People who journal or blog know (or should know) that unless their blog/journal is identified private, anyone can read their entries. For ever and ever. As long as the internet is alive.
A n y o n e ... not just people in the blogging or aol journal community.
Anyone who goes on line to do a search can quite accidentally come across any one of our entries, at any time. Most of the time they will probably fall on page 83 of 260 pages of results or thereabouts. Sometimes they will show up on the first page of search results. Most of the time our entries will seem invisible, unimportant, or irrelevant to anyone doing serious searching.
I was doing a search this morning, trying to find a way to positiviely identify that rock-like object I found at the coast last week. I'm pretty sure it's clay, North Carolina coastal clay, but, teacher that I am, I want to know more, something substantial to pass on to students when I talk about this in the classroom during a lesson one day.
I tried a couple of searches, typing in "identify clay samples, NC Coast," and "clay in NC". The results were lesson plans and technical papers on identifying cores of sediment found off the coast, several miles out to sea. More than I needed to know.
Then, I typed in the words "clay washed ashore, NC Coast" in the AOL/Google Search bar, then clicked on search.
The very first two links sitting near the top of the search results were the following:
We headed to our favorite part of the North Carolina coast, Atlantic Beach. ... Thousands of swarming black flying ants, washed ashore at Atlantic Beach on ...
journals.aol.com/bgilmore725/Wanderer/entries/2007/06/26/atlantic-beach-cap...
We headed to our favorite part of the North Carolina coast, Atlantic Beach. ... fell into the water from exhaustion, drowned, then washed ashore. ...
journals.aol.com/bgilmore725/Wanderer/
Well, imagine my surprise! My own entry. Simply because of words I had strung together in the search bar. Those words were also in my entry, very close together.
I found the second search result especially amusing. Read it and see if it makes the same sense to you.
But the reason I write about this today is for those who don't think about who is reading their journals. There is a wide range of audiences out there, from interested friends and family, to strangers with similar interests or strangers with dissimilar interests. From that wide range of audiences, we glean a few regular visitors whom we come to know as friends.
Usually when I write, I'm somewhat thinking of an audience, the people I know in this community who are reading it, but mostly I'm just thinking about an idea or an event or a thought that I want to write about. I don't usually think "so and so" might read this...nah, she doesn't even know I blog... it's okay if I write about her!
Well, she may not know I blog, but she can still find the journal accidentally one day. And will she appreciate what I've written about her? Will what I've written harm her in anyway? Does it put her in good light? If it doesn't, I won't write it.
It is never my intent to tear down, but only to build up.
Our next door neighbor, our cousins, our sisters and brothers-in-law, our parents, our colleagues at work, our friends in church ... present or past.... anyone with access to the internet can read our journal entries here. If someone wants to find your journal, and you feel certain as long as you haven't given them your address that they won't find it, think again!
A person can stumble upon it, just by typing in a few key words while doing a search like I did, or they can deliberately go looking for it. The only sure way to keep just anyone from reading your journal is to go private.
When it is public, the whole world can read it.
Just a thought!
Now, I've got to set up a more defined search parameter to identify my "clay" sample. Any suggestions?
22 comments:
This is so true.... I know of two occasions when I have been googled ,and as a result approached ,for information on the subject I was bloging about ...love Jan xx http://journals.aol.co.uk/jeadie05/Serendpity/
Comments too - and your screen name. Definitely something to think about!
Thanks for stopping by - loved your comments & your stories! My eyes are green with envy you saw Monet's work, but I'm with you on Starry Night - hard to beat that! Have you seen it in person? Wonder where it is? hugs, ~ Lori
Salutary warning, Bea, only too true.
I have been in google many times also. The first time I saw it I was shocked, LOL. Often the entries are current that are listed.
