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Twitter Security Issues: Are You Safe Tweeting That Information?

Bouncer

Have you ever been stalked? I have. Have you ever had your home robbed? My parent’s home was robbed. Have you ever been confronted by an unknown person? I have. Security in today’s world is often a consideration we fail to understand. Either we feel safe, we reason we are not celebrities and thus immune, or we do not worry about the subject altogether. Twitter is a wonderful real time communication tool with ramifications if you are not careful. Like real estate, location-location-location, security begins with protecting your plans or location.

Personal Security Risks: Tweets That Tell Too Much?

Transparency is a staple of Web 2.0 and social networks yet how much information is too much? The following are the type of tweets that could be security risks to you or a loved one:

Locations: tweets that divulge your exact location
Why: you have no idea who is following your tweet stream and monitoring your whereabouts-giving exact locations places you in a position to be approached; add a close likeness in your bio picture and you are “findable”
Times: tweets that provide exact times of your location or a location you will be in the future
Why: these tweets can provide a possible unwanted someone enough information to locate you
Future Travel: tweets that outline specific travel activities with time or time frames
Why: the possibility of a burglary, although remote due to address information and other logistics needed, is not impossible considering the amount of information available about you especially when criminals know you are leaving your home

Business Security Risks: Lose Your Job, Business, or Advantage

Like our personal safety, our businesses should remain secure. The following tweets could be a security risk to your business or your job:

Partnerships: tweeting your new partnerships before they are solid business arrangements
Why: competitors looking for partners could be monitoring your efforts with an eye on your business partner
Sales: tweeting your new accounts, new contracts, new consulting gigs
Why: competitors can quickly act to attempt to under cut price, provide better product or service, and steal your new clients who are yet to be sticky to you or your company
Future Niche: tweeting your intention to pursue a new niche
Why: this alerts your competitors of new or fertile ground to be examined. If you believe you are first to the party–don’t tell anyone or you will have company
Business Travel: telling everyone you are attending a conference filled with your prospects is a sure fire way of attracting added unwanted competitors
Personal Opinions: As the Ketchum PR disaster already taught us, if you have an opinion detrimental to your customer you would be best to zip it and not say a word.
Why: if you have to ask why you truly do not get it
Realtor Open Houses: this is especially ominous. Be careful to have security measures in place before tweeting your open house information
Why: Incidents of open house crimes are on the rise nationally with murder, rape, attempted rape, assaults, and burglaries some of the felonies committed

Posted by Dean Guadagni on 10/18/2009 04:28 PM

Comments (91)

twitter strategies, twitter security issues, open house security, social media messaging, twitter usage, how to use twitter

Post is included in group: Twitter
Post is included in group: Social Networks
Post is included in group: Realtors®
Post is included in group: Real Estate Rookie
Post is included in group: Rainmaking - Internet Marketing Strategies

91 Comments on Twitter Security Issues: Are You Safe Tweeting That Information?

OCT

This is a :realistic" reminder to us all. I leverage twitter to share my open house schedule but I make sure I have security and I am not alone in the home. Good advise!

Dean...

I've Blogged about these issues myself. I've been stalked, I've been robbed and I've had other bad things happen. Having lived through these things, I've concluded, that for me, it's best to err on the side of caution.

I do not believe it to be a good idea to tell millions of people where you are at any given moment. Anyone that actually believes the Internet is not being used by criminals is naive. Either that or they are in denial about the kind of world we actually live in.

And just so you know I read a Tweet where an Agent was discussing how she'd left her two young children home alone to go show a house. That is so bad. That's a crime involving young children waiting to happen. As you can tell I feel very strongly about this topic.

TLW...ROAR!

This is an excellent post. The crazy thing is, that I witness folks sharing way too much information, way too often. For safety's sake...knock it off. The friend that is a stranger, is really, still a stranger. I know we lecture our kids on this kind of thing, ALL the time. The Internet is their world, and they do not seem to 'get' the consequences of releasing too much information-for business and safety's sake. I use news stories all the time, to make my point ot our kids...still, they post! URGHHHH It is even crazier when you see other adults putting it all out there. Good post.

