[mom3boys]

Hi, I know that many of you have links in your signature to your blogs. I have recently started one, but am a bit nervous about sharing it publicly. Has anyone had any problems with people reading their blog? I'm kind of nervous that somebody will start stalking us!!!
Marjorie

[Trace7]

I haven't had any problems

[CoatAnnHat]

I havent had any problems with anyone reading my blog. I get comments, some good and some bad but the bottom line is my blog is mine. Its my feelings and my way of venting or expressing myself. Some dont like it, but they have the option of NOT reading it.

I also do not post pictures of my children on my blog. I know there are nutcases out there, so I do keep their photos private. Any photos of kids on my blog were already posted elsewhere by THEIR own parents.

I do have MY picture on there, but thats only cuz it really doesnt look like me anyway! Its a glamour shots photo I used for my business cards. If you saw me on the street and had that picture to go by you would NEVER know it was me!

www.linktolia.blogspot.com

[HunanMom]

I've never had any problems. I do post pictures but I don't disclose last names, addresses, etc.

[Teekay74]

So far so good! I have one picture of us on there. I'll probably put up more. If I run into a problem I'll probably password protect it. For right now it's open to everyone. Hopefully I'll be able to leave it like that.

[stephdpenn]

I have never had a problem at all. I do post photos of my kids. I mostly do this cause their dad is at work in Brazil for a month at a time and he loves to go to our blog to see pictures of the boys.

As for comments I have my blog set up to where I have to approve any messages before they are published. When someone post a commnet I get an email and the option to even publish or reject the comment. So far though there has been no negative comments made.

[Julie W]

I don't believe you can password protect on blogspot, though you can on Typepad. Also wanted to make you aware that there is a "spin the blog" feature on blogspot, so anyone has the chance (albeit, a small one) to get to your blog through this feature. If you look at the top banner on blogspot to the far right it says "next blog" and it brings you to random blogs. It can be quite interesting when you try it, and you realize people blog about EVERYTHING.

Julie
CCAI LID 8-24-05
To Tess and Back

[Lissa]

I've never had a problem. I guess if you really wanted to, you could figure out who I am and where I am even though I don't get too specific in my blog, but thusfar no worries.

[SRamsey]

I have not had any problems. I was just talking with my mom yesterday about once the baby comes I don't know that I will have an open blog, but for now I really enjoy posting and especially reading other blogs.

[SummerMommy]

I posted about this on my blog <here>. To save you the click, I'll copy and paste:

Some of my friends have asked if I feel creepy having so many strangers looking at our blog.


I thought about this question as Gwen and I walked through the mall this morning. Several hundred people probably saw us. Most just kept walking but some smiled and a few actually said "Hello". This isn't unlike the people who see our blog (we've averaged about 170 hits per day since we started the blog).

We share some pretty personal stuff here but we don't share *everything*. For example, we don't mention our last name or our address or our phone number. We don't link to our private home website or the personal websites of our friends. We know this might seem over-cautious to some people but we like this level of privacy and we feel like it's sufficient to protect us.

Blogging is a wonderful way to reach through cyber space and embrace other people who are experiencing a similar journey but let's be honest -- This is a very filtered view of our life. Yes, strangers can see us but it's more private than being at the mall where strangers can see us in person. Or, even worse, being in our own front yard where strangers can not only see who we are but can also see where we live and could (I suppose) figure out a way to hurt us if they really wanted to. And, unlike the folks who see us when we're at Safeway squeezing cantaloupe, the vast majority of people who visit this blog are those who find it because of searches related to adoption. Yes, some of those people have turned out to be pretty weird but we still feel safe here.

Blogger has millions of blogs and even though we're in plain sight, we're much like the pebbles on the beach because we're visible to anyone who knows, specifically, where to look for us but pretty much invisible to everyone else. I've thought about moving to another blog service and putting a password up but I'm comfortable here and I feel like I'm among friends.

[mom23boys]

Hi there- I have a private web site set up and it is also password protected. I do post pictures of all my kids there. When I was on a a public baby birth board- there was a troll that used pictures of one or two of the children whose pictrues had been posted on a very bad site.

My dh is a police officer and he really dissuades me from doing any chat public at all- specifically about our kids, where we live etc.. He has heard one two many crazy stories.

After the troll incident on the baby birth board- about 32 of the ladies that had formed friendships moved off and started a private site that is also password protected. I think that the net is a great place to share info and meet many people. A few of the ladies on my baby birth board are very close friends now. It has been three years since we met on the net and now we have shared birthdays, anniversaries and vacations with some of these women and their families. It is sad that we have to be so protective- as I truly can see how great sharing and being open can be. However- there are some creepy, up to no good people out there- so I have to be careful. I have learned so much and loved reading the blogs of other adoptive parents. I wish I could share as well- but because I post my kids and info about them- I have to take their safety into account.

GL and you will make the right choice for you and your family!

[kcpetty]

...and here is my primary reason for doing so:

Do I think it keeps out people (I know) and didn't allow access? No, not really. Because people talk. And that's just a fact of life.

But that wasn't our primary concern. Our primary concern was the arbitrary surfer on the internet, the one who just "happened" across our blog when it was public. After arriving home from China with our DD, I became extremely nervous about posting our DD's pic on the net. (We also regularly post videos as well for family members who live far away.) And DD is becoming less "babyish" and more "little girlish" and I just can't stomach the thought of some random weirdo staring at her picture.

Maybe I'm kidding myself by making our blog PP, but for me, any little thing we can do to protect our DD is worth it.

~Karen

[Shelley]

Just a quick note. I don't have a blog, but over the last few days a family currently in China set up a blog and gave out the log-in and password to EVERYONE and then told everyone to give it to everyone else. Well the unthinkable happened and they disrupted in China, and someone who had this blog address gave it out to others who didn't have it, and not only was this family publicly roasted on different groups, people had the gall to send them nasty e-mails about their decision to not continue with the child they were referred. SO just becareful would be my only comment regarding blogs. Shelley

[MissyAmomChina]

Hi,

I don't know if this is considered a blog or not--but I have a free babiesonline site. I created it once we got our referral and posted pictures and journaled. It's something that you have to be invited to --has a password and you can send emails to let people know it was updated. So, I used this to keep in contact when dh was in China and our first few months home etc. I didn't feel uncomfortable because I had control over what information was posted. Ultimately, did the link get passed to a few people I didn't know well--yes. However, I still feel fine because I don't reveal too much about us.

Take care,

[sami925]

None at all...I just need to add my to my sig...

http://i-just-want-a-baby-darn-it.blogspot.com/