We did an event for the youth of our church ages 12 to 18 last night on safety. It included things like dating violence, prayer, Internet, media, sexual purity, abuse, modesty and anything else they wanted to ask questions about. It was open for questions that the youth had submitted anonymously. They were really great questions. They included hard questions that made me feel uncomfortable, but I was glad they trusted us enough to talk about it to us, who knows what they hear at school. One that made me nervous was about the Internet. It included chat rooms, blogs, myspace etc. The State Attorney Generals office gave us info that made me think-- yikes. There are real dangers about having any info posted on the web. Predators are tricky and smart at gathering info. Colleges and Employers are also looking at this info and not hiring or giving scholarships to inappropriate content. Also they are prosecuting youth for taking or posing in photos that are questionable because they are under 18 years old. All the youth went silent and looked sick. All of the youth have a myspace account, in fact there are over 100 million accounts. Most of the youth think it is innocent, a way to meet people their age. Guess again, the people are not really their age and they are registered offenders. Most of the arrests in Utah this year (of molestation of a minor) were ones who had meet the victims on myspace pretending to be another teen.
So I started to wonder if I should have a password for my blog. (Not that someone will start to stock me but how can I tell the youth one thing and not do it myself.)
My blog is my journal and easy way for me to keep track of info when I travel like recipes. I also love keeping in touch with friends and family and seeing what they are up to. SO what is the answer? I'm leaning towards password protection. I don't list my site publicly but if someone happened on it...
(UPDATE-- Megan had some very smart remarks. I did what Keith suggested and I could not get my blog to pull up, by my name in any combo. Thanks Megan... great advice for anyone online:))
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2 comments:
Hi Missy,
This is Megan, Keith's wife. About whether you should use a password or not I would suggest that you first try out a search for your blog before changing to using a password. Try google and blogger. Keith and I started with a password and found it very cumbersome. Friends have to reregister after a months time. Some didn't even bother looking at it because it was too much trouble. So we now have it open but not listed on blogger, like you and we don't use last names, phone numbers, addresses, ect. and feel pretty secure.
On another note, Trudy's funeral was beautiful, very emotional, and just what she wanted. Thank you for sharing your thoughts about Trudy and Al on your blog. That was very nice. Keith enjoyed it as well. Al is doing OK, but I'm sure a phone call now and then will be welcomed. :-)
Love,
Megan
Missy,
That would be sad. It is great to read and look at your blog. Just follow Megan's advice and don't put in addresses. I searched for yours and could not find it. You tend to stress to much...
keep it!
Jen
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