And I love the world of IG.
I've met TONS of people through this outlet.
It keeps me entertained. It keeps me motivated.
It has helped me make new friends and helped me reconnect with old friends.
But this question is still always at the back of my mind:
Who is reading my blog that I don't know about?
We all have the silent facebook stalkers.
We know they are there
Because I don't want people creeping on my stuff when I don't know who they are.
So, why do I have such an open IG?
And why do I blog about everything?
I've seen a lot of people make TONS of money off their blogs.
I would be lying if I said that didn't seem appealing.
But that's definitely not my goal.
I blogged WAY before I got into the blogging world.
I blogged so I could remember the crazy things my kids say.
And to have a place to keep all of our pictures since we all know I'm not printing them all out and putting them in frames.
And then somewhere, along the way, I got into the blogosphere.
And now I love it.
But it is dangerous putting everything out there.
Where anybody could read it.
I don't like going to school functions and wondering what parents have discovered my blog.
It's not that I post anything bad....but it's reading what is inside my head. And it puts me at a disadvantage if you know what is inside my head but I have no idea what is inside yours.
I could never stop blogging. It has become a part of my life.
I love the comments I get, the email chains that go back and forth because of it, and the love I get from all my new virtual friends.
I want my kids to be able to go back and read this blog when they are older and be able to relate to their mom.
It's hard to imagine your mom as anything more than their role as a mom, so I think this is a good way for them to go back and get to know me and know more about life when they were younger.
But it does make me nervous.
I've recently seen other bloggers questioning this public outlet.
And it makes me wonder.
Do you make everything private?
And only let people that comment all the time read your stuff?
But then wouldn't I miss out on meeting more new people?
Can you avoid people leaving hateful comments?
Probably not. Haters are everywhere. No one understands why anyone would read a blog of someone that they don't like...but I know it happens.
I know I'll continue to blog...I just wish blogger would allow us to block certain people. The world would be a better place.
So, I want to know, how do you feel about this? Does it make you nervous to blog? Or do you even think about it? Do you care that any random Joe could know everything about you?
I should warn you that this post may or may not have stemmed from me going to watch the movie Identity Thief last night. haha which is a GREAT movie, by the way.
Happy Tuesday everybody! Now get to commenting so I can hear your thoughts. :)
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I have wondered the same thing for a long time. And it's unfortunate that we even have to worry about it. I don't know what the solution is. Privatizing everything does just what you said, it keeps new people away. I do have my IG and FB private, so really only my blog is public. But since that's where the bulk of the crazy is :) that's where the stalkers will go. Ok this isn't helpful to you in any way, I'm just agreeing with everything you said! So if you come up with a solution, holla atcha girl!
ReplyDeleteYep I wonder - I privated a few things like twitter and took myself off FB (honestly I didn't go there much anyways) BUT my blog and IG will stay public.
ReplyDeleteI have thought this many times. I have reduced the amount of photos I share of my duaghter on my blog and facebook. Clearly, I don't want strangers copying pictures of my duaghter BUT more importantly... her story is her own to share. I am her mother and her advocate while she is young and I don't want to depict her in a way she wouldnt want. Does that make sense?
ReplyDeleteHA! I am going to see Identity Theif tonight! I feel the same way though. I got into the blogging world anonymously because I wanted to be able to talk about my weight and weightloss journey freely and openly with people I knew would give me support. Of course I have support at home but it is so much different. I also use blogging as a way to remember things about my daughter. None of my personal friends or family that I know of reads my blog. Maybe one day they will find it and question me, but until then I will keep blogging as usual.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I realized recently is people using the map my run map. I am crazy and I am always thinking about people breaking into my house, or someone trying to kidnap my kid (yes I watch WAY too many scary movies). When people use that app from home and post a screen shot on IG or on here, they don't realize the street names are on it and it shows where you started and stopped. Most people know the general vicinity of where each of their bloggers live so having street names makes it that much easier to pinpoint EXACTLY where they live. It's sad we live in a F*cked up world and you can't trust ANYONE these days. I email people all the time & tell them to blur out the street names when they post pics of their run because you never know! They probably think I am the crazy one haha
Stephanie @ Lemnelife.blogspot.com
I LOVE this blog!! I don't always comment but thinking I should start so you don't think I'm some werido that stalks :) But seriously, I don't even remember how I found you a few months ago but I'm glad I did!
