Another day goes by… another blog goes private… it seems to be a trend… a trend that I don’t like. So I am writing a letter to all of you bloggers out there that have gone private or are thinking of doing so.
Dear fellow blogger,
You and I aren’t really friends… more like distant acquaintances. We knew each other several years ago, and I may run into you once in a blue moon… but you’re not even close to being on my family Christmas card list… and I would never intuitively seek you out as a friend of Facebook. If my network of friends were a solar system… you’d be something like the third moon of Jupiter. Infact… I wouldn’t even know the name of your spouse… much less your kids… had I not stumbled upon your BLOG…. your GLORIOUS BLOG. Yes it’s a little cheesy… you aren’t the best writer in the world… and your kids aren’t as cute as you think they are… but the truth is I LOVE READING YOUR BLOG! I probably read your blog about once a month… and NO, I never leave a comment… My guess is that you have no idea I actually read you blog… but I do… and I enjoy it. You might call me a blog stalker… and you’re probably right… but it’s not like I am trying to steal away your spouse… and heck… I’m not some pedophile… I’ve never even met a pedophile! Truthfully.. I love catching up with you every now and then… but I prefer to do it anonymously on my laptop… rather than create an awkward moment with a phone call or e-mail. Your blog intrigues me… you’ve got some interesting opinions… sometimes you make me laugh… other times you have an nice insight or a story to tell… and who knows… I may even discover another clever blog or web site by visiting one of your links. Sometimes I wish I lived your life… other times I feel sorry for your situation and I’m glad I live my own. But at the end of the day… I read your blog because I care… I care about you… and your family… and even though we’re not close… I can still spend 2 minutes each month catching up with your life… knowing that occasionally… something that you write may touch my own.
~ Anonymous reader of your blog
So my question to those who are considering taking their blog private…. Why are you going to kill off the only connection you have with possibly dozens of people who are interested in your life? Most of your readers aren’t going to send you an email and beg to be included on your readership list … that’s ridiculous and humiliating… unless you’re a really close friend to that person! What’s really frustrating for most people is when you get to know and love somebodies blog… then one day… out of the clear blue sky…they go PRIVATE… All because they’re superstitious about some sicko randomly discovering their blog and hunting down their children? Do you know the odds of that actually happening are about 1 in 10 gazillion. If you were so worried about it… why didn’t you start out with a private blog in the first place?
So my question to those who are considering taking their blog private…. Why are you going to kill off the only connection you have with possibly dozens of people who are interested in your life? Most of your readers aren’t going to send you an email and beg to be included on your readership list … that’s ridiculous and humiliating… unless you’re a really close friend to that person! What’s really frustrating for most people is when you get to know and love somebodies blog… then one day… out of the clear blue sky…they go PRIVATE… All because they’re superstitious about some sicko randomly discovering their blog and hunting down their children? Do you know the odds of that actually happening are about 1 in 10 gazillion. If you were so worried about it… why didn’t you start out with a private blog in the first place?
Just FYI… if you follow some simple blog safety tips… such as never posting your address or personal contact information… you’ll more than likely be fine. Besides… if your really paranoid you can modify your settings within your blogspot account so your blog information won’t appear in the Google search results…. meaning that crazy sicko pretty much has to know your specific domain name to find your blog.
My theory… BLOGS ARE FOR EVERYONE TO READ… journals are for keeping private. Why not have both? If your interested in some fantastic journaling software that will keep your deepest darkest secrets… secret… I recommend DavidRM Software… I’ve been using it for years. By the way…. that pedophile sicko… he can probably hack into your private blog a whole lot easier than you think. If something is really that important or secret (of if your kids are absolutely so cute that pedophiles instantly want to hunt them down after seeing a picture of them) I recommend not posting it online in the first place… even if your account is private.
Finally… you have my solemn promise… THIS BLOG WILL NEVER GO PRIVATE!!!