It’s Tuesday and time for the second installment of Blog Talk Tuesdays!
Part two of this new mini-series on the blog addresses blogger safety. Let’s get to it!
Blogger Safety
- You share so much on your blog. Do you ever worry about your safety?
My safety is always on my mind.
- You share a lot of your personal life on this blog – from your wedding, to your high school and college, to pictures of friends and even the city where you live. How do you still make sure that you are ensuring your safety?
I make it a point to keep the following personal information private:
- My home address
- The location of our gym (I only revealed the location of our Orlando gym after we moved)
- What kind of cars we drive
- Place of employment
I also never show pictures of the outside of our home or the homes of my friends and family. I make sure street signs are not visible in pictures taken close to home.
Additionally, when Ryan goes out of town, I never talk about him being gone until after he gets back.
- I am scared to even put a picture of myself up on my blog! How did you get over the fear of sharing so much on the internet?
To be honest, my dad and Ryan were the ones who were nervous about me posting so many pictures for the public to see. They now serve as my “checks and balances” and I will get a phone call or an email from one of them immediately if I post information that they feel could jeopardize my safety.
As long as I blog with safety at the forefront of my mind, I feel as though I am doing the best I can to ensure my personal safety. If any of you ever notice something on my blog that you feel could put me at risk that I may never have even thought could be an issue, please, please let me know.
Also, as a blogger you should know that when you post an original picture on your blog that you took, you automatically have the copyrights to that picture and no one else can legally take your picture off your blog and post it somewhere else without your permission.
- Has anyone ever stolen content or photos from your blog?
Yes. A simple cease and desist email from a lawyer typically works wonders in this situation. 
As I mentioned above, when you publish photos or original content on your blog, you automatically own the copyright to the content and pictures and no one else may legally reproduce your content or pictures without your consent.
I am also in the process of trademarking “Peanut Butter Fingers” to ensure additional security.
- I noticed you share your last name on your blog. Were you nervous to do this?
When I first started my blog, I kept my last name off my blog. When other websites, local magazines and publications began reaching out to me, my last name was then published for anyone to see. After that, “Julie Bream (<—my maiden name) Florida” became one of the top search terms on my former employer’s website. I realized then that my anonymity went out the window.
I also realized that if I wanted to make a career out of freelance writing and blogging, it’s a good thing to be searchable to some extent.
I’m of the mindset that if people really want to find out who you are, they can. It’s a scary thought, but I know of blogger’s full names being “discovered” because readers searched the race results of a race they competed in and matched their name to their running bib. Seriously.
- Have you ever experienced any scary moments due to putting yourself “out there?”
Fortunately, no. I have not personally had to deal with any “in real life” safety concerns, threatening emails or anything of the sort. People have recognized me, Ryan and my sister from the blog, but everyone who has approached each of us has been nothing but kind and friendly.
- When you buy and register your own domain, can people find the information you used to register?
If you purchased your own domain, people can easily find your registration information, including the address and phone number you used to register the domain. All of my information is registered under a former address, so this is not a concern for me, but if you’re a blogger, you may want to pay a nominal fee to make this information private. I know Network Solutions offers this service for $10 a year and replaces your personal information with their contact information.
If you’re a blogger, try typing your domain name into this website. If the information that populates is your personal information, I would highly recommend making this information private.
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Julie,
Thanks so much for sharing your insight and experience regarding this important issue.
I do try to be very conscious of what I post in terms of personal info, location etc. It will be interesting to see what difference it makes now that I’ve moved from a big city (Chicago) to a small one in MA!
P.S. I do share my last name for the same reasons as you. It’s definitely a decision that every blogger needs to make for themselves!
Some great tips in there!!
Wow, I had no idea you took so many precautions! Good to know, thanks 🙂
I don’t really share my last name either, at least for right now! hah.
So much helpful information for new bloggers… thanks for sharing!
Again, love blog talk Tuesdays!
I try and follow the same safety rules- no outside pictures of the house, no specifics about where I live, what I drive, etc. However, it is scary because if someone is determined to find out who you are and where you live, most likely they can do it with today’s technology 🙁 But I don’t want to post anything that will help them out!
Perhaps I should write a post about how I’ve trained Koda to ‘attack’ when I say a certain word 😉
EXACTLY. i agree w/ this 100 percent. if someone REALLY wants to find you, they can and that FREAKS me out. added precautions are smart though and i try to make sure to be as careful as possible.
It’s so true that really anyone can find anyone. But of course that’s true for bloggers and non bloggers alike!
