Social media has become commonplace in today's tech-savvy culture. I just read recently that even regular featured phones are predicted to go the way of the do-do bird in the next 10 years thanks to the portability, availability and user-friendliness of the smartphone. Places like Facebook and Twitter can be used to stay in touch with long-distance family and friends, promote your real estate business, find long lost high school buddies or to keep up with your favorite TV shows, personalities and brands you love.
The down side of all this "sharing" is that some people tend to "overshare". While the words you write on social media sites may not be set in literal stone, they are out there for all the world to see and read. This includes your mother, your boss, your co-workers and would-be thieves. So, dear readers, here is a list of what I won't be posting on Facebook and I encourage you not to as well:
Location - Call me paranoid, but I keep thinking "Big Brother" when Facebook asks me if I want to verify my location when posting a status update. If I want you to know where I am so you can join me, fine. But, no one other than my husband really needs to know where I am at all times. Besides, shouting that you have finally realized your dream of a 10-day European vacation is advertising to Facebook-trolling thieves that the contents of your household are open for the taking and no one will notice for a week and a half. Yikes!
My New Toy - Yes, I am so happy that your new 52" LCD TV has a picture so clear it makes looking out the window seem grainy in comparison and that brand new $1200 Sony VAIO has really changed your life (apparently). I repeat, however, that you're just giving thieves something to check off their "must-have" lists. Don't invite thieves to do their early Christmas shopping in your home.
Party Pics - Now, I like to have a good time like anyone else. But my idea of a good time doesn't include getting blitzed out of my mind on Yaeger bombs. That doesn't always hold true for others. So, before you post that photo of feeling "free" on the nude beaches of Europe or how sloppy drunk you were at the company Christmas party, consider that these photos can be viewed by anyone in your circle and whomever they choose to share them with in their circle (who then tell their friends, who then tell their friends and so on and so on). This means they can eventually get back to your boss, your preacher or your mother (...children). Is that the impression you want to make? I know it's not the one I want people to remember me by.
Those are just a few of the things I will not be posting to Facebook anytime soon. I strongly encourage you to consider not posting them as well. A good rule of thumb to follow when posting anything on Facebook is what my daughter told my grandson when he started his Facebook account: "Don't post anything that you would be too embarrassed for Mom to see...cause she WILL."
Originally posted on my Real Estate Support blog here: http://real-estate-support.com/2011/10/what-i-wont-be-posting-on-facebook/.
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