Just a head's up....

It's frightening what you can pull up on google. Or just about anywhere online for that matter. Try it-google your address, or check google maps, a lovely 360 degree view of our own lovely little street out here in the middle of nowhere. Makes me REALLY glad that we weren't outside on the day that this was done.

I started really thinking about this recently when there was a random comment on my blog from someone I didn't recognize. Turns out it was some 20-something college student guy in london. In theory he got to my blog by hitting "next blog", but he also just "randomly" landed on my sister's the same way? What are the odds? I thought I had my security preferences in place to avoid being listed and popping up when someone hits that lovely button, but who knows. I went back and double checked and in theory they were all set correctly, so now I wonder-do I trust the blogger security settings?

I have debated going private so that you have to be specifically invited to be able to read my blog, so that may be in the near future. I figured I'd give people a head's up though, so if you want to be on the invite list and have access to my blog still, let me know within the next week or so please! After some comments from someone else on another public forum (directed towards me-nothing freaky or anything thankfully) I just feel the need to step up the security a tad. Not comfortable with my kids pics floating around out there. And despite the fact that I don't have any real personal info on my blog anywhere, I'm still feeling kind of uneasy about it. Which makes me kind of sad, b/c I've been able to reconnect with some old friends who have landed on my blog and I love that!

I won't deny that I have blog-stalked, and come upon some fun things relating to people I haven't had contact with in years, and it was fun to see them and their families, but the more I think about it, it is kind of scary that I can land on their page, find their last name, the name of the hospital where they will have their baby in X months, the name of the subdivision or even the street on which they live, where their spouse works, on and on.

Anyway-my personal suggestion (and you can take it or leave it, it's just my opinion) is that those of you who have public blogs may just want to make sure that you don't have things like your last name, or they city where you live or any type of specific info sitting on your blog for the world to see. It's all too easy to find anymore! I'm sure I sound like a massively paranoid mom, but hey-who knows what kind of nut jobs are lurking around out there all day?

Wow-that post was kind of a downer, huh? : )
Go eat some ice cream, that will make you feel better!