We need to think about our tweets as a camera focused on us. Too often we forget that what we post is out there for the world to see. Do we really want to let people know we are alone somewhere or away from our homes for a week? We need to think before we post.

Great post! I try not to post any of the above topics mostly because if you are utilizing your spear of influence as well as future clients/referral list properly the people that you know and trust already know the time of the open house as well as how to contact me.

Sometimes when I blog about being on vacation, it might not be the smartest posts I have ever done.

This is great information. I have decided to follow the above as well. When we are some place specific I make sure that I don't tell where. It is better to be safe than sorry these days for sure. The hubby and I have 3 precious ones to think of too right?

I'm just getting started to leverage the social media channel for marketing our business....glad I found your blog and thanks for the information. I'm quite a bit behind the curve but will catch up with time! Thanks again for the info!

You brought up some excellent points that I had not considered, but I will definitely keep in mind in the future! Thank you!

Good tips Dean!

Great advice, sometines we forget who is out there looking at everything we do and say

I thought transparency was the new black!?!

Great post, and thoughts. I don't TWIT -- I call it social netjerking. I just love to post my little birdie too. Thanks for the opportunity.

Great headsup Dean. I think transparency is an important staple of the WEB 2.0 world, but TMI could be harmful for sure in regards to ones personal security and safety.

Thanks great information we sometimes forget these key facts.

Dean- I agree with all of your tips. Most of them are no brainers but in the 'fun' of it all I am sure we just don't think about security issues. I do because I have been stalked and been assaulted. Before the internet I could not even have my photo in the homes for sale magazines as creeps would call me from pay phones before tracking was as good as it is now. My broker had to help me several times in hiding my whereabouts. If you are going through a break up or a divorce that is violent you have to take extra security measures too since they won't stop the guy until you're dead. This is a hot button for me as I lived through major stalking and more than I care to remember.

I also know people who have been robbed because they tweeted that they were leaving their house or going on a trip. Katerina

Very important alert, indeed. Thanks for sharing.

Dean - these are excellent suggestions. I suspect many folks don't a second thought to what they are tweeting, or sharing on Facebook and elsewhere, and who might be reading. The safety issues are particularly of concern. It's easy enough to look up a name and address.

Jeff

Dean- great point. We don't think often enough abut the downside to transparency. Great food for thought.

Thank you for the reminder. You made a very valid point that when you tell somebody where you are, there are two dangers that occur, 1. they know where you are, and 2. They know where you are not and they can burglarize.

Hi Dean ~ As someone who is naturally quite cautious by nature, I'm surprised to find that I have not taken some of the necessary steps you talk about to take care of my own security. Thanks for opening my eyes to "the other side" of social media.

Denise

I never let the world know when I'll be away from home or where I'll be... kids and adults alike are not thinking these days!

Dean- I think I've been so busy trying to grasp the concept of Twitter, Facebook, etc, that I've neglected to be mindful of the normal security issues that I would otherwise be aware of in normal real life day to day activities. Thank you for reminding us that we can never let our guard down.

Dean - In an age where transperancy is a favorite buzz word, its good to remember that discretion and reticence are not bad things.

Great post.

Michael

Oh gosh. You are right! I never even thought about open house tweets. Scary, now that I think about it. Thanks for the reminders!

Great post. I like to tweet about things I've done in the past! Like in the past two hours, not things that I'm getting ready to do.

I still haven't figured out the whole Twitter phenomenon. I am lucky to get on Active Rain for an hour a day. I check out a couple other sources, but Twitter hasn't attracted me yet, but it's great to know this information.

Ditto, I only tweet about what has happened, more like a summary w/o specific names, places, details. The only specifics I Tweet about is when a property has already closed. I will give the address.

Carla,

I laughed at the birdie! Can I use it? I feel the same about it. The sphere of friends and past clients is the better/safer route.

As for all the social sites... imagine you are on camera being seen on the evening news everytime you post. If you don't want one particular person to see it.... they will for certain find it even if they are on vacation in Katmandu!! Gee what if you want to run for president... someone will dig up something you said online and use it against you even if you just told someone to have a nice day! I am going to get off the soap box now!!

