“The fantastic advances in the field of electronic communication constitute a greater danger to the privacy of the individual.” Earl Warren, American Republican Politician and Judge.
Whether or not you agree with Earl Warren’s political views does not change the truth cited in the quote above. All of the “advances” with personal computers, mobile devices, social media platforms and the global internet have us scrambling to put that “privacy please” door hanger on our digital entryways. In 2008, the Consumer Reports National Research Center showed that most Americans are very concerned about their personal information online. According to the poll, 82% of people reported their concern about credit card number theft, while 72% were concerned that their behaviors were being tracked and profiled by companies.
Enter social media 2010. Rather than the government, new world order or a massive corporate conglomerate becoming the Orwellian “Big Brother” – we have created this apocalyptic behemoth ourselves, by sharing everything about us online. If Facebook were a country it would be the world’s 4th largest, between the United States and Indonesia. And for most businesses, it is a vast and uncharted territory in which they are trying to stake a claim.
As I help companies and organizations determine how to engage in this medium, one of the inevitable conversations I have, is about “privacy”. People are concerned about their company’s brand, but more often than not, they are concerned about themselves. Questions like: “What if someone posts a photo of me I don’t want anyone to see?” “What if I don’t become their friend?” “Can they see pictures of my kids?” “How did that get on Google?” and “What the heck is a tweet, anyway?” all lead me to give one answer: “Learn how to use the tools of the trade.”
Most, if not all social media platforms and applications, make privacy settings easy to understand and accessible. Even with all the hoopla over Facebook streams and default settings for photos becoming public, the gigantic online club allows you to create “lists” of your “friends”, and determine what those “lists” can see. A good tip is to categorize your friends by what you want them to see (and what you want to see from them). I have lists for “Networking”, “Church”, “High-School”, “Family” and even “Comic Books”. Each list has different access to information on my profile. That way I am in total control over what everyone sees and what is available to the public.
Worried about identity theft? There are services available to insure that no one will be able to steal your identity. But that does not affect your privacy. Make sure that you control who has access to your personal and business information. Go through the lists of your contacts and learn how to use the tools available. Another “identity” tip: don’t make the year of your birth public on Facebook. Just click the box that says “Display Day and Month Only” – that is the best way to prevent people from finding out how old you actually are – I mean – steal your identity.
Contact me for a training session to learn more about using social media platforms for your business or follow me on Twitter for tips and tricks.
Bottom line: We are all on this journey through the field of electronic communication together, but we don’t have to know everything about each other.
Jeremy Mace
{THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN THE BUZZ ON BIZ MONTHLY MAGAZINE}
