Undercover
Thursday, March 4th, 2010
I had an email from someone who recently came across my site, who felt that she should warn me about the stuff that I write on here. She suggested that people that I know in real life know about this site, and that I was opening up myself to being stalked by random weirdos by revealing my interests on here.
The truth is that there are just a couple of people who I know in real life that know about this blog (because I chose to tell them about it), and they aren’t actually people that I deal with on a regular basis.
There isn’t anything on this blog that I’m ashamed of. Sure, I wouldn’t want to share this blog with a future employer, but it’s not half as revealing as some people’s Facebook pages. I’m hardly Belle de Jour (and yes, I know that she’s been unmasked now).
I can be quite open on here because this blog isn’t linked to my real identity; I never use my full name, I change the names of any friends I mention, and I am usually vague about locations. I use a contact form so my email address is hidden unless I choose to reply and my domain ownership info is masked for privacy, so I think a random weirdo is going to have a hard time finding me in person.
What do you guys think? Should I be more concerned?
10:18 pm on 4-Mar-10
Nah, I wouldn’t be too worried about people in real life finding it. One of my friends kept a blog private from us for years. We knew it existed, but we never did find the domain name.
There are some people who could probably track it all down and pinpoint you, but I would say it’s a small risk. And besides, you would be stuck with very limited topics if you didn’t want people to find out anything about you. For what it’s worth, I say, keep it up!
11:21 pm on 4-Mar-10
Reveal what you like and write about what ever you are comfortable with. Screw what anyone else thinks. If it’s really bugging them then they can write a blog about it.
1:42 am on 5-Mar-10
Hmm, I don’t think you should be concerned.
I on the other hand found myself involved in a murder case because of my blog and have made a lot of enemies. If they did some digging, they would find myself connected from my blog to my facebook.
But, I seriously doubt I’d ever get a stalker.
7:34 pm on 7-Mar-10
This is always a common concern for those of use who want to keep our anonymity while simultaneously creating a readership and brand in the blogosphere. Of course there are those that have been “unmasked” though the reasons are usually because the blogger didn’t take the proper precautions. I wouldn’t be too concerned so long as you follow a few simple rules:
- Always use your pen name in your blog communications
- Always use separate email account than your real life email
- Don’t blog at work
- Don’t get drunk and tell the whole bar your secret identity
9:24 pm on 18-Mar-10
Thanks for all your replies, guys.