I'm not so sure about this whole internet thing

I have always stored my photos on these online galleries. I always thought it was the easiest place to upload and then later purchase my pictures. I have a CD somewhere for most of these pictures so I could get them back if it was ever necessary, but I really just like having them organized online. This was working pretty well for me until I realized that my photos were on several different sites. I switched around for various reasons -- usually because I wanted to buy product from one site that wasn't available on another. Or I liked certain formatting options on a different site better. Whatever the reason, the point is that my pictures were spread in various places.

In an effort to reduce the need for me to reduce the number of different usernames/passwords, I decided that I really needed to make the switch to one site. Now, I realize it makes sense to move everything to whatever site that I have the most on but that is Kodak photo gallery and I don't like it nearly as much as Picasa and Flickr. I decided that since I liked Flickr best, I would move everything over there. (And yes, I know this task will take me a year or longer) So I started.

For whatever reason, I uploaded some (not even close to all) of my pictures from my trip to Cuba 2 years ago. Totally legit, trip btw ... I still have proof that I had liscense to go in case Obama reads my blog and decides to give me hell about it. This was one of the pictures in that set:

The other girl's face wasn't blocked out on my flickr site, but I did this since I was posting it on my blog and she doesn't have any clue this blog exists. (I post pictures of friends and family that read my blog, but they can always tell me to take them down if they have concerns)

I logged onto my Flickr today and had a message from an administrator of some site/group called The Beauty of a Smoking Woman asking permission to add this photo to their set. I declined for various reasons, but it did get me thinking. I'm not so sure I like all this random stuff about me all over the internetz.

I know that I can make that photo private, and I can make my blog private but really once its online it is out there. Plus, I like for people to read my blog and look at my pictures. It is too late for me to go private at this point, and I really don't post or write anything that I would be all that embarassed about so there is no reason really.

I know I sound hypocritical, you don't need to tell me that. I'm just thinking out loud. On one hand, I enjoy blogging and putting my pictures out there but on the other you just never know if there is some creep lurking out there. I'm not saying that this Smoking Beauty person is a creep at all (because probably a creep wouldn't ask my permission) but this is just what got me to thinking.

I'm probably still going to add my photos up to Flickr. I may just make my profile private so that only friends and family can see. Not sure.

That's all.