Self Denfense Online

Remember those "neighborhood watch" signs?
They look like this:

Neighborhood Watch sign from Google images

These signs can be found around neighborhoods in most communities nationwide. The idea is a great one that unifies people within a certain area around a common goal: safety.

Feeling safe and secure is something everyone desires, but it is not limited to the physical space surrounding your home. Steps need to be taken to ensure safety everywhere, particularly online, where the issue can be overlooked.

I'm sure many people are concerned with their online privacy given all the recent negativity surrounding privacy settings on social network sites like Facebook.

But where there's a will there's a way! It is possible to secure your personal information online and get peace of mind.

Services have been created for this very purpose, which I myself was unaware of until I came across this post. It turns out that there are a variety of things you can do to ensure your info is safe on Facebook.

It's like someone took the neighborhood watch idea and applied it to cyberspace. The slogan on the sign sums it up: "We look out for each other!"

Just as people within a neighboorhood watch out for their fellow neighbors, people on facebook watch out for their friends within the facebook community.

So, the first thing you should do to ensure your safety on facebook can be done from your own facebook account. There is a handy feature many may not know about that allows you to view your profile as if you were a non-friend.

Go to account > privacy settings > view settings > preview my profile

From here you can see what your page looks like to outsiders, and you can even change the view to that of a facebook friend by typing in their name. Thus you can see your facebook through the eyes of others.

Pretty cool feature, and it can keeps you safe! If there is information you would not like shown that is visible when you experiment with this, you should fix it in your privacy settings.

If you are curious about what people see who are not on facebook at all, you can do a Google search to see what personal info they can access by typing: [your name] site:facebook.com

When I did this, my facebook didn't appear on the 1st page, but I consider this a good thing. If Google can't find my facebook, I feel pretty safe about it.

Google also has another tool that allows you to see what any 3rd party application or tool can see. They are given access to your shared info through facebook. 

All of these tools are great ways to check the multiple outlets through which information can be shared. But there is one tool I favor over the rest because it seems to combine all of the possible "security holes" into one.

It's called profile watch and by giving it access to your facebook account, it tells you what your "privacy score" is on a meter that ranges from "exposed" to safe."

My privacy score from profilewatch.com

Of course I took the test to see how I did, and my facebook was deemed safe on the privacy meter.

My score did not surprise me too much as I have set my privacy settings to my liking, but it was a nice reassurance.

How well do you think your facebook will fare?

These options are all good ways to protect yourself online, and there are definitely many more tools and techniques out there if you are willing to look.

It is important to note, however, that none of these things are full-proof. Everyone should be cautious about their online behavior on facebook and other social networks.

Learn more about other dangers associated with facebook, and learn some more privacy tips from my earlier posts.

Status Updates: How much should you share?

This week's post was prompted by the latest entry on the facebook blog that introduces deals, a new mobile facebook application that allows local business to offer deals when you check into their place on facebook.

Place page on iPhone application

This app works in conjunction with places, a mobile facebook application that allows you to share your location with friends online by "checking in" to the place you are at.

Super convenient right? You can go to a local restaurant you already planned on eating at and take advantage of the deal they are offering once you "check in" to the place on your phone. If your original choice is not offering a deal that day, there's a good chance that one of the restaurants on the "nearby places" page is.

With the places app, you can check in friends that are with you by tagging them. This information is important because we all want to share what we are doing with status updates, meet up with friends that are near the same places we are, etc.

All the reasons for the creation of these applications are the same reasons most of us have a facebook or twitter, and updating your status with your whereabouts throughout the day seems fun and harmless. But is it really?

It's cool that people know where you are, but when you "check in" to a place with the places app or similar apps like foursquare you are also giving away some information about where you are not...like at home.

This can be a danger even if you are not using these applications yourself. For example, your friend just came over and "checked in" to your home or apartment. Now, your address is on the internet for tons of people to see, many of whom you probably don't know.

Foursquare application as seen on pleaserobme.com

Great attention has been brought to this issue through a website dedicated to raising awareness about it, and is appropriately called Please Rob Me. It points to the danger that twitter updates and other social media updates can have when it leads to your location.

The whole point is that posting about your location through social media is not full proof. There is no built in security with these applications or status updates that says someone will not use the information against you.

Most of us would not give our home address to a stranger, so what is so different about saying where you are online with the same information?

Nothing is different, all the potential risks are still present...it just seems safe because people do not think about getting robbed or stalked through social networks like facebook.

Crime can happen anywhere, even in cyberspace. If you don't believe me, check out this story that points to the rise in cyber crime due to the popularity of the iPhone.

Given the topic of this post, I think the same warnings I mentioned in my first post about censoring your updates and keeping in mind the large audience of the web are appropriate. For other tips on how to ensure your privacy online, check out my last post that gave some helpful tips.

Social Media: A Double Edged Sword

After blogging about the pros and cons of social media in the past few weeks, I found a story that sums up what I have been trying to say about the issue: social media can have both favorable and unfavorable consequences depending on how its used.

The story reveals some surprising statistics about the role social media is playing in the workplace:

• 70% of recruiters and hiring managers in the U.S. have rejected an applicant based on information they found online
• Nearly 1 in 5 companies have disciplined or fired an employee for social media misdeeds
• The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers says 81% of its members have used or faced evidence found on social media

Wow! Those are some pretty scary numbers when you think about how many times a day your facebook or twitter account is updated with information that could potentially be used against you. 

