5.Controlling my personal information online
I’m a very private person. I’ve deliberately never joined Facebook and have always taken great care with my personal information online. And right now I’m struggling with the issue of how much information to give out about myself in order to get my online business going.
If you look at my profile and posts, it may look as though I’ve not been busy. But, as I’m realizing about other WA members, lots of productive work and training is often going on in the background when someone stops being visibly active on WA. This has certainly been true for me this summer.
The first site I created was related to homesteading, but I’ve put that one on hold for certain compelling personal reasons and moved onto my second planned site: one related to my teaching Spanish, selling my curriculum for home study students, selling my bilingual Spanish/ English books on Createspace/ Amazon, and having a dedicated Youtube channel of free Spanish lessons.
Thus far, in terms of working on the multifaceted elements necessary to my business, I’ve created a website (still in draft form only), have created a Youtube channel, practiced creating and uploading videos, and made some private test playlists. I’m also working on creating curriculum and have written my first bilingual book for kids (now working on getting it illustrated).
My website is aiming at two kinds of clientele, and perhaps that’s where my privacy difficulties are arising from.
First: I’m aiming at parents living locally in my home town who’d like their children to learn Spanish. For the purposes of this aspect of my business, my website is my shopfront. Parents who want to know about me can check out my ‘About Me’ page and my ‘How and What I Teach’ page and get a real sense of what they’re going to get and who I am. There’s a schedule of classes for them to choose from. Then if they decide to send their kids to my classes, they can email me. Once their kids have started lessons with me, they can then go to Youtube and see elements of those lessons reprised in my videos.
Second: I’m aiming at parents who don’t live locally and who would like their children to learn Spanish. These people are looking for online classes and/ or homestudy courses. And for these people I have my free Youtube classes, with associated transcriptions/ teachers guides and language workbooks available for purchase from my site. I also will have bilingual children’s books they can buy on Amazon.
So, for the first types of clients I need to be more open. Parents need to know more about me because they’re trusting me with their children during classes.
For the second kind of client I have to come across as authoritative, experienced and qualified, but I feel I can be less specific because I’m not actually coming into personal contact with my clients/ students.
As I progress through my Wealthy Affiliate training, and work on creating my online business, I’ve been running repeatedly into the issue of privacy. How much information do I give out in order to be seen to be transparent, honest, legitimate and qualified. Since my site and my associated Youtube channel will be offering Spanish curriculum of my own creation and online classes, plus children’s bilingual books written by me, I have to gain my client’s trust and prove my credentials. But I also don’t want my full blown resume out there.
So where does the balance lie?
I have looked around a lot of WA members’ sites and read their ‘About Me’ pages to see how people explain who they are and why they are experts in their field and trustworthy sources of information for visitors to their site. I notice that people often manage to convey their expertise and qualifications without giving specific details, such as exactly which corporations they worked for before they started working for themselves online, or which universities they got their qualifications from. I’ve been trying to emulate this, but at the same time, my website is also serving a ‘store front’ for the Spanish classes I’m teaching here in my home town. Parents have to trust me with their children, and so I feel I necessarily have to be more transparent and open with them than I would be with merely online clients.
Also there’s the issue of Youtube. I love the idea of helping people learn Spanish via online videos and plan to offer videos of edited versions of the classes I teach here locally for free on Youtube. I am happy to be helpful, but I’ve no desire to have my face plastered all over the internet. And- more to the point- I definitely don’t want my son’s face or those of my students on the internet either. (The parents of my students have said they’re happy for me to video classes with their children, by the way.)
So I hit on the idea of everyone who appears in my Youtube videos wearing a Groucho Marx glasses/ nose/ moustache thing. You know, the Beagle Puss. It’s hilarious, and it would definitely disguise our appearance. I bought a pack of twelve so I have enough for me and my students, and it makes for hilarious video making! But are people going to be put off by a Spanish teacher doing every Youtube video, conjugating a verb (for example) or taking them through a puppet performance of Hansel and Gretel, with a big Groucho Marx plastic nose, glasses, eyebrows and moustache?
Do you all worry about privacy too? About psycho people triangulating your online information, tracking you down, finding your home address and phone number, or getting fixated on your child after seeing them on Youtube?
Or do you all think I’m bonkers?
I talked to a very successful entrepreneur over the summer about my ideas and he said that privacy is pretty much a thing of the past now, and that if you don’t manage it yourself- by being savvy with online information about you and controlling it by putting it out there yourself- it will end up being in the hands of others.
I found that very sobering.
So, I’ll ask again, do you worry about your information being out there?
