Thursday, May 6, 2010

Simple Blog Rules

Easy Street's Blog Guidelines-

1.  I don't use names.  Not family names, state, or town name.  Not that someone couldn't figure it out, but I try hard to keep it somewhat anonymous.  VodkaMom taught me this.  About a month after I discovered her blog, she deleted every post.  She was in pretty serious trouble with her school.  I'd like to NOT be in that situation.  Ever.  (By the way-- she's back now and much more cautious!  She shares her story as a warning to other bloggers.)

2.  Because I try to keep it anonymous, if you comment using my name, town, or state-- I will usually reject it.  I guess this is protecting the innocent or not-so-innocent.  (For certain, it is my attempt to protect the students that I sometimes photograph.) So that is why you'll see nicknames like Tiny Town, Trailer High, the Mr., K, and L.

3.  One of the downsides of this is when things happen that I can't fully share.   A good example:

An award winning author sat in on K's class this week, watched her teach, and spent some time interviewing her for an article that he is writing on character education for a well-known magazine.  Her school and class will be photographed and featured.  Pretty exciting, except for the fact that I can't really share all the details.  Bummer.

4.  I appreciate when former students and relatives comment and use abbreviations for their names, too.  (Though you should see me struggle to figure out who it is sometimes!!  The wheels are a-turning!!)

5. If you ever see photos with strange smears, that means I retouched it to remove an identifying name.

OK.  I'm pretty sure that is more than you needed to know about my blogging, but maybe those guidelines will help some other blogger.

If you'll excuse me, there is a little dog trying to use my computer cord as a bone.  argh!

5 comments:

Mary said...

I was talking to my oldest sister a few weeks ago, and she said that her husband is upset because their daughter in law uses their real names (including their toddler) and includes the city where they live. I'm like you...if someone really wanted to figure some things out, they could. I also paint.net my pictures if my kids' shirts have the name of their school on it. Even though I feel completely safe with my blogging traffic, you can never be too careful or too sure. Especially when your job is at stake!

Gayle said...

Very good rules to follow. Better safe than sorry.

Dandy said...

I was more cautious and then with the wedding and out names being on everything I let it fly out of the window.

But there are things I can't share on my blog and it makes me frustrated sometimes.

Katie (Can't Get There) said...

I think those are great rules! I try to do the same - always better to be safe. I'll use real names (or do I... heh!) for the grown-ups, but that's about it! Oh...and I guess I do mention my state...and the (huge) metropolitan area. Darn it - I'm not that safe, am I?!

@Dayngr said...

Fantastic post. Everyone should take some precautions to remain safe online and off.