What Should We/Shouldn't We Blog About?

Cormac and I (Matt) have been thinking through this issue for a while now. We realize that whatever we blog about becomes public and while we want to share our hearts and thoughts as The Journey, we also want to be respectful of people's private space. Darren Rows from The Living Room, a church in Australia, put up a great article (scroll down to point 16) discussing some of the lessons he has learned through setting up a church. A great read when you have the time. His sixteenth point reads:

"16. Be careful what you blog about - whilst blogging is a wonderful tool for communication, learning and networking it can also be used inappropriately. It might be worth having a brief conversation with your group as to what you can and can't blog about. - I personally have chosen not to identify by names people in our group. - I have posted a few photos from time to time but limit this. I also choose not to blog about decisions we're making in much detail until they have been made. - I do not blog about our disagreements or about what individuals said unless I get permission first.

Whilst I want to be transparent with the world through this blog about who Living Room is - there is nothing to hide - I also want to keep in mind that our community is made up of real people who are entitled to privacy and a safe space to express themselves and their journeys. They are also entitled to not have our dirty laundry (not that there is much) aired publicly. This is just my position - I know other bloggers have taken different approaches - some it has worked out for, others it has caused some massive problems for. Just be careful."

We were thinking of using first names (as long as everyone is OK with that) but again, these guidelines are something we should discuss first as a group. Hopefully this post will just get us thinking.

Matt