I was going to write something about how Blogger's new Blog Search feature is a little scary, but the Technorati search engine is already both scarier and better.

I don't think I'm the only blogger who grants strangers and friends full access to his blog but limits the clues that acquaintances, would-be employers, and certain relatives can use to find it. Most of us try to avoid what Graham, in one of his less successful coinages, once called "blogburn" — suffering in real life for something on your weblog. It's just common sense these days.

To that end, I'm happy to note that my knowing my full name isn't sufficient information to find this blog in Blog Search or Technorati. Our Bold Hero took steps long ago.

Still, I find it somewhat scary (and a little cool) that I can type in something like "Lawrentian" and find all (or most) of the Lawrence-related blogs. Or, god help us all: anyone could type in "MAPH" and read what the bloggers in our program are saying.

I'm resisting the urge to read them (for now) as that sounds a bit creepy, but I can see from the results that they're out there.

Yet another reminder of the utility of nicknames. I wonder if I'm not trying to hold onto the illusion of "internet privacy" when I sacrificed it long ago.