Just a thought as we head full-speed into 2007:

Secrecy will always exist to some degree, but the Information Age continues to mark itself as an Age of Dying Secrecy as well.  I just saw an AP news story (via BIZZbites) about a severely mentally and physically disabled 9-year-old girl identified as "Ashley" whose parents have stunted her growth via surgery and hormone treatments to keep her easy to carry and care for.

Aside from the ethical questions raised by this case, what interests me is the fact that Ashley's parents have a public website/blog about their daughter.  I suspect it is only a matter of days before their privacy is compromised.  I hope that Ashley and her family are treated with respect, no matter what consensus is reached regarding the morality of their decisions.  So many personal secrets are dying in this age of exposure and publicizing.  Sometimes this is good, and sometimes it is not.

It is therefore important - even imperative - that we who publish on the Web take care to preserve the line between private and public, and place news and information in the appropriate category.