11/15/11

Privacy vs. Sharing Layouts Online

When I finished a layout about Trevor's first day of kindergarten, I was really excited to share it online.  I love how it turned out, especially the way I used a photo of the School Crossing sign as part of the title.  Then I stopped.  Did I really want to post a layout with a picture of Trevor's school with its name prominently featured?

Deciding how much to share online is an incredibly personal decision.  Some scrapbookers post absolutely everything.  Look through their online galleries and you can learn their children's full names, where they go to school, their daily schedule, their address, and how long their house will be empty as they go on their annual 4th of July vacation.  This scares me a little.  I'm a little more cautious about what I post online.

I made the decision to post the kindergarten layout, but first I blurred out the name of Trevor's school.  


When I posted the layout about my frequently misspelled name, I blurred out my address on each of the labels.  I even blurred out the ones from a house where I no longer live and a school where I no longer work.  It's not that hard to find out where I live, but I figure that I shouldn't make it any easier for someone who might have nefarious intentions. 


For the first 3 years of Trevor's life, I did not post any layouts that included his full name.  I did not use my real last name for anything online.  For that reason, I never posted this layout about Trevor appearing in the newspaper at age 2.  As I've become involved with Design Teams and my real name was linked to my work, I realized it was futile to hide Trevor's last name.  So here's a layout from 2008, which is appearing online for the first time:


So what don't I post?  I don't post my address or phone number.  I don't show the last names of other people's children unless they've told me it's ok.  I don't post anything specific about our daily schedule.  We don't take annual trips over a specific date, but if we did, I certainly wouldn't post anything that references when our house would be empty each year.  (For that matter, I never talk online about an upcoming vacation.  I only mention it once we've returned.)  Basically, I don't post anything that I wouldn't mind the whole world seeing.

What are your thought about privacy vs. sharing layouts online?

3 comments:

  1. I am in the same state of mind as you. Just my small attempt at safety. I only use my name on my blog and my family likes it that way. Hubby refuses to let me put his face on it so he's affectionately known as Mr. Blob Face.

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  2. Working in an industry where it's my job to find people... sadly.. I know how easy it is to find anyone/their addy/their phone number and sometimes even the VIN # of their car... but that is my job... so if I am given the tools to do it... I know how easy it is for people that WANT to find info on anyone...after my break in (which had nothing to do with what I had/have posted online... since I never say what hours I work or where I specifically work/live)... I have gotten a house alarm...and if I do go somewhere on vacay... I make sure I have a house sitter for the time I am gone :):):):) I don't mind sharing what I share online... as you know, peeps know my kids names and me and Brian's too.... but sadly, I know how easy it is to find that info out... even if I wasn't public about it... I loveeeeeeee the lo's!! They are GORGEOUS! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

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  3. Interesting post. I'm wary about what I share online. I wasn't even sure I wanted to be online in the first place since I'm a fiercely private person. I don't really share photos online, not on my blog or FB. All photos appear on a project. I don't share my other life publicly either. My online persona is related to me as a crafter. I work ahead of time to schedule posts when I go on vacation so nobody knows.

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