Posted in Tech Support
Did you all get the Blog Safety email last week? It was addressed to HomeschoolBloggers, but was intended for you all as well. I just wanted to post it here for any of you who might have missed it, as well as to give you this link to read from Rocks In My Dryer about why she doesn't post pictures of her children on her blog.
Now any of you who frequent my blogs know that I do post pictures of my children, but I don't give our city and am cautious about what types of pictures I post. I would definitely encourage all of you to put a sitemeter on your blog if you don't have one already. Knowing what brings people to your page and how long they are clicking around on your blog is very insightful.
Now without further ado, is Tia's article of important safety tips!
Blog
Safety
Hello HomeschoolBloggers,
As Senior Editor for HomeschoolBlogger.com I want to remind you of some basic blog safety rules.
Blog safety is important to us at HSB. We want all of our bloggers to enjoy their blogging experience and to provide a positive blogging environment. We cannot, however, read every blog or assume responsibility for the online safety and content of all blogs and bloggers. We will notify bloggers and the parents of blogging minors of potential issues that come to our attention.
HSB requires parents to monitor their children's blogging activities and ensure compliance with all of the HomeschoolBlogger rules. This is not because the child cannot be trusted, but to ensure that information isn't given out inadvertently and to monitor the online activities of their children.
Tags are a popular way of getting to know other bloggers better. However, just because a question is put to you, it does not mean you have to answer it! If you are asked to say what your hometown is, it is perfectly all right to leave it blank or come up with a creative answer like, "I could tell you but then I'd have to move." It doesn't break some unwritten tag etiquette.
The following is a list of guidelines to help make your blogging experience a safe one:
Don't use your full name - There are those of us at HSB who do use our full name, as our blogs are a part of our business. If you don't have a need to have your name in the public spotlight, don't give it out. This is especially important for minors! You may also want to consider using a code such as DD16 or a nickname. In your blog account you can set your blog so that your real name and e-mail address is not shown on the Profile page. You can also edit the e-mail address field out of your template if it shows up in the sidebar.
Don't state where you live - Your state, maybe, your town no. I would even be leery of telling what town I was born in. Identity thieves can use that information.
Check your pictures - Does the picture of your house have a street sign in it? Are your children properly covered? Yes, those baby bottoms are cute but think about who else might find them more than cute.
Read all comments - This includes your child's. Set blogs up so that you receive an e-mail notification of every comment that is made on that blog. If a comment is inappropriate, let us know and then delete it. To receive e-mail notification log in to the blog account. Click Settings. Click Comments. Scroll down to comment notification and click the "Yes" option. Be sure the e-mail address goes to you! Log in and click Profile. Put the e-mail address you want the comments to go to.
Use Comment IP Logging - On your Comments manager page click the "Yes" option for Comment IP Logging. IP stands for Internet Provider and every computer has its own address. When a blogger leaves a comment that IP address will then be logged. You can see it right next to their username, even if it is anonymous. If a comment is inappropriate you can then ban that IP address by placing that series of numbers in the Banned IP's box at the bottom of your Settings page.
Don't publish your itinerary - We really don't need to know that you are going, tell us when you get back. You can still tell readers about your preparations for the trip, just do it once your safe back at home. You can either draft those ideas and thoughts on your blog or you can write it in Word or Notepad and save for it later if you are worried you'll forget. There is also no need to state that you go to basketball practice every Tuesday night. If you want to blog about practice, don't write about it on the same day each week.
We all enjoy reading each other's blogs. What we don't want to read is how another blogger fell victim to a predator or identity thief. Keep your blogging fun. Blog safe!
If you would like to read more about how to blog safely you can read the following:
- A Mom's Guide to MySpace - http://www.christianitytoday.com/tcw/2007/001/5.30.html
- BlogSafety.com - http://www.blogsafety.com/forum.jspa?forumID=1100000006
Sincerely,
Tia Linschied
Senior Editor
HomeschoolBlogger.com
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