regards to blogging.

My words here are actually very public, and it's good for me to remind myself that anyone with internet access, anywhere in the world, could read them. Should this worry me more than it does?

One reason that blogging feels so private is that I know most people won't read this. Why would they? There are millions upon millions of websites and blogs, and there's no reason anyone who doesn't know me would stumble upon mine, by chance. If they did, there's little reason to think they'd be interested in what they'd find.

So imagine my surprise when I got a message from a distant family member informing me that one of my blog posts had been accepted as a letter to the editor in a local newspaper (local to which town, in which state, I didn't know) and that it was going to be published imminently!

This person had liked my blog post so much that they had sent it to the newspaper as an editorial addressing the ongoing debate around health care reform.

I can only summarize my feelings as a combination of anger, frustration and helplessness. I was inwardly furious that my permission had not been sought. But then I also felt guilty for being angry about something that maybe I 'should' instead take as a compliment; they liked my writing. Overall, I felt invaded, appropriated and taken advantage of.

Trying to be generous, I gave my permission for the letter to go ahead and be published. At this point, I still didn't know the name of the newspaper, the name of the town, or even the state that this was to be published in. After the letter appeared, I was informed that the newspaper's circulation is in one of the most conservative right-wing counties in Florida.

A place I have never been. A town I have never heard of. People I would probably go out of my way to avoid talking to, let alone getting into a political debate with. For fuck's sake!

I never intended the words I wrote to be used in such a way; I didn't actually want to argue with anyone over health care. I just wanted to express some of my personal opinions in what I felt was a 'safe' place, my own blog.

It brings me back to the same old questions--why do I write publicly in an online format? Why do I expect a certain amount of privacy even though anyone could read this? Is it fair to think that as an author I can retain some control over the use of my words? Even after I have effectively published them for all the world to see?

When I think of how bloggers treat each other's words, by quoting each other and linking between blogs, and how much sharing and copying occurs, I think most of this is done pretty fairly. It seems there is an understanding that even online content is still the property of the author. And for bloggers who want to gain readers, the more linking and connecting with other bloggers, the better.

I'm sure there must be cases of theft among bloggers. I'd never know if someone stole some words of mine and republished them elsewhere. But really, who would do that?

In order to prevent this uncomfortable situation from ever happening again, I plan to 1) never again write anything of a political bent; 2) intersperse swear words throughout my posts to discourage re-publication, goddammit; and 3) only write about books, which most people will find deadly boring and will avoid reading.

That's the plan! We'll see if it works.