Things have become even more complicated as we allow our AR blogs to automatically be broadcast on Twitter and use a Twitter widget on our blogs which reveal our Tweets to anyone viewing our blogs. In any communication, we have to ask ourselves, who is our audience?

You are so right in all this - thank you for pointing it out to us!

I was going to post on facebook about an upcoming vacation to Las Vegas...then I realized how dumb that would be, as it could tip off readers ( mine is open to the public) and result in a robbery of my home....So I didn't mention it until I was back at home...

good info.....think I'll make my facebook non public 4 my profile

What a great and timely tweet...oh... I mean blog post. There is a bit of invasiveness.... think of our history books and the junk that they will have to sort through.... to find out what happend to us.

A lot of this makes a lot of sense and definitely give us food for thought.

Is Tweeting about an open house any different from advertising an open house?

Dean, too few people understand discretion when it comes to social networking until it's too late. If you put it out there, someone will eventually read it. That Ketchum thing was a business' worst nightmare!

I was in a Russian army for quite a while. Whoever would show up at my door in a flesh here in the States with harmful intentions would learn what real brutality is - period. For the rest of it I am a peaceful guy. So Twitter doesn't bother me - it's actually for kids and bored.

OCT

Seems that many of these tips are even more relevant in todays economy when crime seems to be on the rise in a lot of locations.

It is never wrong to be cautious - there are evil doers out there regardless of Twitter Karen

Dean, Your points are valid and important. I feel teenagers today are open to vulnerability too.

Dean, our society has become a very scary place. Realtors have been holding open houses forever and now the whole idea of holding an open house has become a security nightmare.

Dean, very good important points you mentioned. The competitors being a good point but safety should always come first. Not many people, including myself, would think anything of posting an open house information on twitter, facebook, AR, your own personal website, craigs list, etc. I do hold open houses but honestly I am not very comfortable with being in an empty home with strangers. I guess its no different than going out with someone for the first time to show a home and especially a vacant home but assuming everyone does their due diligence, gets their contact information, has their in-house mortgage lender run their credit, etc. then the risk can be reduced but an open house is...an open house to total strangers.

I couldn't agree more. I cannot figure why people want to divulge personal information on Twitter. They are asking for trouble. Note to the true twitterholics... None of us care that you are standing in line at Starbucks or you're watching a movie at home.

I use twitter for business and it is very middle of the road. Milktoast. No strong opinions, no personal info, and I'm not posting to twitter 50 times per day. Who has the time, number one, and number two, nobody really cares. I see professional people on Twitter who act like they're in junior high school with the way they tweet. In those cases, it's doing more harm than good.

Dean, I just tweeted yesterday that I was at an open house but I did not say where. I thought about it but decided not to for the reasons you explained in your post. Thanks for writing this, it's a nice reminder.

Dean-

Very practical business advice. It's hard not to tweet exciting info, but it can get us in a heap of trouble if done prematurely.

I am very cautious about the information I divulge on Twitter and FB. My husband and I just returned from a trip to France. It was hard not to tweet about it, but I didn't due to security concerns. That would have been a real bummer to come home from vacation and find my house robbed.

Excellent information. I hope everyone takes notice of these warnings.

Yeah, this is dead on.

Watch what and when you post.

Vacations and specific times away from home or office are way too risky.

Business arrangements pre-ink are too.

These safety tips are usually things that I don't think about until after I have tweeted them. I really need to be more careful. Nice post!

YIKES! this is the 2nd warning I've come across in two days. I guess I need to take these warnings seriously!!!

Okay, careful not to take this into the realm of paranoia.

Specifically regarding the open house, are you serious? Gee, I'm spending my time and money hosting an open house, I'd better not let anyone find out I'm here! Never mind that I advertised it in the paper and on the MLS, and probably on my own website.

A lot of what you post has merit, and I agree, but be careful you don't allow yourself to become ruled by fear. There are ways to protect yourself without hiding in a cave.

Okay, careful not to take this into the realm of paranoia.

A lot of what you post has merit, and I agree, but be careful you don't allow yourself to become ruled by fear. There are ways to protect yourself without hiding in a cave.

