I think the title is a needlessly negative frame wrapped around a very good idea: let people know what you're working on.  It helps promote a sense of responsibility about the work before you have, e.g., a finished product or customers.  (After you have a couple dozen people who paid you money and would be left in the lurch if you quit, that tends to be all the motivation to keep going you need.  Well, for me anyhow.)<p>If you've told your friends and family what you're working on, if your project should die you will have people asking you "Hey, whatever happened to...", which will motivate you to not die.  For similar reasons, I recommend having a blog, as if you didn't have enough reasons to have a business blog already.<p>You don't even have to do a launch party -- I just told my dad.  He told me my idea was, ahem, crazy and that I should go get a job at Google.  (Best bad advice <i>ever</i> in terms of motivating me.)