Ever have those days when you need to vent about filling out TPS forms to a faceless but sympathetic bunch of strangers? It used to be easy to hop online and dash off an angry email or post to a forum. Back in the day you couldn’t drag anyone but your geekiest friends onto the Internet, so it was a sanctuary those on the cutting edge. You could blow off some steam and then get back to work without thinking about who might see your rant.

Now, everyone’s on that edge and there’s no safe place to complain online. Social media is a free-for-all where a whisper can become a shout within a very short time. Change your status on Facebook, and your mom will see your status and call. Post a Twitter, and your competitive co-worker reports back to the office. Update your blog, and find out exactly when the boss started subscribing to your feed.

I don’t want to start one of those diaries with the tiny padlock. But what’s a girl to do when she’s having a bad day online?