Good reminders. Also be carefule of applications such as Brightkite that show your exact location along with a photo you have taken. Twitter users should be careful of Twitpic and other photo "Tweeting" applications because the photo often reveals a current location.

This is a great reminder. I have been stalked before, and it was by a person whom I already knew -- someone who would have been a part of my social media network if that had existed at the time. It really made me reconsider my safety precautions. Everyone needs to be careful!

Great post, our job can be very dangerous. Think twice what you Tweet and post on FB.

Thanks for a great reminder. We all need to be careful!

Interesting but maybe a bit paranoid. I do like your suggestions about being less specific about things...

Stern reminder of the risks for adults and their kids who jump in without thinking...

Very good reminder. It is not just kids who can be stupid putting information out where it does not belong.

That's precisely why I only tweet about my home address, my liberal politics, and where I keep my illegal stash of narcotics.

Kidding of course, but it was a well thought-out post. I'm sure many never think of how easy it is to find somebody using technology.

Hi Everyone,

Thanks to all for commenting, for the supportive kind responses, and caring enough to share with your fellow AR members. A few thoughts I want to clarify or findings that were interesting:

Paranoia: I did not write this as a paranoia piece. I am not trying to stir up people. This was just a piece to make people aware
Concept: the concept behind this post was to write it so that you would notice the words "exact" or "specific". As long as you are not too exact or specific with information you give your audience plenty to go on without too much
2 Main Points: I found it fascinating that of the 60 comments made, only 3 spoke to the "Business" side of this post. My emphasis was on the Business aspects and yet the majority felt more compelled by the "Safety" issues
Do Not Give Up: do not give up on Twitter or other social networks. One person thought it odd that you would not tweet your open house since you advertised it in the newspaper. YES that is true. The Tweets I was aiming at are something like this (example of what I have seen) EX: "Open house very slow Sunday, can't wait to get out of here @ 3" If you have to ask why this example is a bad idea of a tweet then I can't explain it. But that is the type I know to be harmful. The rest of the tweets telling of Open Houses is fine and well worth doing. You should have security measures in place for your Open Houses already

Thanks again to everyone!

dean

Hi Everyone,

One last idea. Not one person commented on the picture of the bouncer! I thought it was as ominous a picture as I could find--especially creepy. Anyone react to the picture when you first read the post?

dean

Dean, great, timely topic. I noticed the safety and business elements. Like 57 out of 60, my focus was on the safety aspect.

I still have not figured out the Twitter-thing. I'm glad I'm not alone in that, by reading some of the comments.

OK Dean, I clicked on the hyperlink to the Ketchum PR disaster. Interesting commentary. It continues a thread of thought about how much experience do the experts have.

Great post, Dean. I usually advise some of my female Realtors to have a second person, preferably a male, to sit at their Open Houses with them. You're absolutely right, providing too much information can be detrimental in many different ways. Hopefully, people will read your post and prevent measures for themselves of becoming a future victim.

That is an interesting look at it, I do not twitter and this does not make me want to start.

Great post! Just got involved in the social media piece and so many posts I read are too personal- they give away key identifiers. Excellent reminder to stay on track. Need to keep balance between showing human component and giving away too much info.

Thanks for sharing this information. Having also been "stalked" I have been very careful about letting "the world" know where I'm going in advance. Like some of the other readers, I wait until after the fact to post some details....

The last item was one to give me pause...I do not tweet exact locations, or anything of the kind...but I have tended to tweet open houses in the past. I do, however, often have a second person on hand at my open houses like a lender, so that tends to make me a bit more comfortable...

Dean, have not tweeted yet, and this is one reason.

Steve

Great Advice!

Yes my reaction re the bouncer pic was:

BADA BING!

hahaha!

Dean,

I just read the Ketchum article. WOW! And some of the comments on the article were thought provoking.

I'm secure, but thanks for the reminder!

Kathy Opatka

Aloha Dean,

The core truth of this post is the importance of self awareness and the Law of cause and effect. As for the picture, my fist thought was that it was an invasion of the persons privacy and it might be interpreted that you are implying that this guy is a stalker. Taking a photo out of context and using it in your post can have it's own set of complications, especially if someone views this post that knows the guy, assuming you did not get consent. It could inadvertently create for yourself what your warning against.

