Keeping up appearances - one of the most difficult aspects of keeping a blog.  Regular posting and regular commentary are what keep people coming back.  However, there are always the questions related to what should one post about and how much of it will impact one’s work, career, friends and even family?

What kind of impression does it give?  I created this site separate from “Day In Washington” so I might be able to clearly separate my personal life from my professional interests.  But that doesn’t really make much of a difference.  Not really.  If I were a recruiter or an employer, I would definitely persuse an applicant’s personal website, regardless of what they may or may not do related to the separation of portions of the site.

So what that really means is that there really isn’t anywhere where it is “safe” on the Net.  Anything said in anger (or stupidity) will come back and haunt you.  Other activities such as political affiliations and donations to specific groups can be seen and judged.  Did you give money to Lambda Legal, or were you volunteering with the local Republican party?  So what is the safest thing to do?  Not participate at all?

I can see the allure in not putting up information about yourself on the Net but realistically, depending on the field you are in, that is almost impossible.  For example, I work in Washington DC, specifically in lobbying.  There are so many opportunities to provide testimony or statements or comments for regulations, proposed rules, briefings, conferences and even Congressional hearings.  Much of that then becomes a part of the public record and every day, more and more are posted online.  Many social groups and organizations such as curches and local softball teams post pictures and articles about their activities.

What that means is that there really is almost no way to truly escape having something of you mentioned on the Net.  So what is the solution?  Control you image.  Control what you say and what is said about you.  If someone does a Google search, make sure that the site you’ve created is one of the first they find, not the drunken college photo from your misspent summer in Cancun.  Use what you have available to you to put your best face forward.

Now to make this discussion personal again, I have to admit to some ambivalence as to keeping this site:  www.DayAlMohamed.com up.  Or at least available as a blog.  I don’t blog here.  I work significant hours and lately, that is about all that I do.  When free I podcast to:  www.DayinWashington.com but not here.  In addition, I cannot say that I have spent a lot of time even writing fiction.  So perhaps it is time to withdraw from my efforts to “keep up appearances” and simply keep this as a static site and let DayInWashington be the only blog.

But I am loathe to let this go.  The other site is purely professional and there is no place there for posts about my writing, my fencing, my travel…my hopes, dreams and fears.  Of course, that may not be something world is ready for yet anyway.  *smile*  But it does smack of giving up, not on just the posting but on sharing my other activities and loves.  Things that I spend my time and my life on.  Why should anyone care?  I don’t know.  Sometimes people do.  After being inspired at Balticon, I learned about podcasting through people’s websites.  Renee’s Photo Sunday’s came from an idea on someone else’s site.  My list of things to do in my life came from some one else’s.  Heck, even my most recent inspirations that sent me careening back to writing poetry (which I haven’t done since high school) was in part supported by poetry on blogs.

Obviously, my mind is not yet made up.