Oct 11
20

Social Media and Privacy: How Much Do You Share?

15 Comments

Social Media and privacy have been a big issue for a while now. Facebook is notorious for being pretty lax about privacy. Even LinkedIn came under fire recently for having the permission to use members’ profiles in advertising as a default setting. You have to be careful what you share on your social media networks.

 

Social Media and Privacy

What do you keep private on social media?

I am a big believer in social media.  I have built fabulous relationships, found wonderful partners and gotten great clients from it.  However, I am strategic about what I share.  And once I decided that I was going to use Facebook for business, no more pictures of my children.

I still keep it personal and allow for personality, social media is social after all.

If you have been following me, you know that I have 2 kids, a boy and a girl, but I don’t mention their names and I don’t post pictures, much to my parents’ chagrin.  There have to be boundaries and I am not comfortable having my kids’ names and pictures floating around.

My son does not have his own Facebook account, (“but Mom, everyone has one!”) He can have the same experience on Edmodo that allows only access to kids in his class.

seminar marketing with facebookI also do not use Foursquare or check in with my location on Facebook everywhere I go.  If I want to let people know where I am, I can just post it.  I do not need the world to be able to track my every move.

And I have also disabled the geolocation feature for all the apps on my iPhone, except for the maps, where it is necessary. If I want to take a picture or a video and upload it to Facebook or YouTube, I do not want everybody to be able to see exactly where it was taken.

Seriously, with geolocation enabled you can exactly see on Google maps where that picture was taken.  That is fine when you are on vacation, but to show off exactly where you live or where your kid’s school is? That is sharing too much.

So before you start marketing yourself and your events with social media, decide how much you want to share.  Although Facebook’s new changes give you the option to fine tune your privacy settings per post and per picture and even selectively share them with special lists you have set up, assume everything is public.  You never know what can change or go wrong to make everything public.

questionsThis may be more of an issue for women than for men, but I would love to know… How much do you share on social media?  Where do you draw the line?  Does this concern you at all? Am I paranoid?

Please comment below and let me know!

For more strategies to fill your workshops and seminars without driving yourself crazy, you’ll want to pick up a copy of this free seminar marketing ebook. Daphne Bousquet, CMP | Workshop and Seminar Expert Daphne Bousquet uses her 20+ years of event planning experience to create profitable event strategies and implementation for coaches, entrepreneurs, speakers and self employed professionals that want to grow their businesses with workshops and seminars. She is the creator of the How To Get The Butts In The Seats Of Your Next Workshop Or Seminar System, a unique digital course that teaches you how to fill your events with your ideal audience.

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Posted in Social Media by Daphne Bousquet, CMP 15 Comments

15 Responses to "Social Media and Privacy: How Much Do You Share?"

  • Melanie Kissell @SoloMompreneur says:
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    GREAT topic, Daphne.

    I’m especially careful about what I share on social media. However, I have two daughters in college who seem to want to share it ALL on Facebook, in particular.

    As many times as I’ve tried to drill into their brains it’s not a good idea to post pictures of themselves, for example, at the beach …

    I get ignored and they slough my advice off as if I don’t know my rear end from third base. If I get any response from them at all, it’s usually something like, “Oh, mom. You worry too much. Everyone shares pictures. What’s the big deal?”

    Aargh!!
    Melanie Kissell @SoloMompreneur recently posted..25 Content Creation Ideas for Your Membership Site Plus 85 Places to Find More Ideas

    • Daphne Bousquet, CMP says:
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      I always wonder what possesses people to post pictures that come back to haunt them. It’s not like there haven’t been any examples of very public embarrassment… Hello, Anthony Weiner!

      And unfortunately, I found out in my previous life as an Olympic diver that there are a lot of nutcases out there. All it takes is attracting the attention of one crazy and your life will never be the same! Keep on your girls and eventually they may even listen. It is not as if you are a mom without any social media knowledge/experience!

