I find “privacy” and the “internet” to be rather strange bedfellows.
Too often, these are married for an article or news story about how to protect yourself and your family along the information highway. They tend to go hand-in-hand in a very Odd Couple sort of way, and unfortunately, the pairing of online and privacy seems to more frequently revolve around evil deeds instead of good ones.
The issue of online privacy is something that I’ve given a lot of thought to. I’m a blogger. I use social media. I have kids. And I have – literally – thousands of friends, followers or other connections on Facebook and Twitter alone.
I’m also a big believer that if someone really wanted to find out something about me, they could.
Yet I’m not completely open about mine nor my family’s personal information.
Why?
I guess because I feel most comfortable somewhere in the “Public but not too Public” spot of the spectrum.
Earlier in my blog career, I was very against using my last name in my email address, for online profiles and on my blog. But as time went by, and I was featured in the newspaper for a blog-related event, planned to attend my first blog conference and then started a social media consulting business with another blog friend, I realized that keeping my last name out of the mix wasn’t very realistic.
There are still some pieces of the identity puzzle that I am guarded about, though. For example, the very first thing I did when purchasing my first iPhone was to turn off the geolocator for my camera. And my Facebook settings? Keep as much information as possible hidden until a friend request is sent and accepted. I do not have the “Children” fields completed on my profile, I have only the month and day of my birthday showing, and I don’t have my current city nor hometown listed.
(***Identity thieves can use your hometown and full birthdate to make a good guess at your social security number.)
I have friends – both online and IRL – who sit on both ends of this spectrum. To me, an issue like this is a personal call and I respect whatever level of openness my friends and family deem best.
What do you think about online privacy? What information do you prefer to keep hidden?
Such an important topic to ALWAYS keep in mind. When I was featured in a major publication, it was the first time I had to be more than just “Theta Mom.” However, I am VERY cognizant of what I share; I do NOT share my kids’ names, birthdates, residence, job locations, etc…and the list goes on. My facebook personal page is Heather ThetaMom and it works for me – I think every blogger has to find what they are comfortable with, but the bottom line is, once ANY piece of info is shared on the internet, there’s no turning back. It’s out there forever – and THAT is something to always keep in mind.
I go back and forth on some of these things, but I pretty much feel that anything about me is easy to find if someone really wants to look. I mainly worry about identity theft, so we are really careful with that.
I jumped into blogging without much realizing about all of the email connections, etc. It is overwhelming!
I am relatively new to blogging and have kept my last name off of my blog as well as my daughter’s and husband’s first names.
I had no idea that just knowing my hometown and full birthdate could be enough for identity thieves to use – thanks for letting us know!
I try not to put that much out there. Although, like you, I also think if someone really wanted to know something about me, they would do everything to get it.
Its something that I think about constantly. Mostly because I used to be a real estate agent and posted almost everything online (except for my true birthday). Then I forgot about it until recently I got a strange, freaky phone call. Now I am here trying to fix everything, but as they say – the internet is forever. I’m much more careful now
I wanted to kept my last name, city and kids names all under wraps. I felt very strongly about not revealing any of that via Twitter or my blog. But then I went and connected my LinkedIn and Twitter profiles in Klout so now my last name is out there. I feel kinda weird about it. But at least I had the good sense to not list my real city along with my last name in my LinkedIn profile. Hopefully that will keep IRL stalkers at bay.
This is an interesting post as I regularly have freak out moments when I think that someone could potentially get “attached” to me or my son. But I’m very much with you that if someone wants to find out information about me, they can. Also, fear of the boogie man is waste of energy since most crimes against children are committed by people they know, not people searching them out on the Internet. I’m actually more concerned about putting information out there about him the could potentially embarrass him when he gets older. What if he wants to be in politics and somehow things I’ve written on my blog surface? That’s the part that worries me most.
I prefer to blog anonymously because sometimes I write about my job and also because I wanted to protect my husband’s and my son’s privacy. I’m probably a bit over the top. I actually don’t even include pictures of any of us on my blog. This can get a little challenging sometimes when I’m doing a post that uses photos. But all in all, i don’t think going this road has alienated my readers.
In fact, in many ways, my anonymity has made me feel a little more free to talk about what’s really on my mind.
I’m on the same page as you only I haven’t used Lboy’s name on the blog, but I do use it with my online friends. How can I be friends with someone if they don’t know my kid’s name, is usually my train of thought.
And I’m really funny about my facebook settings, no one can do a search for me & find me unless they are already friends with me. I have a friend who is not into social media at all & she told me that she couldn’t believe that I put that strict of settings on there considering how much time I spend online.
I really think that blogging has created an awareness of how private I should be & you would think it would be the opposite.
I’m about where you are on the spectrum. Plus, I’m blessed with a fairly anonymous name!
I jumped into this blogging thing face first and didn’t think for one second that I would be sucked into it like I have. So… I have my family’s name and some details on the internet. I’ve turned off the GPS on my phone just like you have and even though people may know what area I live in, I don’t talk about where my husband works or where we live exactly.
Also? I don’t have bloggy friends as Facebook friends, with the exception of a few.
I walk a somewhat haphazard line on this. I’m new-ish, so I’m still figuring some stuff out. I agree that if someone wanted to find something out about me it would take them 2 seconds. I’m more protective of my kids and husband. I don’t post pix of them. I don’t use their names. And their last names are different from mine. Thanks for posting. I have to find out about my GPS thingy…
[...] I found Liz’s post about the ‘Odd Couple’ of privacy and blogging very thought provoking. I enjoyed reading about where others draw the [...]
If I like a facebook page as myself, no one can see it but the administrator right? I seem to be understanding that from my own page. That would make me a lot more willing to like pages because people (like you) whom I haven’t met but know through blogging, I feel comfortable being more open.
What about networked blogs?
I feel the same way. I keep facebook personal and don’t link my blog up to it. I have 2 twitter accounts and try to keep my last name out of things. It’s tough tho, with a little digging I think anyone could find out more. I also have geotagging turned off, the stories about that are too scary!
I’ve been all over the place on this one… when I first started blogging I used Blogger and had a private, invitation only blog where I used Hubs & I’s names, Goose’s name, and nothing was private (well, I didn’t give out my home address or phone number, etc. – but I wasn’t concerned with identity theft or privacy issues)… then I took my blogs public, and kept all three of our names out of the equation, and kept photos off it as well… now I’m a little more comfortable. I use my own first name and post pics, but still not Hubs’ name or Goose’s (although I did talk about her name in a vlog once) and just recently posted the first (and only?) pics of Hubs on my blog for a link-up… for me the privacy thing is more about Hubs being a cop than identity theft or anything like that… I’m still finding my comfort zone, but it’s getting easier to know what I am and am not comfortable with every day
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