Calculated risk

Friend1, who has been extremely supportive of my blog, recently told me she was nervous to comment because she didn't want to accidentally say something that would reveal my identity. Since I scheduled my first "date" (which may fall through, and which I'm not going to talk about until it's over, and maybe not even then for a bit) I've been thinking about the anonymity thing a little more.

If anybody I actually dated did find my blog, there is little question that they would recognize themselves, and by extension, me. By contrast, people I have not blogged about would probably not recognize me from the blog even if they did find it. Or, they'd have to know me well enough that they're most likely someone I trust not to use my secret blog to tarnish my reputation.

Of course, the people that I am most concerned about finding my blog are the people most likely to recognize me by reading it. I'm sort of willing to take a calculated risk here because what you have to google to get to my blog involves "the Rules" plus some word related to specific dating issues (like texting, etc.) or the names of the authors of the Rules. I am #1 on google for "Fein & Schneider blog" and for "Rules Girl blog." I am #7 on google for just "Fein & Schneider"! However, the Rules and/or their authors are topics that guys generally don't know or care about, as was explained to me repeatedly when I was trolling the actuarial forum.

The only way I can my identity being compromised at all is if I cause it myself indirectly. My envisioned scenario would go something like this:

1) It becomes obvious to guy that I am "playing games" in some sense, perhaps from my consistent 24-27 hour response time to messages, or my consistent abrupt termination of phone conversations after 8.5-11 minutes.
2) Guy likes me enough to give a shit.
3) Guy asks his female friends what my deal is.
4) Female friends have read "the Rules," or have some significant familiarity with it.
5) Female friends tell him it sounds like I am a "Rules girl."
6) Guy googles this to find the book, then googles the authors. I doubt he'd specifically include "blog" in his search, which is one of the key words that could lead you to me.

Short of someone literally ratting me out, steps 1-6 or similar would have to occur in succession before any guy I'm dating could find this. I consider this highly improbable.

So, Friend1 and others who know me in IRL, barring the use of names or locations, comment away. I love comments, and if your comment concerns me I'll delete it.

Something that is slightly more probable, though still improbable in my view, is that I could find someone during the next six months, blog about him, and then end up in a relationship with him. Then what happens? Do I keep this a secret? Do I tell him "I blogged about you when we first got together and half a dozen people read it, most of whom I probably would have told that stuff to anyway"?

PS: on the one in a million chance somebody does recognize himself in this blog, hi. I don't mean any harm by blogging about you, and if I'm blogging about you, that means I am at least somewhat interested in you. Also, if you found me, I'd kind of prefer that you told me so that I can immediately lock the thing down and learn my lesson, but I imagine you probably won't - hell, I wouldn't.