Blogging Lock Down?

I've blogged with my students for the past 5 years.  I used a few different blogging platforms (KidBlog, Edublog) to accomplish not only a classroom blog, but also individual student blogs.  Every year, blogging becomes a bigger and bigger part of the class.  But it is always under a close eye with stern privacy settings. I have everyone very much regulated to 'Just Us.'  Students are required passwords even to access each other's blogs to comment.  Simply put, I've always been afraid to open them up to the outside world.  

However, my viewpoint about this in the past year has been slowly changing.  I'm starting to think that maybe I should let go of some of these privacy settings.  I think my concerns about student privacy were warranted, but I believe with the right education about how to stay safe in the cyber world, I can open these blogs for others to see.  I think I'll still moderate posts/comments as the students write them, but a quick review and I should be able to approve it for the world to see.

I also think that by allowing them to use a service like Blogger or Wordpress, I will be assisting them to establish a positive digital footprint which will be essential for them in the future.  The intent of the blog then changes itself.  From just using it to record reflections and thoughts in their 9th grade English class to something they can take with them and continue to use as they move through high school and beyond.  And if I can create that for just a few of my students, then its well worth the effort.