Get a Post Office Box to Protect Your Privacy

Local blogging has a lot of advantages and some unique drawbacks, too. One such challenge is protecting your privacy. When you're blogging about your neighborhood, the anonymity cyberspace usually provides feels stripped away. I don't disguise my identity on the blog; I even posted my photo. But do I really want people to know my home address? Not so much.

I really started giving privacy more thought when I was reading our local paper's website, which also allows comments. People have strong feelings about certain hometown issues. This is great for readership; nearly everyone has an opinion on something affecting their city and they like to share it. But the flip side of that enthusiasm can cause problems for the blogger, as you can imagine.

On one recent article about a downtown shopping destination that is really struggling to survive economically, comments ranged from insulting to angry to pleas for peace and 'can't we all just get along?'. It's great to see lively debate, but I really would not want to see some of these commenters on my doorstep someday.

So, I got a post office box to handle correspondence for my blog that cannot be processed electronically. I also read that anti-spam laws require a valid home address be listed at the bottom of e-verify messages, like the kind you get after subscribing to a reputable newsletter. I'll be able to use my post office box address for that, too. An electronic newsletter is definitely part of my evolving marketing plan.

I got my box at a local Mail Boxes, Etc., for $25 per month, three month minimum paid in advance. I asked for a personal box, but was denied once I blurted out that I'd just started a website and may get mail addressed to "The Long Beach Observer". That was enough to require a business rate at an extra $5 per month.

You could try renting it on the sly, after all who knows if you'll really even need the service. But if you receive even one piece of mail addressed to someone else or a name that sounds like a business or group, they will either refuse to accept the mail or will charge you the business rate anyway. So why ask for the extra drama.

I will provide updates on how useful my box is, or maybe just to ask you to send me a postcard if it turns out to be a bust.