Its sad that people even have to worry about this… way to be safe though!
Great information! This is something I have really been wondering about, and I really appreciate you sharing it will all of us new bloggers 🙂
I follow similar rules and also made my domain registration private. Thanks for the tips! 🙂
Great post, Julie! As a teenage blogger, I am also super careful about disclosing personal information. I have no problem sharing my last name but my address, town, school, and gym locations are a total different story.
PS – Before I started sharing my last name I have seen a few search results pop up that look somewhat like this “Erika – Teenage Taste – Turkey Trot 5K – New Jersey” Someone going that far to find out my name? Creeeeeepy. 😕
How scary is it that people go as far as searching the race bib to find out who bloggers are. Thanks for all the great tips!
i know. that BLEW my mind.
Super article, Julie! This is a topic I think everyone with an internet presence should keep in the forefront of their minds–not just bloggers!
I think safety is a BIG issue when blogging but I think being aware is the best defense. Great tips Julie!
These are some really great tips! Thank you for posting all of this, Julie 🙂
Wow, I didn’t even think of half of these safety issues. I really need to work on that! I just figure who would really want to harm insignificant little me, but people certainly can!
Thanks for the great info, Julie. I was just having a conversation with my dad this weekend about my safety as a blogger (he’s SUPER overprotective and cautious about these things, which is a good buffer for me!) I’ll actually share this with him to calm him down a little ; )
my dad is super concerned about safety, too. i think letting them read your blog and offer their opinions about what shouldn’t be public helps them feel a little more at ease.
Very awesome post. I think remembered to check yourself before posted anything and everything about your life is something most people overlook. Even on Twitter and Facebook, it’s a concern.
I just looked up my domain on that link and I am IMMEDIATELY getting my address hidden. Thank you so much for this post!!!!
I love blog talk Tuesdays– I’m a new blogger so this information is especially useful to me 🙂
I never even thought about the security of my blog, so this was great for me to read. Thanks for the info! I’ll be much more weary of the info I publish
GREAT topic Julie! I also do several of the things you’ve mentioned so that I don’t give a ton of personal (and potentially dangerous) information out, but I had no idea that registering your own domain means people can search your name and address. Do you know if it’s still possible to do this if you just purchase your domain via wordpress? It’s an upgrade that is available and I’m considering it – if that info is kept confidential.
if you purchase your domain (at all), i’m pretty sure someone can find your address. i think a lot of the times you can elect to “make it private” for an additional charge when you buy a domain, though i am not sure whether or not wordpress specifically has this option.
wordpress.com does! i did it, and it’s $10 extra but so worth it. i asked my husband what he thought when i bought mine and he was like, uhh duh! 🙂
Once again, very helpful!
Thanks so much for this information .. although now I am thinking back to some of the things I’ve shared and am a little worried.
Awesome and informative post–thanks!!
I try to do the same things — no pics of my house, street signs, etc — I also don’t really explain where I like to go running or the name of my gym.
At first I was nervous about having my last name out there, but I know people could figure it out (with race bibs like you mentioned). And I also have a few family members who read my blog and they let me know if there is something that I should not be mentioning.
Great post! If a full name is published, there is also a possibility to cross-compare to public telephone directory listings with address. Something to think about.
A few weeks ago I read Lisa’s story (I am an oakie) that some of her more revealing pictures being ripped off her site and posted at a men’s fitness site and her ‘being discussed’ among the guys. Gave me the heebie jeebies.
Do you google sometimes where your content/pictures are showing up elsewhere?
you can actually set up google alerts for this very purpose! http://www.google.com/alerts
Cool! I did not know that.
I was looking forward to this topic too for the same reason! I just read her story a week ago, and it totally freaked me out. Like a lot.
Thanks Julie!
Awesome post! I’m often worried about safety as well!
Hey Julie,
great post! i don’t have a personal blog but this stuff also applies to general internet usage so thanks for talking about it.
if you’re not yet aware of something called geotagging then it’s worth looking into. hopefully nobody is going to go to these lengths to find out more about you but it can be a scary world out there sometimes and if someone wants to, they can cull lots of data from the photos you post (data like the longitude and latitude of where the photo was taken). you can hide this data though but most of the time it’s automatically associated with the photos you take (especially on cell phone cameras) and you’re not even aware of it.
it’s worth checking this out if you haven’t already!
LOVE Blog Talk Tuesdays 🙂 Told you, I always look forward to them 🙂 You offer so much great information here!!
