Brilliant Bloggers is a weekly series here at BlogWorld where we look at the best posts from around the web all surrounding a specific topic. Every week, we’ll feature three of the most brilliant bloggers out there, along with a huge link of more resources where you can learn about the topic. You can see more Brilliant Blogger posts or learn how to submit your link for an upcoming edition here.

This Week’s Topic: Online Privacy

As bloggers, we’re so used to putting our lives online that we often don’t stop to think about the implications. This can be a problem – or even dangerous. Thieves have been known to plan break-ins with location-based social media, Facebook is commonly perused to collect identity information, and contact information on your blog can give angry readers or obsessed fans your home address and phone number.

I don’t say all of this to scare you – just to, hopefully, make you pause and really consider exactly what information you want to put online. You don’t have to blog anonymously (though this is certainly an option), but it pays to take a few precautions, at least for some people. It really depends on your lifestyle, the type of blog you run, and your personal level of comfort with making your information public. Let’s take a look at what some brilliant bloggers have to say about online privacy.

Advice from Brilliant Bloggers:

Born to Blog: Privacy in the Age of the Mom Blogger by Eliza

What I like about this post, which was inspired by the movie Catfish, is that it isn’t a list of tips or a bunch of facts – it’s just a real conversation about the privacy issues that bloggers (especially those who are parents) face. After checking out what Eliza has to say about posting pictures and other information about your kids online, you can follow her on Twitter @Doublefab.

What Happened to Patrick? A Few Thoughts About Blogging Anonymously by Ryan Guina

This post is all about one blogger’s decision to blog under a pen name for privacy, and then his decision later to tell everyone his real name and start using that instead. I think Ryan hits on some interesting points, such as transparency and branding, and I liked reading about his personal story about moving from a pen name to his real name. You can follow Ryan on Twitter @ryanguina.

Social Insecurity by Consumer Reports

Usually, here at Brilliant Bloggers, I highlight posts from individuals, not from major publications. This topic is just really, really important, though. Consumer Reports is a publication I trust, and although this report they did on online privacy is about a year old (i.e. ancient in Internet time), it is filled with valuable information and, at times, scary statistics. I recommend that everyone reads this article, just so you can make the more informed decisions possible when posting information online.

Even More Brilliant Advice:

• A Delicate Digital Balance by Sarah W. Caron (@sarahwcaron)
• A Technical Guide to Anonymous Blogging by Ethan Zuckerman
• Be Cautious Posting Person Information Online by Jason Alderman (@PracticalMoney)
• Data Breaches Leave Our Data Exposed Forever by Andy Yates (@SpamRatings)
• Don’t Worry About Privacy: No One Cares About You by Jordan Cooper (@notaproblog)
• Facebook Privacy Settings by Andrea Vahl (aka Grandma Mary) (@GrandmaMaryShow)
• Five Things You Can Do To Protect Your Privacy Online by Jessica Gottlieb (@jessicagottlieb)
• How Mom and Pop Bloggers Can Protect Their Online Privacy and Their Income by Reputation.com
• How to Blog Safely (About Work or Anything Else) by The Electronic Frontier Foundation (@eff)
• Mom Bloggers Talking Online Privacy, Safety and Security Seriously by Sommer Poquette (@greenmom)
• Mommy Bloggers, Twitter and the Illusion of Privacy by Tameka Kee (@geekychic)
• Online Privacy – How We Share More Than We Realize by Barbara Swafford (@BSwafford)
• Picture This! by Jennifer Satterwhite (@javajenn)
• Report: One in Three Regret Posting Personal Information on Social Networking Sites by Michael Barkoviak (@mikebarkoviak)
• Should You Use a Pen Name or Pseudonym by James Chartrand (@MenwithPens)
• Tuesday Twitter Tips: Should I have a Public or Protected Twitter Account? by Scott Howard (@ScLoHo)
• Unwitting Exposure: Does Posting Personal Information Online Mean Giving Up Privacy? by Knowledge @ Wharton
• Why Blog Anonymously? by Missives from Marx
• Why I Blog Anonymously by Broke Grad (@brokegrad)

Did I miss your post or a post by someone you know about online privacy? Unintentional! Help me out by leaving a comment below with the link!

Next Week’s Topic: List-Building

I’d love to include a link to your post next week – and if you head to the Brilliant Bloggers Schedule, you can see even more upcoming posts. We all have something to learn from one another, so please don’t be shy! Head to the schedule today to learn how to submit your post so I won’t miss it.