Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Would this freak you out?

I have site meter on my blog which allows me to see how many people look at my blog each day. It also let's me see how people are finding my blog. If it's a link I don't recognize I'll click on it to see who has a link to my blog on their blog, it's usually a family who has a child with Down syndrome. Tonight I found a blog that had our family picture as one of the posts. Scroll down to Session 45 "La Prudencia" which means "wisdom" in Spanish. It honestly made me sick to my stomach.

22 comments:

Emily said...

OH MY GOSH! That DOES freak me out! I don't want to go private, but things like this make me want to! I need to get that site meter thing on mine...

DKAZ said...

Um, yeah! Especially with all the other stuff that is on there.

Adrienne said...

Hmm, very, very strange. Yeah, that would freak me out a tad.

jenjamin said...

That is crazy! I have that site meter thing on my site but have no idea how to work it. That is a little concerning though. At least you have wisdom! Going private has been something I have wanted to think about over the years but never will. The gospel needs good great magnificent people out there in the world doing good things, saying good things and sure,,,, little things like that might intimidate us BUT that too is just exactly what the adversary wants us to do is "shut up and go sit down quietly". Nope! No WAY! He is not going to shut me up. ! Never!! "Get Thee behind me Satan" Luke 4:8
You do wonderful things and are a broad influence to many people, doing great good, that I know for sure.

Cami said...

Wow! Scary! What are you going to do?

Kristin said...

So I can't read Spanish - what is that site about? And why would they steal your photo? I have some random guy as a follow that I isn't a Ds connection - it kind of freaks me out too.

My name is Sarah said...

This is Joyce: It is a GREAT photo. Can you read Spanish? I can't but wonder what the blog is about? It doesn't appear to have anything to do with Ds. Then I thought maybe larger families or the part in your profile that talks about you going on a mission in Argentina? Still without linking you back it does freak me out. Maybe you could leave a comment and ask about it.

heather said...

At first when I saw my family's picture with something in Spanish I thought it was going to say something hurtful aimed at Down syndrome. It is titled "Wisdom". So I guess he thinks that picture portrays wisdom. He has single pictures with different titles like, exclusion, teaching with ethics, tolerance, technology, etc. I was just so shocked to see my family's picture on some unknown's blog in Mexico. It's really scary the access people have to all of our things on the internet. I don't think he meant any harm. At least I hope not. But why wouldn't he send me an email asking if he could post my picture as a representation of wisdom on his blog? I also worry that he will get lots of hits on his blog linked back to mine which will give him even greater motivation to do this to other people. I will leave a comment and see if he responds.

Monica Crumley said...

Oh, that's very strange. I hope he's just posting a photo of a beautiful family -- it may have nothing to do with Ds, either. I'm curious to know what you find out. If you go private... don't forget about us :-)

heather said...

I do speak Spanish but it is really rusty so from my limited Spanish abilities it looks like this a group of philosophers who get together and open a discussioon on the current topic. My picture was part of their discussion on "Wisdom". My picture is the only one that was taken off of a blog. The other ones look like professional images available to everyone.

The lesson I am going to take away from this is that FINALLY someone has acknowledged and recognized my amazing wisdom. :)

Greg Miller said...

If the author of that blog had done something derogatory with your photo then there might be reason to worry.

I think they simply found a photo of a great looking family and used it to make a point. I'm not sure what that point is exactly, but I'd assume it is something like "make family your highest priority in life". Since that is what I consider to be one of the wisest things we can do.

This is a good reminder to all of us that everything we do is public. No need to panic and withdraw from the world. Just think carefully about everything you put on your blog (or facebook, etc).

And keep in mind that even if you do go private with your blog, that does not mean it will be 100% secure. Hackers break into all kinds of web sites all the time (including blogs and facebook). And for that matter, criminals break into homes and steal confidential information and photos there too.

No need to be paranoid, but do be prudent and not make it any easier for them to steal our identities or harm our families.

Greg Miller said...

I probably should have mentioned this in my comment above, regarding keeping your family safe...

One of the worst things I see people do all the time is to announce on their blog or on facebook that they are going somewhere, or there spouse is out of town, etc. Things like "I can't wait... Only two more weeks until we go to Disneyland" or "I really miss my husband when he is out of town. I hope the next three days goes by fast".

That's just like telling all the criminals when the best time is to break into your home. There really are bad people that spend their time trolling the internet looking for that exact information. And once they know when the best time is to break in or attack, it's often easy for them to track down your address (especially if you have posted it on facebook or somewhere similar).

I don't want to scare anyone. I'm just saying it really is very important that we be careful about what information we share with the world.

DKAZ said...

Greg scared me. Off to build on a bunker in the dessert. Oh, wait. I'm already here.

The Mom said...

it is a bit freaky..... I had my blog designer right click disable my pics on my blog - but - still hackers can find a way.... I think it is cool that you are wisdom though ;) I will be interested to see if he responds to your comments?????

Tausha said...

Oh man, that is freaky!!!! Where do you get the site meter? I want one. I have an ex husband out there that I worry about sometimes.

THM said...

the reason why my blog is private.

Lacey said...

Wow, even though it doesn't seem like he's being hurtful, he should have asked permission to use that picture. Creepy!

Racie said...

That is weird?! You may have to think about going private. But if you do, would you invite me so I can keep looking. :)

Iván said...

Estimada, Heather

Mi nombre es Iván Moreno, coordino y administro el blog Café filosófico de Hermosillo.

Tu foto (tus fotos) aparecen en los buscadores. Al realizar una búsqueda en google con el tema "la prudencia", entre los resultados, la tuya consideré era la más bella.

La foto me llevó al blog, que es sensacional. Tienes una familia hermosa y ejemplar. Por ello agregué el link al blog, para compartirlo.

Lo correcto, tienes razón, debió ser pedir autorización. Fue error mío, una disculpa.

Sin embargo, al subir fotos vía blogspot/ google te desprendes de su propiedad; ver política de uso.

Un saludo.

P.D.Pondré la traducción de este mensaje según el traductor google, mi inglés todavía no es muy bueno, de nuevo disculpas.

Dear Heather

My name is Ivan Moreno, coordinates and manages the blog Coffee philosophical Hermosillo.

Your picture appear on search engines. When you perform a google search with the theme of "wisdom" among the results, I felt yours was the most beautiful.

The picture took me to the blog, which is great. You have a beautiful and exemplary family. So I added the link to the blog, to share.

The right thing, you're right, must have been seeking permission. It was my mistake, an apology.

However, when uploading pictures via blogspot / google you let your property; see terms and conditions.

A greeting.

Bugg's mama said...

Hi ~ you have such a lovely family. I have a special boy - undiagnosed. He is in a wheelchair and doesn't talk. But he is awesome!

Love, bree

kecia said...

WHAT?!! What is that all about?!! Too bad I don't know spanish...my husband does..I will have him look at it. I hope you find out what it is all about! I don't want to go private either..mainly because of all the DS connections but also the gospel too.

Tara said...

Kudos to him for responding...and then translating his response! :) Nice of him to apologize, too.