ReplyDeleteI don't care too much. It is weird when someone I know only peripherally goes on and on about what's on my blog. It's a snap back to reality, an oh yes, I supposed people like you could be reading this.
ReplyDeleteHaters gonna hate. Stalkers gonna stalk. It's been that way since the beginning of time. The internet makes it easier, sure, but this is the world we live in. The benefits of blogging outweigh any detractions for me.
I definitely can relate to this post. I get very nervous thinking of who is creeping, bc believe it or not- I have enemies out there who like to give me a hard time on the Internet world. So I try to be very cautious. It's still nerve wrecking though, to say the least.
ReplyDeleteI think about this all the time. To my knowledge no one I know in real life besides my hubby knows I blog. I think about sharing sometimes but I don't want my pics to show up on Facebook. As time goes on I'm more and more anti FB, plus there's no going back.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard in this crazy world. I try not to think about the crazys out there. I worry about the haters sometimes. I don't understand why someone who doesn't like what I write would read either. I mean if I don't like it I just move on, no reason for all that.
I think about it all the time. Especially since I have posted it to my facebook page and then someone at church had read it. Makes me feel like I can't write exactly what I want to. But I try not to put too much personal info out there for anyone to know exactly where I am located. But I am the same way and love meeting all you ladies in the blogging world. I feel like I get to know you better than people I live close to.
ReplyDeleteI ink we should be able to block exes!
ReplyDeleteHi Lora, I am Sarah and I am your silent stalker... lol. I love your blog. I do not comment on many people's blog because I feel like I am saying the same thing that everyone else is saying. I think you should put as much as you feel comfortable putting out there. I will say, you motivate me. Seeing you on MFP (yes I follow you there too) makes me want to continue tracking. Seeing you run, makes me want to run. I think that if parents are reading your blog at your daughter's school, they are probably motivated by you as well.
ReplyDeleteI definitely feel the same way considering I am not at my dream job yet. I am still in school and I always think that interviewers can just type in my name and find my blog. Maybe they will, but I am hoping that they will look at my blog as a postive thing.
My goal this week is to comment more on other blogs. I know how much comments are appreciated, and even if I am saying what other's are saying, it's always good to hear it twice, right?
So, keep doing what you do girl! I look forward to your posts and I am sure others do as well. :)
someseesarah.blogspot.com
I definitely understand! I have started numerous blogs in the past but deleted them after a year or so because I got freaked out. This time around I have tried to do it anonymously and I try not to post much about my kids or husband. I want to be able to be open and post what's really on my mind & how I feel. I think I worry more about someone I know in real life finding it and what they would think than I do some crazy stalker hunting me down. Crazy I know! However, my blog is fairly new and I only have followers that have found me from the weekly weigh in link. Once I get a follower that doesn't come from there and may look a little on the shady side, I'm sure I'll worry about it more.
ReplyDeletei am more paranoid about people i actually know reading my blog, i dont know why, probably bc they have an already percieved image of me and it may not be what i write. (my mother or MIL perhaps)
ReplyDeletemy FB is private, my IG switches from time to time, i have twitter but im not very social on there.
i think blogging is a tough situation. i dont want to be a private blog bc then ppl arent going to wanna meet my awesome self lol but putting everything out there is kind of scary too. not sure why anyone would wanna stalk me tho! lol
I think about this all the time. Especially these days.
ReplyDeleteI try not to be too revealing.
my FB is private, and even still I sometimes bite my tongue on there.
But like you, my other social media outlets are open. My Twitter, InstaG, this...it's definitely something I think about.
BUT, no one around me know about my twitter, or instagram or my blog. And I like it that way. Could they stumble upon it, sure, and that would probably suck, but it is what it is. I actually worry about that more. There are only a select few people that know about me having something other than facebook. I don't want everyone that I know personally to be in my head all the time...so why strangers? My main reason is for outside, unbiased feedback.
But, even with this being a journal of sorts, I still don't always post exactly whats on my mind, or post in detail, mainly because of the very reason that someone who doesn't need to see it, could. Some things are better left either written or told to someone that you know you can trust.
Anyway, I definitely agree with you.
It's a scary thought. Maybe blogger should allow a block option so you don't HAVE to be private.
But I do love all the friends I've made, it almost makes it worth it, ya know?
I often wonder/worry about this too. It's the same feeling as when a number I don't recognize calls my phone, but worse. Not sure why either give me anxiety. But I def feel ya!
