Monday 16 January 2012

Before every party, I Google my guests

The spy who went out in the snow.


Ssssshhhhhh..... the neighbours might be listening!

There are moments when I think that it would have been wise to have thought about this whole blog thing prior to starting it off. At times I have my regrets that I have used my own name and used photos of myself and the kids and all that malarky, and obviously if I had done that I could talk about anything I like without worrying about people I know either Googling me and finding out things about me that I wouldn't really want them to know, and I could have a good old moan about all the people who thoroughly annoy me, and I could talk about other things that I'd like to talk about but which I am rather reticent to because I want to keep some things a little more private.

But I didn't. And it's not that big a deal really. Sometimes though there are little moments when people say things to me and I jolt thinking, "How did you know that?". Sometimes I am surprised by the people I know from real life who read my blog. It's never who I think it would be.

Last night I spent some time trying to find out how strangers see my 'timeline' on Facebook. That was a whole lot of not much fun. For yesterday afternoon we went to a New Year/New Baby/New Neighbours party (yes, really, it was 3 times the fun) downstairs in our building. And about 30 minutes after we arrived the hostess and I had the opportunity to chat for a bit and her opening line was "I know your daughter is at the British School, but your looking at ###### School, aren't you?".

I couldn't help but be shocked and ask "How did you know that?". There was a slight pause and then she gave me an answer which didn't really answer my question, and eventually took it off topic. I could have pressed her, but my brain had already bolted back upstairs and was logging into Blogger, searching posts for references to this. It was just my body that was locked into being polite, and stayed drinking coffee for a while longer, and comparing apartment sizes with the rest of the neighbours.

For there is no way that this woman should know this. I haven't mentioned my plans to any of my neighbours, and I don't believe that we share any friends that would have mentioned this fact. So, the first thing I did once we got home after stopping Orla from crying, getting Hamish a drink, making the dinner, getting the kids ready for bed and settling Hamish down, was check out my blog and when I found no reference there, I checked Facebook. And then I considered that the apartment might be bugged. (Which led to some really bad dreams)

So, I might be a little more cagey about what's happening with us and our staying/going/relocating plans for a while. At least until things are little more settled.... and I have checked the lightswitches for tiny microphones.

10 comments:

  1. I can't blame you, it's terrifying, isn't it? And yes, the people reading your blog from "real life" are never the ones you think would be, are they?! Last summer when I turned up to an expat meetup where I hardly knew anyone, a girl I definitely didn't know came up to me and said "hello, are you Frau Dietz?", which she must have got from my blog because my surname isn't even on the meetup site. My brain short circuited. I should have asked her how she put me and my blog together, but instead I smiled politely, backed off slowly and retreated ten paces without turning around. There's just too much internet these days.

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    1. Yup. Far too much internet! Totally agree (except when it comes to the subject of magic telly)

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  2. I got an advert in my mailbox this week for a social networking site called creepon.net. Like... who came up with that one??

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    1. Patently, I have missed the fact that there are comments here! Creepon, ooh, that sounds like fun!! I wonder if it's for ex-boyfriends??

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  3. Amusingly, I started out the year wanting to do more but also blog more- I've only been in Germany for two months, so everything is new and different for me.

    I've also thought a great deal about the real name vs pseudonym usage on the blog, and the conclusion that I came to was that it was more important for my father (in his 70s) to be able to find my blog than it was to hide my identity from possible local viewers.

    My rule of thumb for keeping the blog "safe" is pretty simple. I never write anything in a public post that I would be embarrassed for either of my nieces to read. That guideline seems to work out pretty well.

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    1. I think I am achieving my 'blog less' aim, but not necessarily my 'do more' as a result of it aim. Mind you, I have been slaving over a frustrating sewing machine, so maybe.

      I don't think I blog about anything controversial, but I think I never considered how I would feel if the guy who works in the butcher's shop said "You know, Steven Glassman had a good point when he said you shouldn't write anything you'd be embarrassed for your nieces to read. I think sometimes you are too harsh on poor Stevie". It just kind of freaks me out a bit. I know it's all in the public domain, and there are plenty of total strangers across the world reading this, but it's the people who know me just a tiny bit that always surprise me. I can't help but wonder why they don't just 'talk' to me more, cause I am just as marvellously entertaining in real life!! Ha, ha!

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  4. That would freak me out! As it is, I was reluctant at first to be "friends" with my new co-workers because they would see my blog and know all of my first impressions of the place. ;) I'm with Steven on this, too...I try not to put anything on the blog that could come back to bite me. I'm too worried that my students' parents will read it!

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    1. I think you have to be awfully careful as a teacher, don't you? I have some teacher-friends who have shut down their FB accounts because their students have been talking about their spouses/children that have appeared alongside them in their profile picture. Everyone likes a private private life!

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  5. Oh Fiona I love this post! This is exactly the kind of thing that started making me so crazy with blogging. It's not only spoooky, it's just the paranoia of trying to maintain some sort of boundary with the public.

    I hope things are going great for you, and hope to come and check your site more often now that I'm settled in the US!
    Best wishes from MN,
    tj

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    1. Great to hear from you! I'm glad to hear you are getting settled. Good news! I do wish you would really start blogging again. Miss you!

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