Category: Let's talk
How many people are signed up to multiple sites, with multiple usernames, and on each site we give out a little bit of information that could make us identifyable to the wider world.
Sites such as facebook change their privacy settings on a fairly regular basis, meaning that your private profile, with your name and address and phone number on it could frequently be published on the internet.
I have identified people that live in my town from their postings online.
On the old accessible chat programme there was a user who lived in the same town as me (coincidentally) and I happened to meet his daughter at a toddler group, and she happened to live in my street.
Many employers now go looking on facebook, to see if they can find potentiallly incriminating information/photographs of potential new employees.
So - when you post online, do you think you're anonomous and tell people all about your life? Or do you withhold information that will make you identifyable in rl?
It's simple. If a site I sign up for can't either guarantee me that my information will be secure, or that they're okay only having my name, I don't sign up for it.
I try to be careful what I post online, but I'm also smart enough to realize that someone who really cared to do the digging work could discover who I am, where I live, etc. It's scary, and I try to minimize it, but with googgle, intelius, all the social networking services, and so many other things these days, anyone could find anyone online if they really wanted to.
I find some people extremely free with their FaceBook posts. For instance, a guy at my job wanted to become a friend on FaceBook, I gave him a project I needed done for our web site and he kept telling me he was busy. Then he posts on FaceBook a quote that read "Now 2pm at work and no football, I am so used to watching footb all I don't know what to do now" .. basically telling all his co workers, including those who are waiting for his work that he is doing something else.
Now we all do our little things at work I am sure, but it is pretty naive to admit to it on FaceBook with your co workers added as friends.
I either hardly post anything on FAceBook or have contemplated removing all my co workers from it, because I do not believe in mixing your private life and work.
Also, with regard to a previous post. I think a site can never guarantee you privacy, so you should simply not give your name and phone number or address to any social web site, unless you are ok with it being found out.
In the States they have started advertizing a privacy protector, service that, they claim, goes out on the internet and finds all available info about you and modifies it as long as you subscribe. This is a very intengible type of service because there are so many back up copies, time series of a page etc, that it is pretty impossible to delete you or modify what you did or said online.
That's why I am Wildebrew and never use my name publically on a social web site, not that it is a huge secret, but I don't like it immediately associated with me.
You guys be careful about those things, there is a lot of info out there about you, well, about us all.
oh it never ceases to amaze me what people put on facebook. "x thinks I'll take a sicky today" really? And you're happy to advertise that to half your office who are most likely on your "friends" list? hmmm.
Not to mention how lax people are with their privacy settings. I've looked at the profiles of friends of friends who are not on my friend lists, and yet their privacy settings are non-existent, with their full names, addresses and telephone numbers on public display for all to see.
OMG I'm at this really really hot club right now and I can see my car's license plate from here. It's ... And I think I left the doors unlocked. Like nobody's gonna actually steal it with the Sarah Palin bumper sticker still on it! Lmfao! <geolocation info inserted here>
I've never signed up for facebook, myspace, etc. and don't intend to. And I am careful what I tell people, leaving out pertinent facts and sometimes telling things that aren't 100% true just to mix it up a little. But even with that, I know there are people who can find out things I don't want them to know. I can only hope that most people will find me too boring to bother digging around for more info. LOL