Sunday, November 26, 2006

ANNOYED

what is with this private blogger thing.. i have serious issues with this. why did you start a blog if you have to make it private? blogs are for people to view and i loved viewing peoples blogs and just reading what random things people write about.. its awesome to feel connected to people and learn so many things from other peoples lives.. there is string of women whose blogs i loved to visit who have made them private - meaning you have to email them for an invite. i refuse.. this seems ridiculous to me.. please if you are thinking of doing this tell me WHY?? what would cause you to cut some of us random visitors out of your lives.. oh and i think its funny how blogger forced us all to move to blogger beta without our consent. logged in one day and i was forced to conform.. i guess that's how the world works...

7 comments:

Audrey Whitesides said...

you are awesome heath, i love you!

Gina said...

Hi Heather, I have to admit, I have been "lurking" on your blog, and figured it was time to let you know. I grew up playing and fighting with you on Hemlock Bay! Congrats on the twins, they are so cute. About the private blogs, I think some of the reasonings are posting pics of kids etc, but I agree with you, if you blog people are gonna look -- who cares!!

Becky said...

Heather, it drives me nuts too and I refuse to ask for invites too...and it makes me want to have a "no private bloggers allowed" rule on my blog. lol.

Amber said...

Hi! I just recently made my blog private - one of the ones you may be annoyed with, I'm not sure. I have been by your blog from time to time (I know, seems unfair that I can check in on you now...) and think your little guys are absolutely adorable.

So, the reason I made my blog private....one of the many reasons is this:

I have heard one too many stories lately about crazies that lurk the internet. The one that really got me freaked out was this....one of my friends was telling me last night how one of her friends had uploaded 3 pictures to flicker (it's an online photoalbum where you can upload pictures to and then tell your friends to go look at your pictures instead of e-mailing them to them or whatever.) Anyway....it's a public thing, so anyone can look at the pictures. If you want to find pics of a parrot (for example) you just have to type that into the search engine and hundreds of photos with a parrot will come up. SO, her friend uploaded 3 pics to her album. 2 of her & her kiddies and one of her kiddies at a swimpark in their swimsuits. It tells you how many "hits" your pictures get. After ONE DAY, the 2 pictures of her & her kids got like 4 hits......pretty whoever she sent to look at her album. The pic of the kids in their swimsuits got OVER 4000 hits. In one day. From crazies looking up "kids in their swimsuits" or something to that effect. CREEPY.

I have been going back & forth about deleting my blog for a while, (it gets over 100 hits per day....) or wondering what to do to make it more safe and this is what I came up with. This way, I have a list of people who I know are the only ones reading it. It's been wonderful. It's a cozy feeling to know there is a list of 60+ people reading my blog and I have a name for each of them.

All of us want what's best for our kiddies--to me this is one way I can keep her (and our family) a little more safe from the scary things in this world.

I don't know if you ever did visit my blog before I made it private or if I am one of the ones you are annoyed at...if you are or aren't annoyed at me in particular isn't the point. I just wanted to share with you why chose to make mine private. Feel free to e-mail me at amberfly00@hotmail.com.

Amber

Amber said...

ps - sorry for the long essay-comment!!

Heather said...

thanks amber.. i do understand the safety issue. but... the internet is a public space and so i just have to be careful not to post things (pictures) that i wouldnt have just anyone look at. i do appreicate your comment and yes i did check out your blog on a regular basis.. my post might have sounded harsh.. i am not annoyed at you just annoyed that i cant peek at some peoples blogs when i enjoyed going there.. again thank you so much for your comment.. it is everyones personal opionion on how they handle their life.. i love having random moms or other people visit my blog and give me great advice and if there are any creeps peeping.. they wont have anything to peep at on my blog..appreciate your response.. its fun knowing other people i live close to our blogging and i love reading about your lives..

Amber said...

Thanks for responding Heather. See, I felt uncomfortable about posting ANYTHING on my blog. I love posting pictures and what is going on in our lives, but I was never comfortable sharing it with just whoever chose to stop by and read. (I know I'm probably overreacting, but the whole thing just made me uncomforable from the beginning) I know the internet is a public place...the reason I started my blog in the first place was after we had Hailey and I was trying to e-mail a bunch of people pictures. I figured there must be an easier way for my friends & family to see pictures so I started my blog.

Since I have gone private, I have recieved a bunch of e-mails from people I don't know AT ALL saying they want to continue reading my blog because they love it. All of these people (who again, found my blog through a friend of a friend of a friend and some who I completely just didn't know) said they felt they know me and my family so well. That is all fine and well, but what about the other people out there who I DON'T want "feeling like they know me and my family so well" ?

Now, after I made the change to private, I feel comfortable posting pictures, stories and love writing about anything I want without having to feel like I am being judged by lurkers or without having to feel like I am being stalked by all kinds of people across Canada & the US (and a few other people from different countries that my site meter told me were checking on a regular basis).

Again, thanks for responding to my comment. have a good day!