May 10, 2010 Social Media Usage - Your Exposure is Your Fault

    Web technology is a funny thing. It's a complete smoke and mirrors to what it offers to the 'users' and what it offers to the 'servers', or the sites that provide the hours of useless entertainment. The Internet is now no longer a thing, it's becoming less of a place, it's evolving to a part of people's lives. Like a homestead utility. For the majority when you move into a apartment or home you get the essentials, power, water, garbage, Internet. More and more are not getting a land line telephone, who wants to be anchored to one place, we get cell phones. Even the cheapest, bare bone cell phones have Internet capability. We are intertwined and it's getting more and more difficult to get un-twined.
     But unlike anything before it, this technology and it's inclusion into daily life doesn't come with an instruction manual. There are no guidelines. There are no courses, yet, how to use this technology properly. Sure, the functional use is very 'user friendly' and a 2 year old can pick up an iPad and use it. But most people who use these new social services have no conceptual idea or understanding 'How' to use it or really what it does and what they are doing with the things you post. Users just freestyle it without a worry. Unfortunately for some they are learning a very damaging lesson on why you need discretion and some thought into what you are doing and what you are sharing online.
     So, as a public service to the 2 or 3 people who actually read my blog, I am going to throw out my points on some very simple things everyone can do to protect themselves.

     I am going to primarily pick on Facebook. Not because it's the most popular, but because Facebook has back stabbed their users by sacrificing their privacy, which they used to claim was important, for the ever so lucrative advertising dollar.

What You Post

     Read this section carefully. This is the mother-load of my point.

     Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and every other social networking site out there is at your full control on what is and what is not posted. You and no one else. There is no one else to blame when people see intimate and embarrassing photos you posted and shared to everyone. You are the only one to blame when you post a rant, insult, slander about your boss, co-worker, friend and it gets back to them. You are the one to blame when you lose a job, don't get hired at the next one, get suspended or evicted from a rental property, or my personal favorite, get arrested for things you post online. 

     All of these things are happening right now. Your online posting and profiles are being watched and reviewed by EVERYONE, not just your Friends. If it's online and you have not taking steps to secure it down, it's out there, it's public, it's being recorded and it's there forever. 

     To my earlier comment that the users are free styling it, this is what I mean. There is a misconception that their little world is just that. Their little world. Only seen by a small number, nice and tidy, no worries, just like sharing photos and stories around a card table on Saturday nights. WRONG. Saturday night is every night and it lasts forever and seen by anyone. So why post anything and everything? Short answer - I believe the users don't know any better and assume privacy. Under educated about what they are doing.

    

       Here are stories about how the public release of information can be really damaging to those who don't use discretion.

•       College Applicants, Beware: Your Facebook Page Is Showing - College scanning applicants
•       Facebook Pics Get Kids Arrested - underage kids post pics of them drinking
•       Kid Who Ordered "All Black People" To Leave Walmart Arrested After Bragging About It On Facebook
•        Couple says Facebook vacation bragging prompted robbery - 887 friends, not all trustworthy
•        Middletown man is arrested after bragging about being a pedophile on YouTube
•        Facebook entry gets office worker fired - Don't Twitter the same thing, Twitter is more open than Facebook.
•        Fired for Facebook: Don't let it happen to you

     And so on... hopefully you get the point.

     If you choose to share everything online it's best to follow one simple rule.

     If you don't want your boss or a stranger on the street to see or know a piece of information about you.... DON'T POST IT!!!! Never assume what you post is private, it can all be found.

     I could go on and on and on about this in great detail. But this is a blog post and not a book.... yet.

     Use discretion. Be careful. Don't be stupid, because at the end of the day, it's under your control.

End of Line...

     

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The items in this post are purely the thoughts and opinions of the author. All facts and data are gathered across various sources and the author's conclusions are based that information. Techie Pro

Posted in: Internet,Reviews,Social Media