  • Chris says:
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    I loved this when I read it in your newsletter today Daphne!

    I recall hearing that some “smart” thieves were hitting the homes of people who were careless enough to talk about leaving their homes for vacation or long trips on FB! It was then that I said, I will be careful about mentioning that I’m at an event but not where it is.

    I also don’t like to share a lot about my personal life in social media. For instance, my birthday is not on FB…by choice. It just seems like with all that we share for our clients and business, there has to be some of “me” left for those I love…

    Thanks for exploring this VERY important topic and in a powerful way, as usual! :)
    Chris recently posted..3 Questions Your Prospects Likely Have About YOU

    • Daphne Bousquet, CMP says:
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      Smart move, not announcing when you are out of town. Of course you can always hire a house sitter! (virtual or otherwise!)

      It’s funny that your birthday is not on Facebook. I noticed that it didn’t prevent you from getting lots of birthday wishes!

  • Lynn Brown says:
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    With each day we are learning more and more about social media and how it not only affects our personal lives but our business too…. it is something to take seriously when it comes to privacy.

    I think it is a good indication that the social sites are making changes and learning from things that are happening. Unfortunately, some things we are learning are from results of awful behavior from predators that are online.

    But as you say Daphne, am I paranoid? Well better safe than sorry and for those that love to ‘get out there’ in the social world, as long as they have knowledge of things that could happen, that is the best we can do for know.

    I too Melanie have our son on Facebook and asked that he be careful of what information he actually shares or posts. But they are kids thinking nothing can possibly happen to them, and this same technology makes it difficult for parents to really watch out for our children.

    Unless of course you just take away their iPod, iPhone, computer and TV!!! lol

    • Daphne Bousquet, CMP says:
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      Better safe than sorry, indeed, Lynn! I know that the social networks are making changes and are learning. However, I think I am more comfortable assuming that everything is public. You just never know when they make another change. Or perhaps they have a screw up and inadvertently everything becomes public.

      Regarding your son, keep on him. I know you have to repeat it over and over again before they actually listen. We have had those talks with our son as well. He doesn’t have a Facebook account, but he does play games. He knows the rules and he also knows that if he violates them, he can wave goodbye to his computer. Yes, I am absolutely not above taking all his electronics away! lol

  • Martha Giffen says:
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    This is a hot topic and one that is discussed every where I go. Personally, I never post on social media sites that I’m traveling UNLESS there is someone at home. I have a real concern for young women, especially college age who are checking in everywhere with their phones. They are alerting anyone and everyone that their apartment is empty, not to mention if they are drinking heavily and posting pictures, etc. It’s a real danger.
    Martha Giffen recently posted..Have You Had This Twitter Shock Yet?

    • Melanie Kissell @SoloMompreneur says:
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      My sentiments exactly, Martha!

      There is an inherent DANGER in participating in social media and I believe a lot of young men and women are choosing to bury their heads in the sand on this issue.

      Sadly, these will be the guys and gals who will get “burned” somehow or some way via an update they post on social media. Of course, by then it will be too late — and they’ll be wishing they had listened to their parents!!

      Lynn,

      It’s good to know you’ve talked to your son about SM privacy and I can only hope and pray he’s taking at least some of your advice to heart.

      But these kids today are pretty stubborn and some of them think they’re above reproach. As if to say … “That will never happen to me.” I don’t know about your son, but I have a feeling my daughters are going to have some huge regrets one of these days.

      Chris, your point is very well taken!

      I’ve oftentimes thought it extremely FOOLISH of people when I see them posting about everywhere they’re going and especially posting when they’re packing to go away on a trip. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.

      You’re right … smart thieves are more than happy to get their hands on that kind of JUICY information.l
      Melanie Kissell @SoloMompreneur recently posted..25 Content Creation Ideas for Your Membership Site Plus 85 Places to Find More Ideas

      • Daphne Bousquet, CMP says:
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        Melanie, I so appreciate your thoughts on this. You, Chris, Lynn and Martha are all very social media savvy women and I am happy that this not just me.

