It's been four weeks, and I still haven't come up with an online name for her. We had her real name picked out long before she was born, but as for an online moniker, I'm stuck.
Initially, we confused a few close friends and family members, they weren't sure where we were and weren't using her real name. I use her name on my Facebook page, but my husband doesn't and has asked people not to do so when commenting on there. Why?
We're trying to be conscious of her safety, especially as I use my real name online. As a baby she'll never be alone and her face won't be that recognisable, so it's when she's older that we are concerned about. With the internet, I think there is a whole new dimension to "Stranger Danger" teaching. We also want to model safe online posting practices for when she's older and posting things herself.
For those reasons, on any space open to the public such as blogs and Flickr, we won't use her real name. We also won't use her online name as a nickname. My Facebook page is set on the "Friends Only" setting, whereas my husband's is more open - hense the difference in what we do in that space. We've asked friends and family to be careful about using her name as well, and if in doubt just ask.
We're not sure if we'll post photos of her at all once she's older and grown into a face that will be more recognisable.
This is all stuff that I've been thinking of long before she was born. I've been watching what other people do and it really ranges from full disclosure of pictures and names to no mention of children at all.
I'd love to hear other people's thoughts. Do you have an online policy relating to your children or even yourself? What are your concerns about posting personal information online?
