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I'm confused. How did having a picture of Texas on her back help you find out all kinds of personal information about her? A lot of people named Emma live in Texas, I would think.
My question exactly. I sent this as a PM to BeachBiker as well, but since is the exact thing I asked, I'll also quote this post. BeachBiker, if you want to answer me by PM or in the thread, I would appreciate it. I'm not interested in her info, but I am interested in the process.
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Guys, sorry to be "confusing." The map of Texas on her back resulted in the "curiosity" that prompted me to look a little farther than just the pictures, it did not, itself, provide any hints.
The initial necessary hint was provided by Emily herself, when she posted her own pictures to her own Flickr page, with a username that is easily associated with other "social media" where she provided much of the information herself, and which were linked to "services" that provided some more, and were very willing to provide even more for a price. It was very easy to look at the pictures on each site and confirm that they were all of the same person, and that the information was very likely correct since it cross verified.
The ease with which all the info just popped up, once the usernames linked, is what was shocking. Even things like maiden and married name became obvious. If I found this stuff through really hard digging I would never have mentioned any more than that "she is from Texas" but this was too easy, and way too much info popped up on its own.
There are now search engines that link a face with a name, so any of us (me included), who have found ourselves in these kinds of public pictures may wind up name and picture linked in the future anyway.
In following the WNBR for several years, with some notable exceptions, there aren't many repeat fully exposed female riders. This year it appeared that even the very popular Tandem girl Fiona was a solo act with her usual friends absent. If doing the ride was ultimately a fun experience there is no reason why most people would not want to do it every year, and why more lovelies would not want to join the party.
Making it all a fun experience is important, but pictures of your participation should not follow you to a job interview a decade later, or follow your kids to elementary school and linking a picture with a last name and biography might do that. Keeping that from happening, and participants relatively anonymous is an easy and sensible thing for all of us, who get a kick out of these rides, to do.