Open Writing Post

The consequences of writing openly on the internet are often talked about. Many times we hear "don't put things on facebook, myspace, or twitter that would be inappropriate or give someone too much information about you." There are certain dangers to putting too much information on the internet or expressing opinions about a certain topic that might upset someone out in the cyber world. I do think that a lot of people take advantage of the internet by putting information up on facebook such as addresses, phone numbers, email and so on. Many people who can see this information might take advantage of it and contact you or try to use your information inappropriately. Also, there have been several instances where someone blogs or writes about their opinion that they feel strongly about. This can sometimes severely upset and offend someone else and extreme measures have been taken physically against such bloggers. Basically, I think that you need to be considerate of others when posting online, and also conscious of how much information you reveal to others.
The benefits to writing openly online include reaching a very large amount of people instantly and all at once, as well as making a difference in what people think or know. It is awesome that so much information from so many different points of view are available in one place, the internet. It is undoubtedly one of the best and most valuable sources of information that exists. I think what attracts so many bloggers online is the fact that they can openly express their feelings and thoughts to others, which they might not be able to do in their everyday life. They can also receive instant feedback and connect to others from all over the world. There is just such a diverse and large community online, that it is hard to resist for a lot of writers to take advantage of.
I think that in class we do utilize the freedom to speak online to a good degree. We do talk about our opinions and feelings on certain topics to the public. Most of the time I forget that other people besides the class can see what I write! I just think about other classmates reading my posts. But it is interesting and new for me to write online to such a degree.
I think the biggest challenge faced when writing online, is being careful how you word your opinions, especially on touchy topics. Just like I said before, you don't to offend people to the point where they no longer want to read what you write. The best way to overcome this is by just wording things in a so called "politically correct" way. Just consider other people's points of view on topics. Not to limit what your ideas are, but to say them in an appropriate way.