    • Daphne Bousquet, CMP says:
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      The geolocation features really freak me out. To me it is an invitation to stalkers. I know most people are harmless, but you need just one nutcase. Geolocation sites like foursquare are great for brick and mortar businesses, but as a young woman, do you really want everyone to know where you are?

      The real problem lies in the people that don’t know they have those features turned on on their phones and broadcast the location of their kids everywhere. There was recently a news story about people posting photos of their kids online and the producers of the show found the location of the kids, down to their bedroom. Just because they were posting from their phone and didn’t have the geolocation feature turned off. Scary stuff!

  • Karen Fuller says:
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    Thank you Melanie for bringing up this topic. As a second career solopreneur, social media was not naturally in my vocabulary. Althought I new it was a necessary marketing tool, the privacy issue was always a deterent for me. With some fear I entered both Facebook and Linkedin with some coaxing. I discovered that there are security steps you can take and I think initially my sites were like Fort Knox.

    I have gradually lessened my security settings as I have grown more confident in using both platforms but I am still cautious. I too have adult children that use Facebook with abandon. Perhaps it is a mindset.

    I must say that after following Lynn’s blog I have a greater understanding of purpose and now my interactions are more purposeful, yet still guarding my personal privacy.
    Karen Fuller recently posted..Working Through It – Caregiver Strain

    • Daphne Bousquet, CMP says:
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      Thanks for stopping by my blog, Karen. It’s important to go into social media with a purpose and a little caution definitely doesn’t hurt.

      I think initially my sites were like Fort Knox

      That is funny! My approach to social media is to assume that everything is public, even if I have the most strict security settings, which would defeat the whole marketing purpose!). That way I am more careful (and purposeful) with the personal details I share.

      And as Chris points out, it is not a smart idea to tell people when your house is sitting empty for several days or weeks. It’s like an invitation to the burglars!

    • Melanie Kissell @SoloMompreneur says:
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      So elated to see you here, Karen!

      I’m a big fan of Daphne’s blog and I consider her one of my neatest and most wonderful social media friends.

      I felt the same trepidation and apprehensions about social media when I first came online and I had an extra long learning curve.

      But once I made the effort to connect with people like Daphne, Lynn, Martha, Chris, and many, many other trusted professionals …

      I was able to let my hair down and wrap my brain and my heart around the benefits and the joys of social media marketing! :)

      I’d like to encourage you stop by here … often.
      Melanie Kissell @SoloMompreneur recently posted..Are You Hitting The “Reply” Button?

  • Lance says:
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    I completely understand the mindset where this idea is generated and I agree to a certain extent. Boundaries are a good thing and those should be laid down to protect against any harmful scenarios.

    I don’t believe that anything detrimental can come from business oriented social media, however for children and adolescents, discretion is paramount. As long as there is a complete understanding of the security features and your connections are not random and frivolous, there should be relatively no harm expected.

    Technology is wonderful and enjoyable to a point, but for pure casual social activity, a stronger emphasis needs to be made on actual human interaction. The prevalent fake accounts on Facebook etc. is a door to wasted involvement.

    Cheers Daphne and Blessings to All
    Lance recently posted..Coach and Mentor Lance Miller Signs Publishing Deal With CelebrityPress To Release “Champions”

    • Daphne Bousquet, CMP says:
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      Thanks for stopping by Lance.
      As you said “I don’t believe that anything detrimental can come from business oriented social media”.
      I completely agree with that. The key is to use discretion. When we start using social media for business we are opening ourselves up to all kinds of people that may not have our best interests at heart. That is why I try not to expose my kids to them.

      And yes, strong emphasis on actual human interaction is a definite must. It is still much more fun to hang out with your friends and family than commenting on their Facebook status updates!

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