There are several things that I need to do with this blog. I need to update my blog roll (several blogs to add and URLs to update) and the template, since I have spent two days of last week adding labels to all my posts and it'll be nice to have the labels on the sidebar. I also want to add *asterisks* to certain words that have been getting lots of Google hits lately. The most common search is for br*east*feeding photos or pictures, which happens to be the subject and title of two of my posts posts. I think that such a search can certainly have malicious motivations. I won't delete the photos, I just want to make them only available for those who read this blog, or come from Kateri's link to mine and the other blogs that participated in her peaceful and joyful blogging protest to the upheaval that followed the breastfeeding child that appeared in the cover of Baby Talk magazine.
Another thing that I'm considering and that may take a while to implement (since it would involve editing many many posts), is to stop using my sons' actual names. I even thought of pseudonyms for them derived from their names: "Vinny" from vin, the last part of my oldest's name and "Tony," from 'ton,' the last part of the youngest's name. I know it's going to feel strange to talk about them with those pseudonyms, but it may be safer. I could also use their initials "K" and "L" but initials are annoying. What's your opinion about this? Most of the multicultural family mamas in my blog roll use their names and their children's and a few of the academic mamas, but most of the latter don't. I will still use my first name, I wouldn't like to change that. I haven't thought of any overly compelling reasons to do this, but I don't know, it might be best. My husband would also be more comfortable with the pseudonyms.
I do post lots of photos of them as well... Isn't the internet full of photos of cute kids already though? What real harm is it going to to to them or us? It's different in the case of people who work with children like Cloudscome. She posted about this and other issues, such as writing about one's personal life and giving geographical and other identifying information here. Let me know of any thoughts you may have about this.
Coming up: Christmas tree post. Lots and lots of photos!
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8 comments:
Hey. I've had some trouble posting comments here lately. I think it's a beta issue, since I only have this issue with beta users on my blogroll. Anyhoo, I'll just post anonymously today.
As you know, I used nicknames on my blog for a long time. But I kept having to go back and edit my posts, since I kept writing our real names. It got tiring. So now I just don't reveal our last name or the city we live in.
Juliet
I also have been having that dilemma. So, after a post from you about a comments you received, I started using nicknames that also belong to my blog name. The original one was in Portuguese (Sol e Flor) and in English (Sun and Flower). It was hard to get used to that but know I write those nicknames naturally.
I would love to put photos of my kids on my blog but I always chose photos where their face is not shown. There is a code to prevent people from copy the photos but till now I haven't found one code that works in Beta Blogger. People can always print them, so we are never 100% safe, there is no such thing.
I guess nicknames is a good choice.
Well, you know some of my thoughts on all this, given the issue I had recently. My solution was to make my blog private, which of course is unfortunate because I have lost that sense of a wider community. I used to really enjoy having new readers stop by my blog and, of course, now that it's private this doesn't happen.
However, despite all that I have to say that it's kind of a nice feeling having a private blog. I feel less inhibited, less worried about who might be reading or stopping by. As cloudscome mentioned, I too used to check my site meter obsessively, worried that someone might have found their way to my blog through unsavory means (this never happened--except for what happened with the sellers of our new house, but that wasn't unsavory in the creepy way).
I'm still thinking of making my blog public again after the new year--we'll see. As for pseudonyms--there's no harm in using them and I'm thinking more and more that it might be a good thing. If I do make my blog public again, I'll probably go back and change their names to pseudonyms.
I'm new to that blog stuff, you know, but still, that's why I don't have an Orkut account anymore..and don't put pics in my blog, feel better this way.
I'm also trying to avoid real names, don't know how many crazy people are "nesse mundao" da internet...
Keiko
Well, as you know I used to use pseudonyms for my kids (not so nice ones but they are meant to be "affectionate") ;) but later changed to using their names. I still don't feel 100% comfortable with that and I think I will switch back to using nicknames more and/or initials. I like the idea of using initials, and to my husband I usually refer to as "hubby" - which is a stupid term, or dh, which not everyone understands.
I am careful about posting pictures about my kids and usually take them off again after several weeks because I'm not comfortable with the idea of their pictures being on the internet indefinitely.
oh, and I totally agree with aliki and that my writing used to be a lot less inhibited when my blog was still private (back in the good old days!!) I kind of miss that now.
As you probably know, I use pseudonyms and I don't show anyone's face on my blog. I suppose it's mainly instinctive. I don't think there would be any real danger to my family if I posted their photos or their names, but I do get a certain amount of hatemail and I don't like the idea of mean, vindictive people looking at photos of my kids.
(I've had trouble posting to beta blogs this weeks so we'll see if this comment shows up ...)
New reader here... In my blog I use my first name, but use the irritating initals for my kids and other people. I only post pics of my family, no one else. Also, I don't give out specific information about where we live, although there are clues and someone could narrow it down if they wanted. Sometimes I reconsider posting the pics, but for right now I will continue.
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