BEING a bit of a geek, I have six different blogs, each fulfilling different functions. In case you are not familiar with the term, blogs ? short for `weblogs' ? are a kind of website that are usually published with a simple content management software. Through this technology, anyone can put up their own sites on the internet without much cost or knowledge about coding language; and many have. Blogs have increased by millions since they gained popularity in the late 1990s. From the socially invisible like the disabled or sexually marginalised, to the socially omnipresent like politicians and celebrities, everyone has found unique ways to use blogs.

The amazing thing about blogs is how they have increased, by enormous magnitude, the breath and variety of content available on the internet. Their popularity among both bloggers and visitors makes them a compelling new form of media to engage in. As a supporter of the freedoms of expression and opinion, I witnessed this explosion of content in cyberspace with optimism.

Results have so far been promising. Blogs are an invaluable source of perspectives and information about events and experiences that otherwise have little chance to be heard in public spaces. In the mainstream media, these discourses have either been deemed not newsworthy enough, too `risky', too `mundane', or sometimes too `unknown' to be given much space. They have also created a space for ordinary people to craft their own voice and articulate their points of view without much anxiety over editorial, technical or legislative constraints.

However, the flexibility of blogs and their public nature also present some troubling challenges. When the intimate and casual tone of blogs have a way of blurring the lines between private and public spaces, how can one ensure that the freedoms of expression and opinion do not impinge on the right to privacy?

More and more bloggers are finding themselves having to deal with issues of liability and privacy. Information posted on the internet is available to a global audience. If identity is somehow mentioned or linked to a blog, chances are, this can be disclosed to anyone who has some dexterity with search engines. Some bloggers have gotten into trouble with family, friends and even employers for writing about private details. In a 2004 survey by MIT, 66% of bloggers said they almost never ask permission for blogging about people they know personally.

Many bloggers remain unaware of the compromises that can occur through the information they post on the internet. As blogging gathers more attention and credibility, one cannot assume that his/her blog is only read by those whom they know. Further, some search engines keep a cache that stores and reproduces content even after it has been deleted.

It is clear that even as we practise our right to free speech, we need to do so responsibly. The networked nature of the internet means that information has a way of multiplying and reproducing itself beyond its original intent. Without careful attention to the rights to privacy, bloggers can unwittingly abet in the vulnerability of others to harassment or even legal persecution.

I do not mean that we should shy away from blogging. This technological innovation has immense capacity to uphold the basic tenets of democracy. It has enabled wide and rapid dissemination of multiple accounts of an event, breaking down the historical monopoly of mainstream media as the sole news provider. Everyone has the potential to participate in accounting for what is real, and what is propaganda.

In a country where spaces to freely articulate our thoughts are limited, the internet is one of the rare havens where noncensorship has been expressly declared by the government. So, blog away and tell your own story, but not at the expense of your own security, or someone else's right to privacy.

The writer is a feminist activist who spends all her time reading, writing, organising, thinking, doodling and dreaming about change.

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