Best Social Network Site Advice

Creative Commons picture on Flickr by Max-B Josie Fraser offers spot on advice to anyone using a social network. SocialTech: Facebook, MI6 & basic digital literacy

Currently, Facebook is rejigging it’s operation model, simultaneously moving towards a more open platform and trying to make user permissions more understandable, including jettisoning it’s regional networks in favor of sharing information between groups. All this is good news, and I look forward to tracking Facebook’s progress. In the meantime, the best advice I can offer anyone is if you are using any service and aren’t clear about who can see your content or how the permissions work, act as if the service is completely public. Don’t post anything you would mind your mum, boss, colleague or local Daily Mail journo seeing.

Emphasis is Josie’s, but I’m in 100% agreement. My rule has been “don’t post what you don’t want your mom or boss or the (fill in your major media outlet here) to see.” Social networking sites are not built to protect or serve you and your context. It is up to each of us to know that and participate accordingly. In some cases, this may suggest we should NOT participate.