A few weeks ago, I posted about the job-related perils of MySpace on my Amazon blog.  Since then, I've discovered another cool Web site that I feel obligated to warn you about.  It's called I Work With Fools, and the point is to share stories related to the inevitable frustrations we all experience with our co-workers.

Don't get me wrong.  A site like this can be therapeutic.  Sometimes you need to get things off your chest in order to survive the day with some semblance of sanity and effectiveness, and it's better to go on the Web and rant anonymously than to put your reputation in danger by gossiping to a colleague or worse, ripping your boss a new one. 

However, the nature of the Web is that it is public and you can count on anything you say or do there to show up in a Google search for the next hundred years.  Therefore, you must proceed with caution.  If you're going to share a story on a site like I Work With Fools, make sure your post is indeed anonymous.  Change all identifying details, including proper names and locations.  You do not want to be recognized under any circumstances, which means that even if a knowledgeable colleague or manager saw the site, she wouldn't know who wrote the post, so I'd also recommend changing your industry and some of the specifics of the situation.

Fun as it may be, for obvious reasons you shouldn't make posting on sites like this a daily routine like consuming your morning cup of Starbucks.  You don't want to get caught, and you don't want to spend time fueling your own negativity either.  Try focusing on the colleagues you actually like, and the work that actually needs to get done.  You'll feel better.