So you decided to start a dating blog. Great! Now, that six-month match.com membership, the blind dates your friends set you up on, and the randoms you’ve met at the bar will not have been in vain! You have a place to recount all of your funny, awkward, painful, and even awesome dates to anyone who wants to listen – or in this case, read. But will your words posted for all to see end up having consequences? Is a dating blog just a little harmless online kiss-and-tell, or could it be the kiss of death for your potential relationships? There are a few things you should probably think about before you start putting your love life on the Internet.

Consider whether or not you want to let dates know – right off the bat – that you do, in fact, write about dating. First of all, you have to think about how it will affect you. If you do inform your love interest, there is a chance that he’ll back out of the date (and in turn, the potential relationship) before it even happens. But in the best case scenario, he’ll think it’s interesting and will want to check out what you’ve been writing.

This, however, is where things get tricky, because you need to decide what you want prospective dates to know about you before you get the chance to tell them. Do you really want him to know about how many people you’ve been out with in the past few months? Does she really need to hear about your last ex that you’re still carrying a flame (or a torch) for? Even if those things don’t bother your date, they’re going to figure out – or at least think they’ve figured out – how you operate when it comes to dating. She may find out that you seem to keep dating tall blondes, which might make her insecure if she’s a five-foot-tall red head. He might discover that you judged the last guy on his poor shoe choice, and he might (rightfully) think you’re a little bit shallow. The point is, whatever you say – and whatever they read – will affect how they think you approach dating and relationships.

Now, should you choose to keep your online record of your dating exploits a secret from them, it’s important to realize that this is no guarantee that your date still won’t find out about your blog. Google searches can be pretty thorough these days, so they might find you out anyway. And in that case, one might wonder if you were trying to hide it – which brings up trust and honesty issues before you even start the relationship. If you don’t want to tell your date right away, at least plan on giving them a heads up a few dates in (assuming all is going well) to avoid this situation.

Another item to consider is whether what your dates read about on your blog will change how they act when you go out. If he knows ahead of time that your pet peeve is a guy who laughs too loud, will he stay serious the entire date to avoid running into something that annoys you? Will she decide to refrain from telling you that her favorite artist of the moment is Lil Wayne because you mentioned online that you can’t stand it when a girl listens to nothing but Top 40? Will your date be completely self-conscious the entire time, wondering if they’ll become fodder for your blog?

Dating blogs can be a great way to get your writing out there and retell all of those stories about the hilarities of being single, but be forewarned that telling too much just might keep you single.

Related:

• Dealing with Unwanted Blog Reader Crushes
• Crushing on a High-Profile Blogger: For the Love of Commenting
• Slandering your ex on your personal blog