Think before you write
I received two emails last week that saddened me. I’m not going to reproduce the emails here but with their permission I will share their experience. One woman went to Vegas two years ago and she hit some machines totaling $1200. She did not receive a 1099 because she hit on multiple machines. In her excitement about her trip when she got home she blogged about it. Her entry triggered an audit.
The second one is a couple who decided to go home for the holidays. They left a post on their blog that posts would be lacking while they were gone. In their photo gallery they have pictures of their home. While away they received notification that their home had been broken into.
In the first case by the time tax season rolled around she forgot all about the $1200 she won she will have to pay for that. She didn’t keep track of her spending so she can’t offset her losses either. She took her blog down but as I told her, the pages are still there on the internet.
In the second case the couple reported the theft to the insurance company. They just found out that the insurance company will not pay the claim because the couple blogged about their vacation. The whole world knew their home was going to be empty for two weeks and thanks to the photos they knew exactly what to take. The couple did not make a reasonable effort to protect their home (the insurance company said), even though a security alarm was in place.
I’ve often questioned why we feel the need to be so transparent on the internet. Perhaps because we tend to think that these types of things will never happen to us…but they happen to someone everyday so why couldn’t it be you?
Do you think about what you write and how it will affect you before you publish it?
Related posts:
I say I’m going on vacation and have a webcam pointed at my open front door. Then I wait…
Posted on January 27th, 2006 at 6:29 pm
It’s easy to fall into the false belief that we are invicible on the web. I try to not reveal too much damning evidence about myself on the net, but I know I have caught myself a few times saying things that I’ve later regretted. I’m sure there are still things that I say all the time that are questionable! Usually I just go with what I am comfortable with at the time, and that varies a lot.
Posted on January 27th, 2006 at 4:49 am
My cousin was busted that way. He hit the lottery for $500 and forgot to claim it, but he blogged about it. The messed up thing was that by the time they audited him the interest and late fees were ridiculous.
Posted on January 25th, 2006 at 8:58 pm
I have sympathy for the woman. I could see where she forgot all about the winnings. The guy who posted he was going on vacation and didn’t have a private WHOIS was just dumb. Sorry.
Posted on January 25th, 2006 at 12:39 pm
I enjoy reading personal blogs but sometimes I wonder what the hell they were thinking when they wrote what they wrote.
I noticed a lot of domain hopping too because they got into trouble or they go private.
Posted on January 25th, 2006 at 12:20 pm
I read things like this all the time. One of my favorite bloggers took her blog down because it was about to get her fired.
It’s hard to predict what might happen in the future but on the internet you have to.
I have that “reasonable cause” on my home owner’s insurance too. They are going to get a shock when their insurance rate goes up.
Posted on January 25th, 2006 at 12:03 pm