Confession: I'm getting tired of social media. I feel personally involved in the lives of hundreds of people, and it's become somewhat of a shield against having to nurture one-on-one relationships; as though as long as I occasionally comment on a post, or remember someone's birthday, I'm being an acceptable friend. Meanwhile, every advertising conference I attend consists of 75-100% social media-centric workshops. SXSW Interactive this year was all about social networking. I can't look at a single tech website, or publication without seeing multiple pictures of Mark Zuckerberg's smirking, boyish face. However, there's no arguing the impact that this new internet-based world has on our society. The flip side of this new media is that your personal information is out there, potentially for all to see (and in the case of Facebook, nearly impossible to remove). If you're paying attention to the news, you've probably heard that hackers are breaking into websites all the time* and the stuff you post online may put you in jeopardy of having your identity stolen. So with that in mind, I'd like to share five tips might make your life a little easier down the road.
5. Everyone's an expert on social media. No one is an expert on social media. Ok... Social media has been around since humans began populating the Earth and began interacting. There is no right or wrong way to interact. This is no different with internet-based social media platforms. There are some good guides to effectively and efficiently using blogs, Twitter and Facebook, but ultimately it's an organic and personal medium. Do what feels right for your brand--be it personal or commercial--don't just do what some guy who wrote a blog tells you to do.
4. If you work for an organization, you are a representative of said organization. This should be common sense, but seriously, people, if something might put your job in jeopardy, DON'T POST IT ONLINE. I don't care if you're the organization's mail clerk or their community manager, when you post something negative about the organization, you run the risk of being removed from your position. If you have any doubts about whether your post may harm your company, divulge trade secrets, or openly degrade the competition, just don't do it. Your livelihood may depend on it.
3. Be aware of the dreaded Facebook updates and how to opt-out of them. So... Yeah. Zuck and Co. love adding new features to Facebook without telling anyone. And more often than not, these updates default to MORE rather than less of your personal information being divulged; in addition to requiring users to jump through hoops trying to figure out how to turn the blasted things off. So if you don't want Facebook to learn your face and ask your friends (or enemies) to tag pictures of you dancing seductively at the pub, learn how to opt out.
2. When using location-based services, don't check into your personal residence. Disclosure: I love checking into places way more than the next guy. I use Gowalla. A lot. I'm waiting by the phone for them to call me and offer me a job. Foursquare is cool too (though only because it's conveniently connected through Gowalla) and Yelp has become my favorite place to research local places. But when I see my friends checking into their house, I want to reach into my computer/mobile and just slap them. I get it. it's fun; in some services you get badges for repeatedly checking into places, but come on people: stop and think for a minute. When you create a spot for your house, you are effectively giving people GPS coordinates to your home. If someone is crafty enough they can follow you on Foursquare/Gowalla/Facebook/Loopt/etc.; determine the location of your house, then when they see that you have checked into the Super 8 in Timbuktu, they not only know you're out of town, but can go about the business of robbing you of all your stuff. Seriously, I can not stress this enough. DO NOT CREATE A SPOT FOR--AND REPEATEDLY CHECK INTO--YOUR HOUSE! EVER. (All-caps, bold and italics for emphasis.) It's bad practice and frankly it's kind of unnecessary.
1. Follow "Wheaton's Law." Most people know Wil Wheaton from Star Trek: the Next Generation or Stand By Me, but nerdy people know that he is a new-media wizard with +5 internet Intelligence, and +1 bonus on Charisma! Wheaton was one of the early adopters of blogging, has nearly 2 million followers on Twitter, and is active on just about every social media outlet know to exist. "Wheaton's Law" is one of the best practices to keep in mind when posting things on the internet, commenting on blogs, or interacting with friends on Facebook. So, if you take nothing else away from this little blog post of mine, please remember these four words: "Don't be a dick."
*Note: Though more media attention has been given to hacker groups such as LulzSec and Anonymous, hacker activity has most likely not significantly increased as much as it would seem.
No comments:
Post a Comment