Is Blogging Hazardous to Your (Employment) Health

Tom at Corrente raises some good points about how blogging may make it tougher for you either in your current job or in applying for a new one.

Interestingly enough, I think this only applies if you are critical of this administration. For example, your boss may not like this prez either, but he's much less apt to get nervous if you're saying nice things about George than if you're pointing out serious inconsistencies and errors in policies, actions, etc.

As I've mentioned before, I really debated before I started this blog 19 months ago whether I should use a pen name (like Atrios did for a long time), as well as how much of a hit I would take for being honest. I decided that yes, it would probably "hurt" me in the long run, but it was necessary to do. And if it was necessary to do, I felt I had to use my real name, and not the "nickname" I use in my professional writing.

While I do not promote my blog, mention it in my curriculum vitae or publishing credentials or on my professional Web site, or discuss it with publishers or editors, I find that they usually discover the blog. In a recent job interview, the recruiter asked me about my blog even though I had not told them about it (there was no reason to do so because one had nothing to do with the other). She didn't appear too happy about the idea and even went so far as to say, "Don't you consider it risky to criticize the government at this time?" Likewise, an editor recently dropped me a note to say, "Hey! I like your blog" but then went on to say that I should be very, very careful.

Freedom of speech, eh?