I had been dealing with some issues the for the past few weeks in regards to my name being linked to my blog (I know, the HORROR, eh!). As you all know, I blog anonymously. I share a lot of sensitive and personal information (down to the the last dime with my personal finance net worth calculations) on this blog, and I would be very upset if it was linked to me in any way.
Anyways, the story is that I was toying around with BF’s new Blackberry Bold 9700 to test out its user friendliness, specifically in terms of the web browser. So yes, as we all do, I googled myself. Then I saw the search engine results and my eyes widened in disbelief.
Technorati had linked my full name to my blog. And I do not know how long it had been there (probably and very likely all summer) because I don’t even remember the last time I googled myself.
To make a long story short, I ended up trying to delete the cache with Google’s webmaster tools, which worked to an extent, but somehow Technorati still linked my full name to my blog or user name. The search engines take a “picture” of a website as it looked say, two months ago. When you search for something, it will still show the excerpt in the search results of the “picture” that was taken two months ago, even if the actual website has changed. Then I contacted Technorati to delete my account. Thankfully they did it relatively quickly (took about two emails and a few days). I just hope that no one Googled me (hey, you never know, people might be really bored??).
I’m not sure why Technorati goes so public with this information- I think there have been a lot of complaints about it. It seems like a breach of privacy to me. Don’t get me wrong, the Technorati index is a great tool for us bloggers, but I feel that they should respect the privacy of bloggers who don’t want to be known publicly.
So, my fellow blogging friends, do you blog anonymously? If so, what are your reasons for staying covert? Would you ever go “public”?
Readers, do you Google yourself? 
PF Blog Love:
- Wealth Pilgrim has an excellent write up on Disability Insurance for the Self Employed- the Ultimate Guide
- Canadian Finance Blog lets you know the secret on how to Save Money on Groceries
- Budgeting the Fun Stuff talks about how some people go too far to save money (er.. like me? lol)
- Frugal Zeitgeist shares the basics of buying a used car
- Monevator gives five reasons why you’ll love Index Investing (I know I do!)
- Len Penzo has a fun post (as always) on 21 reasons why corner lots are for suckers (hint- it doesn’t have anything to do with the extra yard you have to mow)
- Financial Samurai rounds up all the free stuff going down these days (contests galore from the Yakezie!)
- The Passive Income Investor is DRIPing his lunch money (sounds good to me! I should do the same)
- Tiny Potato talks about financial products that shouldn’t exist
I might postulate that it is an ego thing. Those who want to be famous want to reveal themselves. Those who shy away from the limelight like to stay hidden.
That’s me. And that’s you!
@Yakezie- It could also be way to increase your “reach”, perhaps? Some of the really successful PF bloggers are well known through the blogosphere and are identifiable with their pictures. I have turned down a few opportunities myself because I didn’t want to be publicized
I blog anonymously, but it’s not that difficult to find out who I really am. So I’m sort of quasi-anonymous now. I disclosed my real name on WiseBread. I guess since it takes a little digging to find my name, I’m not too terribly concerned. However, I also don’t publish my net worth. If I did, I might be a little more hesitant to reveal my true name.
@Little House- Thanks for sharing Little House. yeah I remember seeing your picture on Wise Bread, but don’t recall seeing your real name. I like how you are quasi-anonymous. I think it’s quite unsafe to be reporting a net worth and having it as public information, thank goodness I fixed my little problem!
Thanks for the mention!
I blog anonymously too because of all the financial net worth that I share. If I was self employed I could become public but since my income is tied to my employer, it would cause trouble …
@The Passive Income Earner- You’re welcome! Hmm good point about your income being tied to your employer. You’re supposed to keep your income confidential, right? And I suppose with some calculations it is very easy to find out how much you’re getting per month. I like the idea of sharing my financial net worth too, because it keeps me accountable and makes me try harder to push my savings and income a little further.
I blog anonymously, but that may change in the future. Outside of my immediate family nobody really knows about my blog, so I wouldn’t feel that “vulnerable” putting myself out there. And if someone I knew discovered my website and all my money secrets, well that’s one more person I can dicuss finances with
By the way, I “google” people all the time (myself included), from employees that I hire, to new bosses, to prospective clients. Nothing wrong with it in my opinion.
