With the rise of Social Media, users need to beware and behave. Whether you’re a public figure or an everyday Joe, what you put out for the cyber-world to see can and will come back to bite you in the derriere. It’s important to remember no matter how “private” the settings are, once it’s put out there in cyber space, it’s there to stay.
Social Media new accounts are on the rise daily in staggering numbers; Twitter gets about 460,000 new accounts daily, there are currently 500,000,000 active Facebook users and approximately 1 in every 13 people log in actively and YouTube has 490 million unique users worldwide. According to Mashable.com, “More video content is uploaded to YouTube in a 60 day period than the three major U.S. television networks created in 60 years.” These are humongous numbers. Social Media is being used by all; professionally and personally.
It is important to be mindful of what you are going to post/tweet before you send it into cyberspace. We’ve all heard about the inappropriate teacher on FaceBook, the relationship that broke up due to FaceBook, the inappropriate Tweet by a celebrity…it goes on and on. I am not one of those that blames FaceBook or whatever Social Media site; I blame the user. FaceBook isn’t breaking up marriages – the cheating spouse using FaceBook to cheat is breaking up marriages. Some of my friends argue that they want to be themselves and it’s their personal page…yada yada yada…I say that may be true, but others can and may see it and think of you differently–are you prepared for that? Tip: Before you hit send just ask yourself if you want your name and message on the front page of the newspaper. Once it’s out there it, we can’t retrieve it. Post smart and safe.
Stats Taken from:
stephenslighthouse.com digitalbuzzblog.com mashable.com
