Manners Please!

Some people don't know how to act properly. Unfortunately, this carries over to the internet. Facebook is the prime example of this. Many people don't know what is appropriate online and what should be kept private. Boundaries can be crossed easily when someone violates the rules of online etiquette. Posting inappropriate pictures, making explicit comments, and starting rumors are all things that at the moment seem somewhat harmless, but they can come back to hurt you later on. Actions have consequences, even online actions. What I find funny about facebook is how relationships can come to be defined by what goes on on facebook. If a couple is having problems they can put their relationship status as "it's complicated"....does the world really need to know that? Also, if pictures of you and an ex are still online, your partner might read into it and get mad. Facebook ends up having more control over the relationship than you. Naturally we are nosey people, so many do have a tendency to snoop people's profiles and see what they've been up to. I'm not saying this is right and I'm not saying this is wrong....but if you don't want people to see something, don't post it! It's put there to be viewed so people can't really get mad at someone for commenting about their facebooks. For cheerleading we were held to the standard that if there was anything inappropriate on our pages, we could risk discipline and/or being removed from the team. People would get in trouble for not going to practice and then posting on facebook that they're doing something else. Making some information public is not a good idea. I have friends that have pictures of themselves on facebook that I know they will regret someday, but right now we're in college....so anything goes I guess. People need Internet Etiquette lessons....hmmm sounds like a good course...

You can run....but you can't hide.

One of the main things I value is my privacy. What is scary is the thought that privacy is almost non-existent now. Chances are if you have a smart phone, it is very easy to track where you are via the phone's GPS. Newer iPhones and iPads have technology that time stamp the location of their owners. The records can be found, unencrypted, on the owners personal computer. Feels like big brother is watching you right? This information can be made public. Imagine, something is keeping tabs on you. It could even be used against you in the workplace, your personal life, or even in court. The real question we must keep in mind is whether technology is moving too fast for us to keep up with it and when is enough enough? As privacy policies change rapidly, confusing the readers so they'll just accept them, we are being lured into a trap where nothing we do is ever private. Anything we say or do on the web is public and never goes away. The internet is not pencil, it's permanent ink on indestructible paper. It is the cockroach of species. Once it's online, it's done. We may believe we are anonymous online, but that's never the case.

Social Networking affecting Business

Have you ever heard of someone getting fired over something they posted on Facebook? Or an athlete getting a fee for a Twitter post? Well, it's not uncommon. In fact, I even have friends that have deactivated their Facebook accounts while they were in an interview process for a job or admission to a program. One friend even deactivated it while he was pledging a very strict fraternity at Dartmouth. Social networking sites provide people a way to communicate with others as well as post details about their daily lives. Some people post more frequently and more detail than they should. Where does the line between our personal lives and professional lives fade?
    Several days ago Chrysler ended it's relationship with New Media Strategies, a social media agency, over a tweet one of it's employees posted from Chrysler's Twitter account. Although it was meant to be posted to the employee's personal Twitter account, it was accidentally posted onto Chrysler's. This negative and explicit tweet made the company look bad. Although it was an accident, the employee was still careless and was fired for a post he made while he was at work. If he had just kept his frustration to himself, he might still have a job.
     We are all asked to be professional at work, if our personal lives are being tracked all over the internet when will we ever shed the overly professional exterior? Or will casual and relaxed become the new norm? How will Social Networking change professional relationships? I think the solution will be in leaving "something to the imagination" and knowing what's appropriate to post and what's not. After all, why do we NEED to let everyone know what we're doing, thinking, eating, feeling, buying, etc? Protect your own privacy and watch out what you post.