Home > Blogs > John Alesi > Orange County Real Estate - Homes, Jobs, Lifestyle, Community

Does Facebook Places Leave You Vulnerable To Crime?

By John Alesi

Real Estate Agent with Century 21 Award CalBRE 01730187

August 31, 2010 06:41 PM

Am I the only one who thinks Facebook Places is not a good addition to Facebook? Does this feature just give the bad guys too much information of your whereabouts? When you tell your friends on Facebook you're at the beach/amusement park/movies, you also reveal a general time frame you will not be at your home. Do you really need to make your movements public?

It might be a better idea to post photos of your European vacation after you've returned home rather than in real time or let us know about your day with the grandchildren in the past tense.

What do you think?

Re-Blog

Comments(13)

Comment

Show All Comments Sort:

Christine Donovan

Donovan Blatt Realty - Costa Mesa, CA

Broker/Attorney 714-319-9751 DRE01267479 - Costa M

I tend to post afte the fact because of this concern.

I'm not clear on how Facebook places is going to work.

Aug 31, 2010 06:51 PM

Elite Home Sales Team

Elite Home Sales Team OC - Corona del Mar, CA

A Tenacious and Skilled Real Estate Team

It has been shown that many thieves have used Facebook to get info.

Aug 31, 2010 06:54 PM

Debbie Atwood

Century 21 Real Estate Center Everett, WA - Everett, WA

Real Estate Broker

I pretty much post status after the fact

Aug 31, 2010 06:54 PM

John Novak

Keller Williams Realty The Marketplace - Las Vegas, NV

Henderson, Las Vegas and Summerlin Real Estate

I'm not too concerned about this. How many people really know your home address? And are they really that well coordinated to pull off the heist when you're at the movies? :)

Aug 31, 2010 06:57 PM

Chris and Maria Jeantet

Shasta Living Real Estate - Redding, CA

Top Realtors in Redding CA

That's the problem John...many people are too busy to be concerned or to even understand how this new FB feature works. I'm getting alerts on my smartphone's (directly from FB) of who's checking in where, with the exact time and map location. Freaky stuff!

By the way, I posted "Keeping Your Location Private" a few days ago so feel free to pass it on! It literally took me less than 60 seconds to enable this on my FB page.

Aug 31, 2010 07:04 PM

Alan Bruzee

Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. - Rockville, MD

People do put themselves at risk without realizing it. It is a tool for stalkers too.

Aug 31, 2010 07:18 PM

Christine Hart Howlett

Painesville and Eastern Lake County - Painesville, OH

Keller Williams Greater Cleveland NE

Call me old-fashioned, but I can't figure out why anyone would WANT to know where I am 24/7. I'm all for retaining some semblance of privacy. I believe technology is a good thing, but we've become so in-your-face in our dealings with people.

Aug 31, 2010 07:24 PM

Kelly Milligan

First Title Real Estate, LLC - Slidell, LA

I don't like the feature at all. I don't need to know where you are when you are here or there. I don't want you to know where I am either, LOL. To me, it's submitting yourself to being tracked by strangers every step of your life. No thanks!

Aug 31, 2010 10:39 PM

John Alesi

Century 21 Award - Mission Viejo, CA

(Orange County California Real Estate)

Thank you for your comments. Sometimes we all get caught up in the hype of new technology and forget to check out the risks.

John Novak...It's REALLY easy to find many (but not all) home addresses with just a few minutes of searching the internet.

Chris and Maria Jeantet - Thanks for the link to set your privacy on Facebook.

Sep 01, 2010 05:03 AM

Kathleen West

Trademark Realty Group of Palm Coast - Palm Coast, FL

Flagler County & Palm Coast Realtor

Location-based social networking is definitely interesting. Unlike the social networking that we are getting used to, it's actually not about you. It's centered around the location itself and the promotion of that. Take for example FourSquare. It's nothing about you as a individual. It's all about promoting the location. For this reason, businesses are seriously looking at the service for promotional leverage. Starbucks gives 'the Mayor' of individual locations special discounts. So forth and so on. Can this concept be applied to Real Estate in some fashion? Possibly. Think of this in terms of an Open House. Maybe you offer to enetr everyone in a drawing that shows a 'check in' at the open house via Facebook or Foursquare. Will it work? Don't know but it's just one idea to maybe test.

The arguments against it are pretty much the same as Twitter. 'Why would I want to tell everyone what I am constantly doing?' You don't and nobody cares, but when people figured out that Twitter can be used as a powerful sharing tool for branding, markjeting, and advertising . . . then it was seen in a much better light. This is the same. Loca-based social media is actually evolving in some really interesting ways.

Sep 05, 2010 02:20 AM

John Alesi

Century 21 Award - Mission Viejo, CA

(Orange County California Real Estate)

Hi Kathleen - Thanks for the great comments. I agree that the locations are going to benefit from these applications. I am also confident that these applications will evolve to benefit the real estate industry. I especially like your open house idea.

While I agree that people don't necessarily care that you "checked in" at Starbucks, I feel that the user may set up a pattern of movement throughout their day that could lead to the bad guys knowing when to take advantage of your time away from home. Maybe it's too early in the cycle to see how this pans out, i just tend to err on the side of safety.

Sep 05, 2010 04:36 PM

Jackie - computer-training-atlanta.com

770.498.7333 - Atlanta, GA

Learn to leverage technology to get more done.

John - with a little bit of information about you, people can find out your home address and a lot of other information. I *never* say where I'm going. Sometimes I'll tweet or blog about it when I get back. I feel as if a lot of people are on an "oversharing binge." They will wake up with a hangover, and then resolve never to do that again. I suggested this post for a feature, and appreciate you commenting on my blog. Take care!

Oct 03, 2010 04:38 AM

John Alesi

Century 21 Award - Mission Viejo, CA

(Orange County California Real Estate)

Hi Jackie...Thanks for suggesting the feature.

Lately, like you, I've been posting in the past tense about where I've been. It's hard not to get caught up in the enthusiasm of an event to just post everything about where you are.

Oct 03, 2010 05:17 PM

Older Post

Newer Post

Rainmaker
294,577

John Alesi

(Orange County California Real Estate)

Follow Profile

Blog Home Search

(949) 510-2154

Real Estate Resources

BRE# 01730187

Author Bio: After many years of working in the sales business, I have chosen to dedicate my career to the real estate industry. In more casual terms, I have decided to build my business around helping people fulfill their dreams of home ownership with a very personal touch. Unlike many in this industry who "got their license to play around in real estate", I am committed to giving 100% to each and every customer. Buying or selling your home is a complicated process that requires the knowledge, skills and effort that a part time agent cannot provide. Whether you are buying your first home, moving up because of a growing family, relocating due to a job transfer, seeking that dream estate on the golf course or downsizing in the golden years, I believe it is my obligation to treat everyone with honor and respect and with the highest degree of service and professionalism. Feel free to call me to discuss your real estate needs. I promise that I will take good care of you.

Check back often for news, events and information about South Orange County, CA.

John Alesi

Comments(13)

John Alesi

Real Estate Resources

Additional Information