24th
What you need to know about Facebook Privacy
I got really concerned and felt I needed to write up some blog post especially after actually seeing the way some people used Facebook.
Social Network Services like Facebook, Hi5, MySpace, etc are great and I encourage them for networking, keeping in touch and so on and so forth but it starts becoming really bad when you can know what’s going on in the private lives of others.
My wake up call came the day someone who was not a friend (on Facebook) was able to give me the low down about my profile. He told me things like where I stayed, my phone numbers and so on. I didn’t find that funny and went online to tighten my privacy settings. Here’s a revelation: everything you do on Facebook can be seen by everyone who’s your friend (whether in reality of just because you approved their friendship on Facebook) and potentially, just about anyone. I encourage the use of Facebook and so on for connecting in ways the physical world cannot afford due to obvious constraints but at the same time, that’s not a license to tell us that you had quarrel with your girlfriend (or something like that). Once again: everyone can see what you do on Facebook.
SNSs like Facebook can be resourceful in identity theft and very useful for stalkers. If a stalker can know where you like to have lunch, where you work and what your daily schedule is like, the rest is left to your imagination.
I want to assume I have your attention now. What do you do? At the top of every Facebook page is a sub menu labeled Privacy Settings under the Settings main menu. Just in case you want a shortcut, this link will take you there. Explore that page and learn how to protect yourself. You can read more about Facebook’s privacy policy too.
Secondly, maybe you really need to tone down on what you allow to go on Facebook. Don’t use someone’s wall to communicate a private message. That’s what “Send Tim a message” is supposed to be used for.
Please note that I’m also a social entrepreneur and I do as a matter of fact encourage the use of social networks as they have a lot of potential for the users and they do expose new channels that entrepreneurs can take advantage of but however, your privacy is of higher importance.
