When you decide to open up your life to the world and write a public blog, there are some inherent dangers with being discovered or worse. What worse could there be? Reports to child services which could lead to losing your children, someone from your job discovering your "immoral" life and firing you, or complete disowning from your family. But you can protect yourself and still have a public blog. You just need to keep some things secure and really consider what’s necessary to put out into the World Wide Web.
What’s Safe?
Nothing you place online is safe. Anyone can find you and use what you put online to harm you in some way. Take for instance a rather vanilla picture of yourself on an adult site. It could be used against you in your job or other social engagements. Just the knowledge alone that you are present on a site like FetLife could get you fired. Your ex could use it against you to gain custody of your children. Anything is possible.
The idea that because you have to log into the service means that every word you write or photo you share behind that security feature means you are safe. This is far from true. Too many people rely heavily on the false sense of security that a login screen provides. Think about it this way; how easy was it for you to create a profile? A predator or someone you don’t want to find you will find it a breeze.
Protecting Names
When you start out with a blog, one of the first things you should do is decide on a fake name for everyone you will be talking about on the blog. Just as lunaKM is not my real name and KnyghtMare is not my husband's.
A pseudonym starts with its own email address and most of that information should be incorrect or as vague as possible. Hotmail and Yahoo are email providers to avoid. People can see your IP address on a Yahoo email and may be able to use it to track you. Hushmail is an encrypted email service that comes highly recommended.
If you host your own blog then your server will provide you with a free email address though these are not always convenient to access. You can connect your server’s email address to your anonymous, free, easier to use and access email. The mail can be received and sent from your Gmail account but is routed through your server and arrives at recipients under your own @domain name – which gives the added bonus of appearing more professional. This makes it harder for people to know which email carrier you actually use.
Personal Photos
If you share photos of yourself, even if your head and identifying features are cut out; be prepared to find them elsewhere online. So many people online just don’t care if they don’t own the rights to the photo, they just like it and want to share it, others like to increase their personal stash of porn, and others still want to earn money on your shared ‘free’ content. It takes all kinds. So, before you share a photo, consider if you want it on the internet. Don’t limit your mental scope to the site you are placing it, but all over the internet.
Personal Information
Other than the basic profile information, I’d keep your life pretty vague if you don’t want to be found by others you may know in another sphere of your life. Leave relationships, family and work details out of your blog. Never share information about your children.
Think about it this way, put on your blog only what personal details you wouldn’t have a problem telling someone face to face that you don’t know. Because you know, that’s just it. Strangers are reading your blog and looking at those pictures before they know you… really know you.
Sure it sounds counter productive for a public blog, but protecting yourself should come first.
Some of you may be saying, “Well sure lunaKM, but I’ve seen your profile here or there and you share a lot about yourself including unaltered photos. Practice what you preach!
Let me tell you; I have no children, no job outside the home, no friends or tech-savvy family that do not know and have nothing to loose if someone sees me or learns about me. I’m a unique case. I’m not saying that some of you aren’t either. I’ve given all of the information I share a look over and am happy with what is shared. That’s all that matters.
