Who we are

So What? Now What? is an independently operated blog owned by Christie Hawkes. The website address is: https://christiehawkes.com. So What? Now What? takes privacy and security of collected data seriously.  This policy is to inform you of the types of personal information the site collects and how it is used.

What personal data we collect and why

Comments

When you leave comments on one of my posts, you are required to identify yourself by name and email address.  You may optionally provide the URL to your website. That information is stored in the site’s database. I will never share or disclose your email address, but your name and comment will be visible to others.

An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

Comments may also be checked through an automated antispam service.

Subscriber emails

If you choose to subscribe to receive email notification of posts as they are published, your email address is required. You may also optionally provide your first name. The email address is used only to provide the notifications to which you have subscribed. My list service provider is MailChimp. If you elect to subscribe, your email address (and first name, if provided) will be stored on their servers. You may update your preferences or unsubscribe by clicking the links at the bottom of any So What? Now What? email. I will never share or sell your email address to a third party.

Third-party links

SoWhat? Now What? frequently links to other blogs or resources. Clicking on those links takes you to third-party websites. These websites may collect or share data about you. So What? Now What? is not responsible for the privacy practices or policies of those third-party sites.

Cookies

Cookies store user-specific information into a log. This site may use cookies to enhance your user experience. Your web browser places cookies on your hard drive for record-keeping purposes and sometimes to track information about you. For example, if you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year. You may choose to set your web browser to refuse cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent. If you do so, some parts of the site may not function properly.

Automatically-collected anonymous information

So What? Now What? collects anonymous information about all site visitors, including your IP address, for better security and content creation purposes. Your browser may also send response headers with anonymized information about the type of browser, device, and ISP you are using, as well as what country you are visiting from. The third-party entities that collect this information from So What? Now What? are listed below.

  • Google Analytics: to provide information on page views, referral sources, and other valuable information that helps me adapt the content of the site.
  • Iridium Hosting: to help identify and stop bad bot attacks.
  • Cloudflare: to help identify and stop bad bot attacks.

What rights you have over your data

If you have subscribed to receive emails from this site, or have left comments, you may request to receive an exported file of the personal data this site holds about you, including any data you have provided. You can also request that I erase any personal data the site holds about you. This does not include any data I am obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

Questions

I trust that this policy has adequately explained how your data is collected and used; however, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me at info@christiehawkes.com.