What kinds of things go through your mind as you're posting on your About Me page?
Thanks everyone for your thoughts!
Recent Comments
10
Yes I do worry about these things and try to keep the various segments of what I do completely separate as much as I can. I was in banking systems in the corporate world and the amount of schemes which I saw manifested against the banks and people was frightening to say the least - so yes it is a concern, and requires effort all the time.
Hudson.
Hey Hudson,
May I ask what kinds of steps you've taken regarding how much you say about yourself on your site(s)?
Hi sorry for the delay in responding, been out of action for a couple of days. I firstly write as Hudson of Hudson Rickman. Secondly my About me pages on my three sites are straightforward and honest and just reveal the very top level of my rather long career and the main things that happened. In my content I might pick up on an experience I have had, like when we first went to Hong Kong, but I very rarely go into low level details. Not sure if this helps, but I am trying to encapsulate my approach which is tell some but not the low level details.
Hudson.
Thanks Hudson! I've checked out your About Me pages on your websites and I do see what you mean.
You know, as a little aside, I think your picture of you standing by the - is it bougainvillea?- growing on the wall is really beautiful and inspiring. You look all tanned and happy in your Mediterranean setting, in your shorts and shirt. The picture of you in the suit, however, just isn't as inspiring. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a perfectly fine picture. I've seen similar ones on walls of government offices and such. But I think, given the feeling of freedom and the work from home ethos promoted on your website, I personally would rather take advice from someone standing by the bougainvillea with a tan than someone looking very professional but not nearly as happy in a suit. Just a vote from your 40 something female demographic there... :o)
As for your websites, I think they're good. Your work from home one particularly. Very engaging. (Although I also liked your tips for reducing the electricity bill.)
You're definitely in a Catch-22. I decided on "privacy" when I started, simply because I was in full time employment and many employers keep a track of their employees online behaviour. I didn't want to get sacked or overlooked for promotion if this didn't work out because my boss knew I was trying to found my own business. I decided afterwards to continue to protect my privacy, and use my Mother's maiden name, which is easy in the UK as it's legal to use a different name and open bank accounts, get credit cards, even a passport and driving licence, as long as it's not your intention to defraud anyone. However, you have to really "work" at this if you don't want to deter just the casual searcher. For example, many people don't bother or forget to buy WhoIs Guard and so end up listing all their private and confidential details with their domain registrar http://www.internic.net/whois.html It's also often possible to identify people from just a photo, by doing a reverse image search on TinEye http://www.tineye.com etc. Rich.
Thanks Rich for your perspective. And for those links, which I'm going to follow up on. When I got my domains at Godaddy I did the private hosting thing (I can't remember what it's called, but it cost more than buying the domain- is it Domains By Proxy?) so that my info wouldn't show up if someone did a search. Is that similar to Whols Guard?
Yup, unfortunately I feel GoDaddy charges an excessive amount for WhoIs Guard, whereas Namecheap offers it free for the first year and then for a couple of bucks per year thereafter. Rich.
See more comments
Hi Zara......... For me it's a simple answer.... I too have a situation where I can come "face to face" with clients.... and, then there's the 'no' "face to face".
What I've learned and done over time was to use a pseudonym for everything.... here's how I've worked it out....
For the 'no' face to face.... the answer is obvious... but what happens when the time comes to meet and do business with someone personally.....
If I have to, I simple explain (with a smile) that, "that name is a professional name. My authors name that I've been using for years." I have NEVER had to explain one sentence more......
And, I can't find any instance where I cannot use the pseudonym. That includes Facebook, G+, Aweber, etc. etc. etc.
If you had even a small clue of how many pro's are doing this, you wouldn't even hesitate.....
Are there reasons why you wold REALLY want to use your own/real name? Yes. But from what I can see from your post, I don't believe that you would have a problem...
And yes..... it can be a tough choice.... that is until you realize that it's really the least of your problems in building this type of business.....
Good Luck
Cliff
Cliff (Cliff Michaels)
Chris (Christopher Michaels)
and a few others LOL - (they ALL work just fine)
Thanks CliffMP! You've given me lots to think about...
I was thinking that, instead of using a pseudonym I might just use my first name. That way, if the situation arises where I meet people I know and tell them about the website I'm creating and that I'll be teaching Spanish locally soon, then if they ask to check out the website I won't be using a vastly different name from my own. These are, after all, future students of mine, or parents of future students.
Wouldn't it seem... odd? underhand? if I went by Mary Noggins on my website, when my name is actually Cristina?
I know... this is all so much fuss and bother over something that, as you say, is going to become pretty insignificant once my online stuff is really up and running.