One day, I was *stunned* when an old friend commented asking if it was me, probably coz I’d included a few names then.

That shocked me (despite Hubby’s warnings NOT to post so many pics or details). I’ve now protected many of my posts since and wondering where to go from there?

I learned a lot from my blogging days which is useful in launching my own home biz now. The biz blog is slow to pick up and I know that connecting that to my ‘fun’ blogs could improve the biz but wonder about the risks of revealing my identity.

Yikes, sorry for thinking out loud here Nice blog you’ve got here. Will visit again.

[ KittyCat's last blog post..Croup, cough cough and sniff sniff ]

Moomykin likens her blog to a “journal” of her kids’ development/childhood, for them to read when they are older. For me for now, it’s for learning & sharing the experiences…

But I can imagine even that alone is enough for the then-older kids to have the same sentiment as what you have described. They may prefer not to let the world read what they were up to while growing up…

But while we can, we will!

You are right. In my blogs I like to show some photos of what I am talking about, but have generally resorted to choosing ones that are not all that clear of the subjects, again to protect the innocent….

So far I think it is “working”, in that no one has been able to identify anyone yet. But that could just be that I don’t have that many readers!

It is so hard to strike that balance between personal and informational.

Cautiously blogging foward….;)

I just read that the site I mentioned has recently changed all the names of the family members… Must have still been a major undertaking using the “find-replace” function!

I think I will continue to practise what I have been doing- obscure photos & almost-real names. You can never be too careful I reckon. Using-this-info-for-kidnapping is a reason that quickly pops into my paranoid head, at the moment.. Do I portray an image of abundant wealth / ransom money??

However, one of the key reasons why blogs are popular is because it is a “connector” of humans, & that connection is an emotional one, be it humor, warmth, etc. And to evoke these, the blogger has to be personal, & relate personal info (events, experiences, etc)

Derek is right, it is a fine line.

When I first started blogging over at my personal finance blog, I didn’t even use my name at all and did not disclose any personal information. As the audience of that blog was much more on the personal level, I decided to branch out with a site using my own name as the domain. Even with that, I have really tried not to share too much information about my wife and kids, including names and pictures of them – even their ages (btw, both of my boys are under the age of 10 so no teens yet).

It is a delicate line to walk with regard to how much you disclose on your site. It is probably wise to err on the side of caution as once the information is out there it is darn near impossible to remove it.

I actually started out, and still do, blogging for the sake of a record for my kids as well as for myself (like how some people keep those baby record book) that we may in future look back and see what it was like for them as kids and for me as a relatively new mom. I never even thought about any readers beyond my own friends who would be interested in how we were growing as a family, and I was very nicely surprised by you and Ann!

But I admit your challenge to give the best and yet remain general is one that you should embrace with all earnest.

Write on and hopefully if it becomes a tad personal all readers will only use it in the positive light!