Private posts vs public posts
Recently I made the decision to change not one, but two posts, from public to private – which means no-one can see them, except me.
Why would I do that, when bloggers usually want as many eyes on their work as possible?
I must say that these two posts have been very popular, getting lots and lots of views and visitors but not many comments.
Maybe I’m just a bit suspicious.
The posts were both related to my birthday. I’d seen the format on another blog, commented on it and decided to do something similar, after getting encouragement to do so.
They were a fun way of looking back over my life and as such included personal information, but not that personal, more general in nature, but at various important stages of my life.
A while ago I noticed that these posts started taking off in terms of views from various search engines and I started getting a bit concerned. There were no comments being left and the views were way above the usual traffic of my blog. I’m honest enough to realise they didn’t warrant that much attention and so I became a bit concerned, and maybe just a bit suspicious!
The amount of spam was also becoming an issue and these posts seemed to be the object of a lot of interest from various countries.
Due to the general personal nature of the posts, (aren’t all our posts personal?), I decided to make them private which means they are still there, but only I can see them. Or I can allow certain others to access them if I chose too. I can make them public again at some stage if I decide to.
It’s a shame because I really liked these posts!
How did I make them private?
It was really easy to make them private. I simply followed the WordPress instructions – here – and they disappeared from view. I asked a blogging friend to check if she could find them and she replied that she’d received an error message when trying to access them.
- Public – The post will be visible to everyone.
- Private – The post will be visible only to blog Editors and Administrators. Private posts are not visible in the Reader, feeds, or in any search. A post can be private without being password protected.
- Password Protected – The post will be protected with a password you choose. Followers will still receive a notification about this new post, but only those with the password can view it.
Has it made a difference?
Yes it has.
The amount of spam on my blog has reduced significantly.
The high number of random views has stopped.
I feel ‘safer’ – which might sound a bit weird but I do.
I just had an awful feeling that my information was possibly being used in an unsavoury way. I don’t quite know why I thought that but I listened to my gut instincts.
Maybe I’m being a bit alarmist but I felt it was better to be safe than sorry and decided to take this precaution.
Can you relate to this feeling? Have you ever felt something was a bit off?
I don’t often write blogging advice posts….
But here are a few from over the years:
HOW do YOU blog?
Are you a blogger? If so, how do you do it? Take the short poll in my post and share your thoughts. Everyone has their own way of blogging and no way is right or wrong.
How to be a perfectly grateful blogger
As a blogger with a few years under my belt, I offer my 6 tips on how to be a grateful blogger!
Blogging is not for the fainthearted!
The pressure is real! Blogging is definitely not for the fainthearted. Why do we do it, how do we do it?
What is the best blogging advice or tip you’ve ever been given?
Do you have any thoughts on this post, what would you have done?
Deb 🙂
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Deb's World 
Indeed, you are correct, the words we put out there end up all over the globe. It’s kind of scary when you think about it. I’ve had endless articles, poems, and posts distorted and reposted with my name, plagiarism needs to add “vicious criminals” to it. I make a living blogging, so I can’t write privately, but I do have subscriber-only articles, and I did upgrade my FREE theme to a more secure paid theme, I added lots of security, hired a developer to ensure I was protected and it’s a lot better than when I started with that free theme and a loving heart! (: This was a nice post, thanks for posting it.
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Thanks for your comment and sharing your experiences on this subject. It’s awful to think of all you’ve had to go through and watch out for, just to be a blogger. I’m aware of others having work stolen and think it would be an awful feeling. Take care.
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