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I suppose the answer to that question depends on what kind of future you're looking for.

The problem, obviously, is that there are some very permanent internet logs, where all this stuff that we put on our blogs can be seen for years after we've supposedly removed or deleted it. The things that we complain about as whiny, needy 13 year old girls (I was one, maybe you weren't) are going to be available to our employers when we're in our 30s and 40s. While we change as people, the stuff we've put out into the world via the internet does not change with us. I try to avoid internet diaries for the same reason that I've never gotten a tatoo. One day I know I'd get bored with it, but I'd be stuck with it forever, and they wouldn't appreciate it at a job interview.

That said, this stuff is available to employers and other such people who control our futures, in a positive light. The writing samples we submit in our applications need not be the only piece of writing potential employers see from us. There's all this work on the web that we've done, on Serendip and perhaps elsewhere, that can testify to our being talented. We've got to be careful to only put out into the world what we're proud of. I suppose blogging, therefore, is very similar to real world conversation. A good first impression in person can make a lasting impression...and an impresion made by words in a blog really does last forever.