Sunday 17 May 2015

I choose cautious and controlled blogging




Recently I have began to question my blog and the content I post.

I question how much right and control we have as bloggers over our content and photographs. Can I protect my children and their identities whilst still remaining an open and honest blogger?

I am extremely conscious of the fact, we as bloggers make the choice to put ourselves out there. We choose to share and reveal personal aspects of ourselves and our families, publicly on the Internet. However, does this take away our rights and our control over who can use and share our content and photographs and what it can then be used for, once it is out there on the World Wide Web. 
Whilst I love blogging and writing about my drama's, experiences and misfortunes my priority is and always will be my children. For me, the Internet is an absolute mine field and I'm fully aware that I'm only a small fish in a very big pond. There is so much I don't fully understand and I don't feel I can ever begin to understand all the laws, regulations and procedures and this worries me. I feel out of my depth and out of control. Which means I'm out of my comfort zone. 

I would like to think that the world is full of honest and genuine people, like me, with good intentions. However, sadly in reality this isn't always the case. 

I know of bloggers who have had their photos and content used without their permission and this makes me feel extremely uneasy. I fear that the children of these bloggers are being treated unfairly and their human rights are being taken away from them. Everyone has a right to their privacy and as parents we  have a responsibity to protect our children, until they are old enough to make their own informed choices, regardless of how good our intentions are or our reasons behind what we do! 

The Internet is full of uncertainty and im not willing to risk the uncertainty of my children's identity and privacy. 

I have come to the decision that in future posts I will be minimising the amount of photographs I publish and the content which identifies my children. I hope this won't take anything away from my writing or my blog. I still aspire to be an open and honest blogger however I'm choosing to keep certain accepts personal. For example photos which I will be saving for the family albums. 

Any thoughts on this controversial subject would be gratefully received below. 

Obviously these are only my views and opinions, and isn't an attempt to cast judgment on other bloggers who choose to do things differently to me. I will still continue to follow and support all the great bloggers out there regardless. The world is built up of different people, opinions and views and it's our right to have these. 

Brilliant blog posts on HonestMum.com

16 comments:

  1. Excellent questions raised here. I'm really hot on the privacy issue & my partner & I chose not to show our daughter's full face or use her name on my public or social media. It just made us more comfortable. But I think that's what's important - it's whatever the blogger feels comfortable with. No doubt by the time our bambinos are our age, the world will be a very different place indeed! Scary thought...
    #mummymonday

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    1. This is very true, who knows what the ways of the world will be when our kids grow up. Scary thought. I would really like to get hot on all the privacy stuff, it all seems very complicated. Thanks for dropping by :)

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  2. I think ultimately you have to do whatever you are comfortable with and if your having some anxieties then definitely pull it back in! Sure it won't take away from your blog at all. Thanks for linking up #MummyMonday x

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    1. I agree, it's every bloggers own choice. We all have our kids best interests at heart. Thanks for dropping by I'm pleased to be linking up with #MummyMonday again :)

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  3. You are so right to be asking these questions and I think everyone with a social media profile or blog should consider them. Your pictures and blog content shouldn't ever be used without your permission but there are people out there who have no idea about copyright or just don't care. I'm conscious about not sharing too much information about when we are on holiday or where we live. The last thing I want is for my blogging hobby to put our security at risk #mummymonday

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    1. A security risk is defiantly another thing to consider. There is so much to consider, before you publish that post or share that photograph! Thank you for your comment I'm so relieved I'm not the only blogger questioning things :)

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  4. I have been thinking about similar things, now that Boo is getting older, and become more her own person and not a baby - I worry- so I have made a decision to think a lot about each and every photo that I put on my blog of Boo.

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    1. It's sad that in today's society we feel the need to worry about these things
      :( but i think it's a good thing to be cautious and one step ahead. iIts such a shame we can't all just enjoy blogging without the worry. Thanks for stopping by x

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  5. I hear you, I've been grappling with the same. I made the decision about 2 months ago to no longer post photos of my children's faces. I have found it challenging and confronting because one of the reasons I started my blog is so they can explore it later. Copyright and stealing of imagery is one thing, but the safety and security and the geo-marking/stamping or whatever it's technical term is scares me more. We put so much info out into the inter webs that make it pretty easy for people to track our movements throughout the day - it's scary but I don't want to life in fear either. Such a thought provoking post - glad to have found it! #brilliantblogposts

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    1. All the technical terms scares me too because I fed, so in the dark with it all, I need to get clued up on it so I have more confidence in blogging again. Thank you for dropping by :) glad you found it too x

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  6. This is something I have been thinking over. Particularly photographs. It's such as shame that a few people ruin it for the rest of us. I'll be honest and say I still haven't decided what to do myself. #brillblogposts

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    1. I think it's a hard one. Bloggers should be able to blog freely without having these types of worries and concerns. Unfortunatly it's the way of the world though. Thanks for dropping by :)

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  7. It's always a tough decision between an honest open post and anonymity we all have to make those choices for ourselves. Like you I always keep the kids names off the blog, but it isn't really hard to find them, likewise any photo you put online anywhere is open to abuse, the saying in photographic circles has always been if you want to protect an image don't put it online, sadly too many people think anything on the net is free for them to use, sad as that is.

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  8. Some very wise thoughts and words. Thank you. It is always difficult. I blog anonymously. I don't use personal photos but I am very honest with my writing. It is a tough one though and I do worry about what happens to my words once I press the publish button. x

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  9. It's very much a personal decision and you're right to do only whatever you're comfortable with. I don't really think being honest as a blogger has anything to do with how much you choose to share personal photos, names or other details. What matters more is what you put into the words you write - if it's genuine and not faked, you're still being an honest blogger.

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  10. I had this exact same worry a few months ago as my blog started to grow and more people were reading it . I have since stopped sharing so much about my children online and have no updates or anything like that on my blog as I put them in a scap book instead. I do share the odd photo but not loads and I have never shared where exactly we live or where we are going on days out etc xx

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