While we have not yet experienced any real, physical invasion of privacy, I still have concerns about blogging about my boys. What makes me uneasy is when I check my Traffic Sources and see some of the website addresses that link to my blog. Yes, I am very much aware that there are groups and websites that cater to the sick and perverted. But I guess I did not realize that they might possibly provide links to my blog simply for innocent photos of my beautiful children. One specific picture of one of my young sons seemed to have the most views from these "suspected" websites, so I removed it. It was one of my favorites, a close up of his sweet four-year-old face. The thought that some twisted soul is looking at a picture of my child... Well, it infuriates me and makes me sick to my stomach.
Now, I don't know have proof. It's just the conclusion that I have reached from pieces of information I've come across and a mother's intuition. When I see links to my blog from Russian websites that are about furniture or sunglasses, I am suspicious. And then, there are the blatantly obvious links from p*** sites. It sickens me. Did I mention that already? Just as we can block certain types of websites from being viewed on our home computers, I wish there was a way to keep those same sites from visiting our blogs. Unrealistic, I know.
For the past few months, I have been trying to avoid using many photos of my boys, especially close-ups. I have even considered removing all of my sons' face shots and editing e.v.e.r.y. post that includes their names. Would that be going overboard? Is that letting fear rule or just being protective of my family? Or should I just quit blogging about my family altogether? The very nature of the name and topic of my blog attracts a certain kind of person. Where is the balance?
I have tried to avoid using specific key words or phrases that may drive unsavory search traffic here. Please be careful to do the same with your comments, otherwise, I'll have to delete them. Thanks!
Do any of you fellow bloggers have thoughts on this?
Have you experienced anything similar?
What decisions did you make about including
personal information and photos on your blog?
personal information and photos on your blog?
Would you do anything differently now?
I understand your concern as I have had the concern before about my blog. I sometimes wonder if blogging is worth it.
ReplyDeleteI don't use real names on my kids. At first I didn't use photos of the kids when I first started blogging. Now I do use a lot of photos and pray that I am making the right decision.
My only regret is that I am not so blog savvy and don't know how to do some of the tricks like blocking photos from being downloaded and such.
It's a choice that you have to make for yourself through prayer and what you feel is best for your family.
I do enjoy reading your blog.
Many times, I wish I had gone with nicknames for my boys. It was difficult for me to come up with five of them that didn't sound corny, especially for the older boys. But like my step-father says, "it is what it is", I suppose.
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading!
I don't name my children at all. They do not get first names or knick names. They are simply my oldest son, youngest daughter etc. It is sick and gross that these people haunt us. The bottom line is that you must do what is right for you...listen to your heart.
ReplyDeleteBefore I had made my blog private I just used the first letter of the child's name. I did include pics here and there. Now my blog is private. I came here via a google search for homeschool organization =)
ReplyDeleteThis is such a tough one. I use my boys' first initials only and have since day one. I love their names and want to use them, but I fight the urge to start using them. I also use tons of pictures and close up shots as they're my favs too. I haven't been as careful as I should about not naming nearby locations in my posts...so I think I will do that. I also realized that one of the recent pics I used has the name of my oldest sons' Little League division right there on his shirt. Should probably take it down for security purposes.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a good question, as I often wonder who exactly is seeing our blogs and if there is any danger. I'm going to be praying for God's wisdom in this (for both of us).
I'm so glad for your post today and completely understand your concern. Even using just my kids' initials, I wonder how easy it is for others to find out personal info about us when we blog. I'd like to know, short of making my blog totally private, what steps we can take to better protect our children and our privacy online. Because we are also tied to FB and Twitter (and even Pinterest), these would also be places to look at better privacy precautions as well, I think.
When your passion and calling finds you writing publicly, it gets tricky. I am finding this to be the case in my life as well.
Thank you so much for bringing this up.
-Megan
www.houseofthe4risingsons.blogspot.com
When you're a