I got a promotional email for Yahoo! 360 today. It's called "Top 3 blogging myths put to rest by Yahoo! 360." (Bizarrely and inexplicably, a photo shows an individual in a bunny suit reading a newspaper, but that mystery is not my point.) The promo is meant to encourage Yahoo! 360 member to update their blogs, and reassures its recipients that blogging needn't be time-consuming, publicly viewable (360 users can determine who sees their stuff), or profound. The promo offers topic suggestions, and one of them is, "My boss from Hades."

Yoww. Gigantic mistake. As everybody knows, people have gotten fired for blogging about their workplace. Yahoo! 360 is private? Only if you make the correct privacy settings, and there are two important ones: Preventing the page from being addressed with a URL that includes the user's screen name, and selecting a circle of friends who can see the blog within 360. It is all too possible for a 360 user to make a mistake in this department—especially with the promo's glib assurance that "Only you decide who sees what's on your Yahoo! 360 page." This is a newbie-friendly service! Nobody should be expected to have fluency with the privacy settings. And, in any circumstance, NOBODY (on any service) should be encouraged to blog about their "boss from Hades."

The damage is done in this instance; the promo cannot be unsent. But man, somebody at Yahoo! has some answering to do.