You may know that I’ve been struggling with challenge of crossing the line in Facebook from personal to business. And while I’m slowly making the transition, it seems every day I learn more to be wary of. Specifically, I recently learned about a burglary that occurred in June after a not-so-bright enthusiastic photographer Tweeted his precise whereabouts in detail.
In case you missed the story when it happened (like I did), CNET reported:
Israel Hyman posted to approximately 2,000 followers on Twitter that he and his wife were “preparing to head out of town,” that they had “another 10 hours of driving ahead” and later, that they “made it to Kansas City.”
When he came home, he found that someone had broken into his house and stolen thousands of dollars worth of video equipment he used for his video business, IzzyVideo.com, which he uses for his Twitter account.
“My wife thinks it could be a random thing, but I just have my suspicions,” he told the Associated Press. “They didn’t take any of our normal consumer electronics.”
It seems like a no-brainer to me to NOT post about being away from home for extended periods. Then again, if I’m going to use my social media accounts for business, and part of my business is say… going on a book tour in some optimistically imagined future, then posting where I am is pretty important. Dilemma.
Here’s another dilemma: no matter how careful I am about guarding my privacy, others are not so careful. Recently, I was on vacation when a helpful neighbor sent me a link to a new subway map app for the iPhone. Along with it she added, I know you’re in NYC – have a great trip!
Comments? Suggestions? How do you manage your message, and your ‘friends and followers’ on social media?
Image Credit: robertnelson, Flickr
I agree: The idea of location in social networking is problematic for me also.
On the one hand, it’s kind of a cool thing to be promote something that is happening someplace.
On the other hand is some serious security implications: What if I’m a father? What if I have valuable property? etc.
If there’s one thing that social networking is teaching, it’s that every action carries a potential consequence: If my boss or clients follow me, I want to be careful about what I say about work. I always want to be careful about what might slip from me about my friends. And I certainly don’t want to put anything or anyone in danger.
The lesson that seems to be shaping out from all this is that social networking and the facets that make it are not as free and open as people might like to think. It’s becoming something that requires increased scrutiny before posting ANYTHING.
Yes, well… stay tuned for my next post on this topic. Because while you may be careful about what you reveal about your friends, not everyone is so conscientious – or even realizes what they’re doing.
I can understand your distress. I do use my Facebook and Twitter account for business but make sure it doesn’t come back to haunt me. For example, I had to go to London a few weeks ago, my tweet in the morning just mentioned the person I was meeting. My tweet in the night was about where I went and how good my time was. I believe this way the social networking serves its purpose while being safe.