And, my Dad is ALWAYS telling me to be careful what I post..’because you never know who is reading.’ I agree, but I also am very careful with what I post..and do the same as you- never post pics of our house or anything like that. I also love blogging because it’s so cool when you DO put stuff out there to get readers who can totally relate to you (like the whole Crohn’s thing)- pretty crazy what people are ALSO dealing with & how they can give you advice, etc! 🙂
To start, this is a great series I’m so happy you decided to put up!
Second, I love to find out new tips of how to keep safe. Luckily, I’d read a few other blogger’s posts on similar topics, so I knew some of the basics of not posting where I work, or a picture of the outside of my house. I’ll be honest, now I’m questioning posting about my gym… then again, I think I’ve only posted the name of it, and it has something like 11 locations… But good to think about.
Great post, love this idea!
I just added my first name to my blog and was apprehensive before for safety reasons.
Thanks for the other tips, I don’t know if I would have ever thought to avoid house photos (already posted one!) or street signs, but I am going to be must more aware now 🙂
Thanks again for all this info! I’m really enjoying these Tuesday posts.
Great advice – I’m really glad you started this! At first I was posting everything but quickly learned i needed to simma down.
Great post! Safety is definitely something all bloggers should be thinking of. I’m really liking Blog Talk Tuesday 🙂
Julie- great post! I never knew the last point about the domain registration part. Geez! so much stuff to consider at times. I did know about Google Alerts, but I’m about to add a bunch of terms to alert me on based on this. Thank you!
More great tips – Thanks – already got on The Blog Fairy’s wait list! Awesome suggestion – xoxo
There’s definitely a fine line between personal and private and I think you have maintained a good balance ie being open with your information without compromising you or your family’s safety!
great info Julie! always good to know how to stay safe as a blogger.
Unfortunately this is why I do not blog, but for much stronger safety reasons. It makes me sad that I cannot blog because I think I have a lot to share. 🙁
I was divorced last year and have a protection order against my ex, which he has violated. So no way can I safely blog for awhile (but would like to share my experience). Hopefully some day!
I’m glad that you are so diligent about it, there are some scary peeps out there. 🙁
Thank you for this information. I think the safety thing is something that we all need to consider. 🙂
Great feedback!
Wow, I seriously had to update myself on 21 pages of pbf! Always nice to come home from a holiday like this 🙂
These are some great tips Julie! It can be hard as a new blogger to know what you should and shouldn’t put on your blog. This has definitely helped me out! 🙂
This is a concern of mine too. Especially with kiddos in the mix as it’s not just about you anymore. You gave some great tips here! I have private registration that comes with my domain from one and one. It’s free with a domain purchase, which has been anywhere from free to $6.99. I love that company! Thanks for your helpful tips here!
Thanks for the great tips!! I also follow very similar advice as my safety is of upmost importance! It can be a bit intimidating at first to start blogging…I always am hyper-aware of the information i am publishing!
Have a great day!
Good tips!! I’m a tad on the nervous side when I want to post pictures of myself. I would love to have more pictures on my blog, but I haven’t really gotten totally comfortable with it. and safety is SO important!!
Hope you have an awesome day! 🙂
Thanks for the safety help Sheriff Julie 🙂 I never knew that people could get your information if you buy a domain…I am going to look into this today! I often worry about what I put up, but have never put up where I live, etc. I know that people can tell from the University and whatnot, but it’s nothing too specific.
Thanks for doing your part to keep us all safe! It’s nice to have those checks and balances too isn’t it? That would be my friends and Mom for the most part!
Safety has been going through my mind a lot the last couple days when I noticed that a random person (who has a really “interesting” and odd profile) subscribed to my blog. :/ It just kinda creeped me out a bit. I appreciate your pointers and advice on safety as I am starting up my own healthy living blog. Very helpful!
(Previous link should be http://www.myfoodfitnessfun.wordpress.com. Oops.)
This is a great topic to discuss. Like anything, I think you need to be smart about the type of information you put out there, but if you don’t want to disclose anything about who you are or your life, then maybe blogging isn’t the right channel for your creativity. Sometimes I’ll write things without even thinking about the safety aspect, so it’s good to keep in mind as just another check!
Thanks for the info about blogger domains. Scary that all of my personal info can be viewed by anyone! I’ll definitely have to take care of that.
YAY! This was one of my questions:) I love the pictures of Sadie…the captions are hilarious!!
this is SUCH a great post!! id always wondered about blogger safety, but u have nothing to worry about becuz we all love you!!