I've been thinking about this ever since I started this blog. I have resisted requiring a password because it's been fun to get re-acquaint with old friends who find your blog from so and so who found it from so and so and so on. BUT, the fact that anyone can find me and look at my life is both flattering and frightening.
I have been thinking more seriously about a password for the following reasons.
1. I have gotten several comments lately from people who post a comment on your blog just so that you will click on their profile and by default see their blog/website. So far I have been disappointed with human nature in the form of an insurance company, a pathetic guy who wants a date and a crazy woman in New York.
2. Does anyone else use Google Analytics? It's creepy, I have "friends" I didn't know I had in almost every state in the US...which is odd being that I'm pretty sure I don't have that many friends.
3. I have a lot of photos of my son.
4. I don't feel entirely comfortable mentioning issues such as...how can I say this without saying it...pr *p o s i * t i*n eig*t related fallout. I mean really, I have been totally affected by this and at some point might actually want to discuss it among friends but I don't for fear that my post will go the way of so many other bloggers I know that by sheer mention of the word or your possible association with m*rm o* ns receive an on slot of hate mail.
So, I'm still pondering...any thoughts?
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Passwords ? ? ? ? ?
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11 comments:
I know I once told you differently, but now I think I will vote that you go to a password. Why? Pretty much for the reasons you stated. Most importantly because you have a kid and he is cute and you post his picture a lot (which I am glad you do), and you love him and want to protect him from creeps and perv's.
I'm glad you brought up creeps and pervs. Not only did I have a good laugh, but I wanted to mention the creeps and pervs but didn't want to come across as TOO paranoid.
Given the nature of your blog, I don't think that you would lose the readership that you desire by making it password protected.
Sure hope I'm in the "in group".
Regarding the issue you discussed, I USED to subscribe to a number of liberal blogs until they started talking about taking punitive action against the state you live in and business owners who financially supported the legislation you mentioned. I was done with them after that.
I write about all sorts of controversial stuff, stupid stuff, political stuff, etc. But then again, I don't use my real name and I don't have a kid. If someone wants to steal my dogs, I'll even given them the dishes, leashes, and medicines. =)
From a mommy perspective, I say 'yes.'
From a person who got hate mail for the reasons you mentioned, I'd say 'yes.'
From a person who uses google reader to keep up with blogs, I say, 'shoot--another blog I'll forget to check because it's not in my reader!'
Is there a way to get password-protected blog entries emailed to you?
Claudia and I totally understand your concerns. That is partly why we just changed the URL to our blog. I am using a site called sitemeter.com to watch the activity on our blog and we were starting to get people I couldn't identify.
We have never gotten weirdos wanting to post comments so I've felt we didn't need to password protect our blog yet. But if we were getting the sort of activity you're talking about I think we'd go straight to passwords. The one other reason we haven't gone the way of the password is my grandparents have a hard enough getting to our blog as it is.
Anyway...I support you if you go to passwords.
I just added you to my blog before I read about your "friends" in other places. :) But you know me.
Hi Linds, everyday I look forward to clicking my google reader tab, knowing that you will usually have some amazing pictures and dialog to go with them. That being said, I think if you have any safety concerns and/or reservations due to potential reactions toward your discussions, I would hope that you would require a password, so as to limit those concerns and reservations. There are many venues available for you to voice your political and religious opinions and beliefs publicly that are separate from your blog.
Thank you for your post :)
Passwords seem like a very reasonable way to go. Might I suggest, though, that if you go that route you might set up that other photo blog you've been meaning to set up - that way people can still stumble upon lindseyellen photography, and you can send clients to your blog to see your work. Also that way you can have a private blog for people you know, and a public blog for your photography biz.
I think mama bee is onto something with the photo blog! I can completely understand your desire to put a password on this thing... and truly it doesn't matter if your paranoia is justified or not--your blog should be a relaxing and fun thing you do, and if you're worried about who's reading it, it completely loses all meaning. Password it so that you can post happily.
Also, as an aside, i notice that a lot of people stop by my site too, but have you ever noticed how many of them are recurring visitors? Look at the percentage on the side and I think you'll find most people stop by once/twice and lose interest (there are exceptions)... they stumble on your blog but really have their own lives to worry/write about.
i have a possible solution to the google reader issue (since that is the one thing that bugs me about having a private blog & also about me not getting easy updates about friends' private blogs) but I don't know if it is worth it, which is why I haven't done it:
you can change the url on your blog so that all your info & photos and stuff now appear at a new blog address.
BUT you still keep crazysapo as kind of a placeholder, and when you post on the private blog, then you could write on this blog "new post today" or whatever, and even link to it. That way people who wanted to keep this address in their Reader would have an easy link when you updated.
like I said, I don't know if it's worth it, but since google isn't offering reader for subscribers, that was my idea for getting around it.
later skater.
ps-- if you do go private, you can take off the word verification thing... I hate doing word verifications, so that is a real plus IMO.
I too support your maternal instinct. Passwords, smaauschwords. Those of us who delight in your posts won't be deterred by having to ask permission.
I love the idea of a Lindsey web site!
As an aside, rest assured that those of us who live in the heart of the P8 controversy and are capable of rational insight know the truth. And for those who believe they are righteously motivated in their ill-informed and sanctimonius hate mail, from one of my favorite authors, "Sin lies only in hurting other people unnecessarily."
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