From status updates and new profile pictures to wall posts about last night's party and the embarrassing pictures your friends never fail to post...the potential risks are endless, but not without control.

It's not that social media needs to be feared, it just needs to be better understood. For every bad consequence it may have, there is a benefit it can produce.

Think about it...

For every picture there is of you chugging a drink or dancing like nobody's watching, there could be be a picture of you spending time with your family or volunteering at a local philanthropic organization. 

For every potentially offensive status update or wall post, you could expand your network by reconnecting with old friends or stay in touch with connections you already have by having an appropriate presence in the social network  

Social media like facebook have an informal nature that allows one to maintain a relationship with the minimal time and effort it takes to send a message or a type a wall post - an act that once took a major time commitment in the dinosaur age of social media.

I think it's clear that social media can be your friend or foe, but like any relationship, you have to work at it. Leaving your twitter or facebook account unattended is not a good way to ensure friendship between the two of you.

New Facebook terms cartoon as seen on hubspot blog, posted by Dharmesh Shah

While the comic may be a tad dramatic, it holds a kernel of truth.

Here are some tips to ensure your privacy on facebook:

• Thoroughly read the privacy terms and conditions for any social media and any updates to it
• Be sure you know all your friends and don't accept requests you do not know just because you have "friends in common" 
• Make sure each privacy setting is set to your preference and not the default
• Don't engage in any online activity that you would not want the world to know

A facebook or twitter account that reflects positively on you requires continuous maintenance and appropriate behavior in every online activity.

Don't fear your facebook account, just be wise and it can be your ally.

Social Media Saves a Dog in Need

I thought I understood that anything can be accomplished over the internet, but I never imagined that it could save a dog in desperate need of help.

 Meet Teddy:

Teddy post-surgery as seen on austinpetsalive.org

He was picked up from Ben White Blvd. with two broken elbows. Luckily, Austin Pets Alive came to the rescue within minutes and put their social media to work.

They posted Teddy's tragedy to their facebook and blog, and raised $1,500 within 30 minutes! By the next morning, they had enough for his surgery, $3,000.

While it was the dedicated supporters and volunteers of APA! that made Teddy's survival possible, it was social media that facilitated the quick response necessary to save him. 

It's amazing, and APA! continues to rescue other dogs the same way.  

APA's social media illustrates the power of social media, and more importantly the interactive nature of social networks like facebook and blogs that allow for real time responses. Can you imagine what might have happened to Teddy if this were 6 years ago, before the evolution of social media began?

This story points to the immense benefits social media can have for an organization, particularly nonprofits who depend on volunteers and supporters to stay afloat. APA's facebook and blog are more than just a promotional tool, it is what links them to their lifeblood.

Their social media makes the experience of donating online personal for each supporter because they provide detailed bios and updated stories about their animals in need. For example, someone who donated to Teddy can see their contribution at work through the progress he made in recovery, like this video or follow up story.

I think it's safe to say that this story exemplifies the effectiveness of social media when its power is unleashed for a positive social cause; and since my last post focused on the negative consequence of social media, I thought it only fair to play the advocate in this week's post.

Can you imagine what social media could do if it were applied more often to the goals of socially responsible organizations and businesses? It has the potential to move the world forward in an unprecedented way.

One Tweet Gone Wrong

Have you ever updated your status or tweeted something you immediately wished you hadn't? I'm sure we all have. The tempting nature of real time updates allows any of our thoughts to be published to the web in a matter of seconds.

You can share your excitement, boredom or rage with your friends, family and co-workers the instant you are experiencing it. Awesome, right?

Wrong. Status updates and tweets can turn you into your biggest enemy if you are not careful.

A recent story about an unlucky tweeter loosing her job points to the danger of sharing feelings in real time. The now unemployed woman accidentally tweeted a personal tweet to her company's twitter account, which happens to be the news station KTVX-TV, the ABC station in Salt Lake.

The mistake is easy to make for anyone managing multiple twitter accounts, and could be harmless depending on the tweet. However, this tweet was not as easily forgotten as it was erased.

Tweet from a KTVX-TV employee as seen on lostremote.com

Of course the station quickly deleted the post and issued an apology. But what about the poor tweeter? One minute she is tweeting what she thinks is an innocent expression of her discontent, and the next she is fired!

If anyone was unaware of the power of the internet before, take this as a primary example.

This instance highlights an ongoing debate about the privacy of social media, and directs attention to the question of whether or not employers should have full access to their employees facebook and twitter accounts.

Regardless of the debate, one truth remains: facebook and twitter accounts are voluntarily set up by their account holders, for the most part. Therefore, any tweets, status updates, pictures or personal information that is volunteered by the account holder is fair game for any one who has access to the web.

This truth cannot be stressed enough to those who, like the tweeter from the story, enjoy updating their status and twitter accounts without thinking twice about the post. But situations like these are increasing, and it is important for everyone to censor what they post before it is too late.

Remembers, it is the "world wide web" for a reason. Don't let your social media get the best of you.

If you liked this blog post, view another take on the story.