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BlogTalk: Privacy

I have to say I was touched by the response to last week's BlogTalk on Honesty. It can be scary when you put yourself out there, but your responses were unexpected and encouraging. Its nice to know that we share much in common and some of you have the same worries and fears. Thank you all for that.


Some of you mentioned this topic in last week's comments and its one I think about constantly. There is a line between being honest and keeping private that we tread as bloggers. You want to connect with your readers, share with them. Over time, your readers get to know you. They know what you look like, what your children look like, what your house looks like and what city or even what neighbourhood you live in. Readers become friends and sometimes you share details with them that not even your family or friends know.

But how much do you disclose to those friends, when the reality is those friends are mostly people you've never met and you know very little about? I've pondered that question since I started this blog. In the early days, I used a pseudonym and never mentioned anyone by their real name. It was rare for me to post a photo of myself, my friends or family, or the exterior of my house. Well, judging by my last post, you can see things have certainly changed!

The line of what to keep private is different for everyone. And in an increasingly voyeuristic world, where we voluntarily share vacation photos on Facebook or tweet about where we're eating, where hidden security cameras everywhere are a fact of life, where tabloids and reality tv feed our need to poke our noses in other people's business, that line keeps shifting.

Do you worry about this stuff too? When I post things on the blog, I'm generally guided by a few thoughts:
1. Statistics show that you're more likely to be harmed by someone you know than by a stranger
2. I believe that most people are good and kind-hearted. Everyone who has ever recognized me from the blog has been nothing but nice, just wanting to say Hi.
3. Blogs are "out there" forever... but generally, we have a collective short memory and quickly forget a lot of what we see and hear online
4. The blog is a chronicle of my life, but not necessarily that of my husband or my daughter

Because of that, at some point, you'll start to see less of Chloe. There will come a point where her life is  hers and not mine to share. She needs a chance to grow up away from the blog limelight, as it were. But that's just me.

So those are my thoughts. What do you think about privacy? How much do you share on your blog? Do you show photos of your family? Any good or bad experiences you've had sharing something on your blog?

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