ReplyDeleteI think about this a lot too. I only have 32 followers to my blog, but I always wonder what people will find when they google my name. I don't write anything that I wouldn't want anyone to see, but it does make me nervous at times. My FB is pretty much locked down to Fort Knox security levels. I rarely post there much. I basically have it for my family members to see pictures of my kids. I would never tell them about my blog, because they just don't understand. They think that all bloggers are out to catfish people... So stupid!
ReplyDeleteHi! New reader here. Thought I's stop stalking and say hello. I don't worry too much about what I put out there because I assume that it's hard to get the people who do follow me to remember every little detail about me, let alone strangers or people just passing through. Plus, I follow so many blogs, I have a hard time keeping people on the internet straight. I think we are all wondering what people think about us, but they are too busy wondering the same thing about themselves to take notice of us. I have my weight loss pics (in about the equivalent of a bathing suit) up on my blog and I write about my weight and have written a brief history of my life, but nothing specific (address, job info, etc.) so I feel pretty safe (albeit a bit emotionally vulnerable at times). If I'm ever questioning whether or not to post something I always think: what if I hypothetically ran for President? Would I be embarrassed if this came out? Usually the answer is no. But that's just my own weird litmus test...
ReplyDeleteYeah! I am totally with you! My ex's wife stalks mine. I didn't know she knew I had a blog and still don't know how she discovered it. She prob reads yours too to see what all I say. It's creepy. I found out when she brought up something I'd said on my blog and I told her she was a stalker. Why the hell would you read what your husbands ex wife is doing? I could give 2 shits what he does! And clearly after reading a certain guest post today you see that I worry about what people see and know! Ha!
ReplyDeleteIt was a huge, uncertain step when I mentioned my blog on IG. I haven't officially told anyone IRL about my blog. It took a long time for me to link to my real Pinterest (with my real last name, yipe!) to my blog. I still use an old email without my last name for blog-related emailing. But eventually I realized everyone else was sharing their full name, so I'm probably not that huge a target (for what, I don't know...identity theft?). I still don't link to my blog from Facebook, though. And when I went "public" on IG, I went through all my old posts and took out anything borderline-edgy about friends or family. I miss the old days when I could bitch about my brother-in-law's fiance stealing my baby names or about our parents spoiling our dog. I wish I'd have created a blog-specific IG, just like I did with Twitter. Oh well. :-/
ReplyDeleteI I haven't really worried about it to this point because I feel I'm not that well-known in the blog world, but the honest reality is that you really do never know who's up in your biz...and that scares me.
ReplyDeleteI read Stephanie's comment about the map my run app and I'm guilty of posting my run on my blog, so now I feel like I have to go back and alter these images cos I'm freaked out now!!
It honestly really sucks that we have to think about these things. :(
I definitely can relate to this post. When I first started blogging, my blog title was "The ..... Family" with our last name in it. I was mainly just writing in it to keep memories of my pregnancy, but then I got freaked out and changed the name a few times.
ReplyDeleteI also realized a few weeks ago that it's a bad idea to post my run map on my blog. I post it on my FB since I'm only friends with people I know, but I definitely stopped putting it on my blog.
It's sad we live in such a crazy world.
I totally agree, wish Blogger would let us block weirdo's and know who is reading every day. And I agree, if you only allow commenters to continue to read you miss out on meeting new people and making new friends! Such a conundrum!
ReplyDeleteugh I got super scared when I read that title, don't do that to me girl! I could see that being super scary though when you have a decent amount of followers.
ReplyDeleteI stalk your blog & even though you don't know me...you know that fact. I wish we could block some folks. But life is too short for me to worry about it. I just give it to God & pray for His protection.
ReplyDeleteI feel exactly the same way. Mostly I worry people I don't want to know my info are reading my stuff- exs, in laws, random people just judging me. It does put me off a little bit that people have a preconceived notion of who I am before actually meeting me, but for me the positives far outweigh the negative. Your blog is hysterical- please don't give it up!
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly why I almost deleted my blog and my IG! I got freaked out!
ReplyDeleteI loved ta movie! I wonder the same things sometimes and that is why my IG and Fbook are private. I've been on IG for almost 2 year and only had about 50 followers until just recently because I wanted that to be my "private place" with only me and my friends, but now it's turned more into another extension of blogging.
ReplyDelete