Well, its like i have said in the past.
"never expose more of your arse than you care to have shot off."
this means that if someone is a social network user... they should exhibit some social networking responsibility.
every interaction has to be treated as if it were being conducted in public.
If i have told people this stuff once i have told them a thousand times.
1. be careful what you say. Threatening comments, racist comments, comments about your job, co-workers or other people - no matter how mundane the comment might seem to you at the time can be grounds for termination, slander suits, divorces or potentially arrests. Trial cases have been won and lost based on information obtained from social networks. In divorce cases, with child custody at the forefront... one of the first things an attorney will ask for is screen shots of the spouse's facebook status updates or any possibly incriminating pics. At my wife's work, some anonymous co-worker took a screen shot of an off color remark another co-worker made on their facebook page about management at the specific company. they printed the image and it found its way to the bosses desk the next day.
2. Be careful what pictures you post of yourself and other people: think about the christmas party where you got wasted and had someone write on your exposed butt cheeks with magic marker "Burn in hell (insert bosses name) you sorry bastard"? chances are you went home that night in a drunken stupor and posted that pic on facebook (or perhaps you used your mobile device to do this immediately) eventually, there is a good chance your boss is going to see this... or in the very least, the office brown nose will. If this were to happen, odds are you will be cleaning out your desk before the new year. In another case, child custody has been won and lost because of pictures - while possibly harmless and mundane - probably even staged - appeared to put the child in danger. Whether or not the child was actually in danger is not the question... the question is, could the lawyer argue successfully that the child was in danger? the answer, frequently is yes.
3. Guard your information: Once your information is on a social networking site, it is next to impossible to remove it completely. Don't put any information out there that you wouldn't freely give to a stranger, or provide to others in a public environment. When providing contact information, use the "phone directory" rule of thumb... if it can be freely found in a phone book, by all means, post it. This is pretty much limited to your Name, address and phone number (you have the option of not providing either) you provide birth date and other such things in casual conversation in public... so whats the difference?
4. Use privacy filters: It may be argued that social networking sites like facebook cannot protect your information, but thats a half truth. In your privacy settings you can select an option that allows only registered users who are in your "friends network" to view the information you post. This means that if any average joe tried to find your facebook profile for the purpose of steeling incriminating photographs or vital personal information, they would likely find your profile... but would be greeted with the message "John Johnson only allows information to be shared with his friends, to learn more about John, you can sign up for facebook and join his network of friends." -- of course ALL friend requests have to be approved specifically by YOU the user, so if you accepted the serial stalker rapists friend request you either (a) didnt know he was a serial stalker rapist or (b) are one of those people who is clearly willing to accept any and all friend requests even from people you dont know, or dont know well.
5. Behave yourself: Camera's are everywhere. Some cities even post CCTV cameras all over town to maintain a constant veil of "security", cell phones have cameras and occasionally you cannot even tell if the person is texting or taking a picture. Its never been a good idea to act a fool in public... but now that ANYONE can take your picture - in many cases without you even knowing about it - it is imperative that you are always trying to be on your best behavior in public. If you host a private party where you feel things might get out of hand - have a no cell phones or camera's policy. check them at the door, anything you have to do to protect yourself and others if you feel you cannot be responsible around mind altering substances.
6. Don't use social networking, and dont be a pest to those who do. If you feel you cannot handle the 14 whiskey sours without posting pictures of magic marker messages written on your butt cheeks then dont use social networking sites. Regardless of how evil, or underhanded social networking sites may be... or may appear to be... it is still a choice whether or not you use them. If someone is a facebook or myspace user, dont be a pest by constantly posting garbage about how facebook is a super secret CIA project meant to subject users to tin-foil hat proof mind control, or how the FBI has teamed up with alien races to select humans as a food source based on whether or not they sign up for myspace which is really an intergalactic menu. In general... some users knew the risks when they signed up for a facebook account... but most just dont want to hear that garbage.
To most users, facebook is a tool like any other. It allows its users to keep track of family and friends and acquaintances who live in far off parts of the world, or who's mobility or lifestyle is a hindrance to normal contact methods.
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