Or am I just being paranoid? Does it matter?
I own a few websites now and I still find it really freaky when I see many searches to my sites that use my name. I have my own blog on my own name lesliegilmour.com but I don’t write there much now – however it is fairly normal to see searches to there using my name. But I get searches here and various other places using the same – Anna tells me to get used to it.
Pic: On holiday in Canada, my first time on an ice flow.
The first time I really noticed this was a couple of years ago when someone was leaving some comments on this blog and then my own blog and then a couple of my other sites. Don’t get me wrong it is great when someone comments, I love getting feedback there is nothing worse in the internet than writing a blog that no-one visits or leaves comments on – being ignored I suppose. But it has all taken a while to get used to.
A couple of years ago I had my home address available on the net and Anna started getting more demanding that it should not be – my business address is there now. This would be down to my polemic writing sometimes, which has calmed somewhat over the same period, though I used to blast at companies that told us they were great for service and never were. Since we have moved our address is not on the net or anywhere else, I think. Private or company registrations have taken care of this. However I still give out my address to people I don’t know who send me things relating mainly to the Camino, I could not keep this site up to date without the help of many others.
Does it Matter?
I don’t think so, Anna does and so I have to respect her feelings on this. I started writing on the internet in 2006 and since then I have written something like 200,000 words on my own sites and quite a bit on other sites like forums. I could never have imagined being quite as open as I am back then. I would have considered myself quite a private person and would have been very careful about who I trusted. I have discovered over time that much of this does not matter. And anyway people are more interested in themselves than others generally.
Writing and sharing on the net is not trust, it is just sharing thoughts that run through my head and some events that happen in my life – these are more interesting to me than anyone else.
I hope I haven’t contributed to this problem. I probably looked you up on the internet, as I often do that for interesting blogs, people, etc. and because my husband’s name is also “Leslie” and he gets mistaken for a female anywhere outside of the South in North Carolina where we live in the USA.
I am completely open on the internet, but have started moderating comments on my blog due to spammers and advertisers. I didn’t even want to do that, but had to due to trash being left there. But what I can’t understand is when did “research” turn into “stalking?” Anytime anyone looks anyone else up, they are accused of “stalking.” I didn’t think wondering about a person and wanting to know more about them when they publish their information in a public forum could become a potential “stalking” situation where someone is feeling uncomfortable. I’ve stopped putting anything personal on my blog because some people are so afraid of having any mention of their “real” name anywhere, but our real names and our real lives and our real information is EVERYWHERE ALL THE TIME. We have no PRIVACY any more and that’s not going to change. It’s a joke if people think they are somehow “safeguarded” from others knowing everything about them. It’s a brand-new internet world out there for all to see.
I love this blog and can’t wait for the day when I can walk the Camino myself. It may take me a year, but I’ll get there.
No, Catherine you have not added to the problem and the post was writen tongue in cheak mostly. I find myself looking people up on the net, that has just turned into something normal now – but from being a very private person to being this open was a process that happened over time – now I care little bar my home address and that is down to my other half.
Take care
Leslie
Ah, thank you for writing! I was afraid to even come back here thinking “it must have been me, I must have done something!” (Can you tell I was raised Catholic?)
Glad to know that all is well in your part of the world, and now a little better in mine. Time for bed, and Camino Dreams. Good Night. Gracias, amigo.
Maybe you’re beign paranoid, but use a program named “Tor”,If you have any kids older than 14 they could help you install it. It’s a anonymity program, like a “mirror”. You can activate it and then people see you in false places like Germany, US, UK, etc. It generates false information and leaves you 100% private. But be aware that you will need to watch videos in another browser, because your “Tor” one wont let you watch videos. (It’s because trough videos they can also see where are you from).. etc. etc. Here is the link
http://www.torproject.org/
Regards,
vasquez