@Echo- Yeah that’s true! Lol, that’s very nice of you to want to discuss your money secrets with others. There’s nothing wrong with Googling yourself (I know everyone does it) or others, that’s why I was a bit worried because I know others might be googling me. =)
[...] YoungandThrifty offers Weekend Ramblings and PF Blog Love: Maintaining Anonymity Edition [...]
For now I choose to remain anonymous in the early stages of my site on the Internet. I have no idea if that will change in the future if my site grows in popularity but, for now, it just seems like the better option.
@SavingMentor- That sounds like a good strategy! =) Best wishes for your blog growing- you seem like you’re off to a great start!
I choose to remain anonymous on my blog. I do not share more than my first name and province. I do not share pics of myself or my family on my blog. Someone that knew me would probably recognize the pic of my house on my blog if they happened across it. I don’t share with my family/friends that I even blog. I know it’s because I do not want them critiquing it.
The other reason I don’t share my last name and picture is because I am a psychiatric nurse in a smallish town and I don’t want my patient’s to happen to recognize me.
@Carrie- Thanks for sharing Carrie! Yes, that would indeed be an excellent reason not to share your identity- you don’t want your psychiatric patients to look up your name (I’m sure patients look up people’s names on facebook if they had the time). It’s good to keep work life separate from private life…. not that there’s anything scandalous about blogging, but there was that incident of the Judge who was found to have sex tapes who ended up having to step down from practice!
How exactly did technorati get your name? Was it something to do with your email, or something like that?
I’m anon. Semi anon, I guess – I’ve posted pics of myself a couple of times, but my name isn’t linked to the blog in any way or vice versa. I def. do not want my full real name associated with it for professional reasons, either.
I’ve only just started tracking my net worth, and I’ve decided not to share it. I also do monthly spending recaps, but it includes both our incomes…and it’s after tax. Heck, I don’t even know what I make pre-tax.
It is difficult! Sometimes I want to get a bit more personal, and I’m thinking I may pull back a bit from the PF stuff next year.
@eemusings- Yeah, that’s what I was thinking “how the F*$) did Technorati get my name in public?”. When I signed up for technorati (way back when I first started blogging), they ask for a First and Last name, and so I gave it, thinking that they wouldn’t publish information like that. I think because my blog seemed to be ranking higher (these past few months), it moved up in the pages on the google search results. Pretty scary,huh? So lesson learned- just make up names when you sign up for anything related to your blog, unless they specifically say they won’t share your information.
Tracking your net worth is fun, isn’t it? I had a tough time deciding whether or not to share it, but decided to go for it. Yeah, my blog is sort of evolving too, perhaps a little bit away from the PF stuff.
Like almost everyone else here, I am also anonymous. Oh, my family and a few friends know, but I try to keep my name of the internet, period. Most of my past employers required 10 year extensive background checks so I’m always paranoid about my name even popping up, let alone in connection to my blog.
@Cheapskate Sandy- Yeah, I surprised not more people who “weren’t” anonymous chimed in (because I know there are lots of nonanonymous PF bloggers out there). My family and BF know too, and one friend overseas, but that’s about it too.
I’m not anonymous because KNS Financial is also the name of my offline business, so it would be pointless. That is why I do not disclose any personal information (except for my CVS shopping trips).
I’m actually starting a non PF blog within the next week and that one will be anonymous for a few months and then I may change that.
@Khaleef- Cool, I think it’s great that you use your offline business’ name too. It definitely adds to the concept of branding your company. Cool, what’s the blog going to be about?
The new blog will be tracking my efforts to lose between 70 & 80 lbs. I’ll wait until I have a good setup and about 30 or 40 posts and then I’ll announce it on my blog and maybe in the Yakezie forums.
@Khaleef- Cool! 70 & 80 lbs that’s amazing! Good luck! One tip I think would be helpful is to stay away from too many carbs =) Can’t wait to see your new blog.
[...] “Maintaining Anonymity PF Wrap Edition” from Young and Thrifty talks about the “horror” when she discovered Technorati [...]
I prefer anonymity, but I am not completely anonymous. If you dig around hard enough my blog is linked to my real identity, fortunately or unfortunately! Besides, I have some friends that know about it. Actually, this is the one thing that has kept me from talking about personal net worths and things like that.
@Invest It Wisely- really? So what “# page” is it under if I googled Invest It Wisely? (kidding) That’s cool that your friends know about it. What do they think? Did you make them subscribe?