Peace,

This was perfect information for me...it made me re-think exactly what I am doing, what the purpose is and what the expected result will be.

Timing was geat. We are all out there saying things....and really not thinking about who will read/hear them, what they will do with the information.

Thanks for a great post.

Lesslie

PS--you have a great Italian name-- GAINS--good for business always.

Lesslie

Dean, this is very helpful information. We all must realize that while most people are good and honest, there are a small percentage that are not. Thanks for the post,

It is good to be reminded that there can be a lurker out in cyber space who has you as their focus. Take precautions and think before you tweet or post or blog.

Dean...

I live around "Fluffy" men. So, no reaction to that. I did however react to the nakid lady :)

She reminded me of the nakid Barbie dolls my Grand Daughters leave around our home and pool :)

TLW...ROAR!

Oh and Dean...

As Realtors, our safety and business go hand in hand. Empty houses and strangers are not a good mix. If you're curious about that just Google 'Crimes Against Real Estate Agents'. I think you'll find the results interesting.

TLW...ROAR!

I've heard some of those and it freaks me out.

Agents can never be too caucious, in showing homes or tweeting.

Err on the side of caution, my parents taught me and I pass down to my kiddo's.

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for the second round of comments! It is much appreciated. I wanted to specifically address a couple of them.

Kimo, the picture of the bouncer came from the link I provided for the Bouncer Wikipedia. The license is a CC aka Creative Commons license which allows anyone to utilize the picture no matter the references or concept.I understand your concern and appreciate your thoughts.

Lesslie, my Italian compatriot! Thank you for the kind reference--the name has been both a boon and a tough one for anyone one to pronouce. Thank you!

To the folks that went on to read the Ketchum article-thank you! David Henderson is a friend I made via twitter and he has been a fantastic resource. The story is all true and was a raging topic of discussion when it happened. Simply put the guy blew it and there is no room for any other interpretation.

dean

OCT

It is always good to remember what information we are sharing. The world is really not as scary as it was in the past, we are just more aware of what is happenning.

No one should put any information on line that isn't fit for every other person in the universe to see. This goes double for e-mail, which can be directly forwarded to the person you want most NOT to see it.

I'm still shaking my head over the dumb crook who robbed the bank, got away with it, and then talked about it on Facebook to a "friend" who happened to be in law enforcement.

Friendships and careers have been lost over "loose fingers" on a keyboard.

And, I agree with you - safety is also a prime concern. If you want to talk about being home alone, best to also talk about the Pit Bull who sleeps at the foot of your bed. Better yet, don't talk about it at all.

Thanks for the great reminders here. I've been stalked myself and always keep it pulled back just because of that reason. Not to mention identity theft. I also thought about this when I realized that other agents in my area had subscribed to my blogs. Gave me the creeps.

Always a good idea to exercise caution. I still have not posted the names and pictures of my kids on Facebook. I know most people do, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

OCT

Marissa, yes the Ketchum incident was an amazingly stupid move by their "Social Media Director." You have some great ideas!

Jirilus- you pegged it perfectly. We are all more aware than in the past is much more true than we are changing in some magical way. Thank you for this contribution!

Lyn, don't worry about competing agents subscribing to your blog-just be safe and everything will work out fine.

Don, thank you for your thoughts. I hope you can visit the settings page on FB so that you can lock down your network more. You can set your facebook page to only show information to people who you have approved as "friends" for your profile or "fans" for your business page. This will allow you to show of your kids to your friends and close associates.

Thanks All!

dean

Wow Dean. I have never thought about such possible setbacks to Tweeting too much info. Thank You! I will keep these things in mind next time.

OCT

Mark, I glad you commented and that I could help!

dean

NOV

I like to Tweet after the fact activities. I feel comfortable about the open houses when I tweet because it's two of us there. Social media opens a lot of avenues good and bad, and we have to be careful. Thanks for the shot in the arm advice.

As for the Ketchum piece, I always feel that as agents we are always on. In social media, if all business people felt like that it would be a much "safer" communication place. Social media makes it hard to separate personal and business lives or "faces".

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