Beware of what you put in that blog. A court ruling may affect you ... and the future of the Internet

A recent $2.5 million ruling by an Oregon court against a woman who blogged frequently may send up some red flags and serve as a dire warning for all of us who take to the Internet to give our opinion.
 

Click here to read the article

Crystal Cox, the blogger who was ruled against by the court, says that this judgment "should matter to everyone who writes on the Internet." She may be exactly right.

For years, we have thought of blogs as a way to not only express our opinion but to also "get things off our chest." If a company made us mad, there's no better way to get back at it than through social media, whether that's a Yelp rating, a blog, a tweet, a Facebook post, or any other number of ways we can voice our opinion on the Web. It's a free country, right? We all should be able to voice our opinions and beliefs, right? If we're upset, we should be able to channel our inner Twisted Sister and say, "We're not going to take it any more!" To an extent, yes. This ruling, however, makes it clear that there is a line that can be crossed if we're not careful. Where is that line? That's the million-dollar question at the moment.

The last few days have been interesting in terms of social media and opinions. Along with the curious case of Crystal Cox, there has also been the case of a dentist who sued his patient for a negative review. Click here to read that article.

These rulings are reminding us all that the World Wide Web isn't the Wild West ... but it also shouldn't be a monastery either. Freedom of speech has made this country great throughout its history, and it has pushed forward social media sites such as Twitter and YouTube. Are the times changing? If so, are we prepared for that change?