Krissy http://journals.aol.com/fisherkristina/SometimesIThink
This happened to me I copied and pasted something on local history anothe reder set a link to that page, the author was not pleased as they had copy write my fault I did'nt realise she then werote me any incredibly nasty e-mail which has actually put me off blogging for the last 2 months, but I have decided to start again I only made a mistake and meant no harm to anyone
yasmin (Cayasm)
Try out this website
I stuck in flying ants:
http://www.pestcontrolcanada.com/Carpenter%20ants.htm
Krissy http://journals.aol.com/fisherkristina/SometimesIThink
http://www.pestcontrolcanada.com/Carpenter%20ants.htm
Food for thought and no mistake. B. x
yeah it freaks me out when I have a new comment from someone I have never heard from before....I think oh yeah I'm not private..
Donna In TEXAS
I constantly have new readers who come out of the blue. When I try to find their journals all I get sometimes is a screen name no journal. It does make me think and wonder how they came across my journal. I know alot of times the subject matter to many may seem like something that shouldn't be shared publicly. But if exposing my own pain somehow helps another stranger somewhere down the road, its a chance I'm willing to take. (Hugs) Indigo
(((((((((((((((HUGSTOYOU)))))))))))))))I kinda figured that peple could still read the private journals,thats why I stoped having one.If anyne wants to know me,they can read my plubic journal.LOL.Thanks for the info.Have a nice weekend.
Oh, boy, did I ever learn that lesson the hard way. When I lost my job, I lost it because the mother of the young lady that "allegedly" beat her baby to death, was googling something and came up with my entry. All because of that, I lost my job. I learned my lesson... that's for darn sure.
Hugs
jackie
I think about it all the time. Some entries I delete, I will probably go back and delete some more now, LOL. Thanks for the reminder.
Julie
that is weird , you got yourself on a search.
I am always careful not to say anything I don't want everyone to know,which is pretty easy, because if I had any secrets I would've blabbed them already. I find it a good exercise in keeping my thoughts positive. When ever I start to write something , I ask myself , "Is this how I want to remember this event?" the best thing about journaling (other than the friends I've made) is the ability to turn the coal around and around in my hands until it starts looking like a diamond.
Love
Marti
I knew this I have come accoss many journals this way.It only needs to be one word in your search and it can lead to blogs.Thanx for sharing thei nfo anyway,It may help some that do not know,adn now feel the need to go private.Take Care God Bless Kath
Astorisand http://journals.aol.co.uk/astorisand/MYSIMPLERHYMES
Well praise God Bea! Glad you are doing better since your drowning incident. ;o) Actually, I write on feelings for the most part. And since about half of my entries are aimed at trying to uplift souls and/or reach them from Christ, I am always hoping my journals will come up in searches. I even enter tags and meta tags purposefully for that reason. But there are many out there that have no idea what trouble they may be brewing for theirself today to drink another. - Barbara
I confess that I include tags that may come up in searches because I want my journal to be found. I try to avoid writing negatively about people that I know but public figures are fair game.--Sheria
That's why I don't use last names for people I haven't seen in decades, or name my company. I assume that any entry could be read by an old classmate, or an editor, or someone from church, or someone who like causing trouble online...well, anyone. But there are very few things about myself that I care to hide from anyone! - K.
Excellent entry! I for one always post my entries in my private version of my journal first (only one reader, me). Then let it sit a 'mandatory' 24 hrs before reading again to insure there is nothing said or mentioned that provides an unwanted identity clue or inappropriate reference to someone else, etc. Rereading with the detachment of 24 hrs helps to 'scrub' most entries. Then I just copy and paste into public version of the journal.
Caregivingly Yours, Patrick
I know exactly what you mean by this. Yes, anyone could easily find our journals and people do all the time. I have family members reading mine that I had no idea were reading. At least I've been nice. lol Love, Shelly
I really appreciate this entry. I try to always be cognizant of the fact that someone could do a search and pull up one of my entries; like you, I've even unintentionally pulled up one of my own. I try not to talk about anyone negatively, and definitely not by name if I do!
I really enjoyed that second search result! Imagine that! You had no idea you'd drowned and washed ashore, had you?
Lori
dear Bea, wow! that is fascinating!
Ilove you
nat
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