Even the New York Times has friends

It seems like the message is getting out: Lots of people blog just to talk to their friends and family, not to broadcast to the whole world. The latest evidence? So, Who Says That a Blog Has to Blare? in which Anne Eisenberg of the New York Times talks about Vox's privacy features, and praises the idea that a private blog can be a great way to connect with the people you care about:

Once my Web pages were in place, I set the privacy levels for everything on them — for example, by clicking on a pull-down menu next to an entry and designating the audience. The choices ranged from “anyone” and “friends and family” to “just myself.”

Afterward, when I logged onto my blog, I saw all the entries, but others saw only the sections they were cleared to view. The only mandatory part of the blog displayed in the public profile is the user name, which does not have to be the same as a person’s actual name.

Pretty cool! The examples in the story get to the heart of what Ms. Eisenberg calls "enjoying the pleasures of blogging without worrying about the costs of personal exposure".

Of course, we've got firsthand examples from within our community as well. Shiny Shiny, the popular TypePad-powered "girl's guide to gadgets", asked Cate Sevilla to talk about protecting one's privacy while blogging.

In short, it's pretty hard to be totally anonymous, since people can usually sniff out information about you. But it is pretty easy to limit the privacy on your blog to only allow people you trust to read it.

I understand why people try to keep their personal blog private, especially if your family, work, or partner won't be too happy about what you're writing. However, we can't forget that it comes down to personal responsibility. When you make the choice to write about your personal life on the Internet, it must be kept in mind that whoever or whatever you're writing about, has the potential to be read by anyone, if you're not careful. (Have we learned nothing from Dooce?) Privacy when blogging isn't an easy task, however, it is possible.

Cate has some very kind words for Vox's privacy features as well; It's only fitting --you might remember Cate because her love of Vox helped her and her friend Kristen win a trip around the world. We're sure there will be plenty of friends-only pictures from the trip.