Friend Friday: Blogger Privacy

Katy from Modly Chic has a weekly feature where she asks questions which are pertinent to bloggers. This week she talks about Privacy. Here are the questions she asked and the answers I've given:

1. Do you think privacy is something we should think about as bloggers?

Privacy is definitely something that we should be aware of on the internet in general. It can be easy to just bury your head and not realise that there could be all sorts of trolls hanging around the internet!!

2. Do you use a pen name or your real name? What was behind that decision?

I use my real name, but only my first name. It's a fairly common name, so it's not going to be particularly easy to track me down with just that on its own. If I get to know a blog friend a bit better I would add them on facebook, but I'd rather not that everyone knew my whole name, it opens all sorts of worries and questions!!

3. How much personal information do you reveal about your life outside the blog?

I reveal some stuff, but not too much. I hope enough to keep things fresh, but I'm still quite new to this blogging business! I generally keep to the rule that I don't blog or talk about anything that I wouldn't feel comfortable talking to a total stranger that I met 5 minutes ago. (Of course I think it's a partly generational thing, because my grandparents think I reveal far too much about my life on the internet!)

4. What will you never reveal?

I will never reveal things about my private life or, as I said above, something I wouldn't be prepared to reveal to a total stranger. Particularly in the internet culture of constantly being connected to other people via our phones or similar, makes it very easy to slip into revealing all sorts of things about ourselves, sometimes mundane, and sometimes just a bit too much...

5. As bloggers we have, to an extent, made ourselves 'public figures'. But there are still things that are intimate to each of us that does not need to be known by anyone that stumbles across your blog. How do you determine what is appropriate for public consumption and what is private to you?

I guess I've kind of already answered this question, but I only ever write about things that I would tell a total stranger. That way I know I'm 'safe' in my own little way.

I hope this all made sense. What do you think about blogger privacy issues??

Currently listening to: Sweeny Todd Original Broadway Cast Recordings.