An ancient Chinese adage goes, "Even four horses cannot retrieve one's words after they are spoken". It holds true especially in the digital world, where everything one uploads - be they words, pictures or videos - is stored, cached and replicated, almost with impunity. Celebrity blogger Xiaxue learnt this the hard way: her rival, Dawn Yang, threatened to sue her after she published a critical blog post calling Dawn a "consistent and persistent liar" and insinuating that her breasts were "fake". Although she has deleted the offending post on her blog, it has been reproduced on several other blogs. Today, a simple Google search of a person's name can turn up everything from his school records to his blog and Facebook profile. A 2004 Wall Street Journal article detailed how recruiters frequently use Google to screen applicants and how Google searches have become a land mine for job hunters. It's almost like a shadow resume you haven't exactly created but it's following you around and most Google damage is self-inflicted. So before you put up anything on the Web, ask yourself these questions:

Is it illegal?

Even a petty comment can land you in trouble, if it is made on racial, religious or political grounds. In 2005, two Singaporean bloggers were charged under the Sedition Act with posting racist comments on the Internet. A year later, another Singaporean blogger was let off with a stern warning by the police for posting cartoons of Jesus Christ on the Internet. So if what you are uploading on the Web has a tendency to "excite disaffection against the Government" or "raise discontent or disaffection among the citizens of Singapore", you may be breaking the law under the Sedition Act.

Is it in line with your jo?

Writing on your blog about how careless you are is perfectly okay - unless you are a surgeon. People are expected to project a professional image as a member of their occupation, especially image-conscious ones like politicians and policemen. Make sure that the information you upload does not go against that image, or your career may suffer.

Can it be misconstructed?

Check for any unintended connotations before uploading anything. There may be no ill-intent but if your photos or writings can be misconstructed in any way, chances are they will be. Malaysia's deputy education minister Wee Ka Siong is involved in a RM10 million lawsuit for a remark he made against Anwar Ibrahim during the Machap by-election campaign in April last year, implying that Mr. Anwar was involved in anti-Islamic activities, had no morals and was not fit for office.

Private Eyes

The onus is on you to censor what you put up on the public domain. If you want to communicate personal information with just a close circle of friends on the Internet, there are ways to restrict access for their eyes only.





Keep readership to an invite-only basis. So only people whom you give permission to will be able to read it. At your blog dashboard, go to the Settings tab and then click Permissions. Under Blog Readers (see above), check the Only people I choose button, and then enter the e-mail addresses of your friends. They will need to log in with their e-mail addresses when they access your blog. If you want to make your blog entirely private, check the Only blog authors button.





If you use Wordpress, you can keep your blog public and make only certain posts private. Under the Write page, check Keep this post private on the right hand pane. Only the author will be able to access private posts. If you wish to let certain posts be read by certain readers, you can choose to password-protect them, by going to the bottom of the Write page to the Advanced Options menu. Click the Password Protect This Post tab and enter a password in the box provided (see above). Readers will have to enter the password to access that particular post.

Restrict access to your Facebook profile

Go to your account's privacy settings by clicking Setings on the top right of the page (see above). From there, you will be able to toggle the privacy settings of your entire profile or just sections of it, such as the videos section or the wall section, using the drop-down menus displayed.