What Are The Consequences Of Blogging?

Consequences. For every action, there is a consequence. When it comes to starting a blog, getting over the fear of handling the techie stuff is only one part of the equation. Thinking about the consequences of what you are going to write about should be your top priority, depending on the type of blog that you will be writing. After all, you don’t want to go crazy on your blog without knowing what could happen, right?

What’s the worst that can happen?

You can get fired! No. That’s not the worst that can happen to you. If you get fired, you will probably find another job sooner or later. Getting fired will hit you financially, so that’s tough. But that’s not the worst thing that can happen.

You can get sued! It’s true. You can get sued for what you write on your blog. If you attack a company or an individual, you may want to make sure you can back it all up. Companies have sued bloggers before, and they will do so again. Not everyone’s going to get sued, but companies like to make example of a few bloggers to show you what can happen to you if you attack them or their products.

You can get spanked! You may have this before the whole lawsuit part. But I value relationships above anything else. Often, bloggers decide to write about people they know or have a relationship with. Before publishing your blog post, you want to make sure you do not hurt anyone’s feelings unless you mean to. Attacking other bloggers is absolutely normal in the blogosphere but you wouldn’t attack your business partner, do you? I guess it all comes down to how strong your relationships are… But don’t underestimate the ability of folks to get offended. Taking offense a talent

You can get imprisoned! That’s what happens when someone criticizes the government in my home country. I know. A blogger doesn’t belong in jail, but that’s the reality of it. Make sure you know your political environment before attacking your government. On the other hand, if you want to be an instant hero, you may want to use this technique to get arrested on purpose. I wouldn’t recommend it though.

You can get killed! Not everyone understands blogging. Remember the Muslim cartoon controversy? Now, think about what could happen to you if you severely attack a religion on your blog.You want to be the next Salman Rushdie? Go right ahead!

You can get humiliated! OK. Humiliation is not as bad as getting killed, but it hurts much more. Always do your research to make sure you don’t become the laughing stock of the Internet nation. It’s not an easy thing to accomplish, but some people try just too hard to make a fool out of themselves. Your online reputation determines your future on the Web. Make sure you know what you are getting yourself into before posting that poorly researched story.

What happened to being fearless?

I have preached about being fearless while blogging, but it’s always good to know the consequences before taking any action. When you know the consequences, you can make an executive decision to whether go forward with a post on your blog or ice the story. Better yet, there won’t be any major surprises whichever way you decide to go.