Top 5 Things You Should Not Do On Social Media Sites
There are more and more social media sites popping up every day, and it seems like almost everyone who has access to the internet belongs to one or more of these. Some of the most popular sites include Facebook, Twitter, Google +, and LinkedIn. There are also several lesser known sites and those with very specific niche membership.
While every social site is different in many ways, there are some things that they all have in common. Namely, all of these social sites have certain things that you simply should NOT do when you are using them. There are a lot of social network faux pas, but here are the top 5 things you should not do on any social media site.
1.) Overshare (too often). Sure the point of these sites is to share, but don’t overdo it. You will soon be losing fans, followers or whatever that particular network calls them in no time if their feeds are getting clogged with your updates, check-ins, favorite photos and more. What exactly is oversharing differs from site to site, but take a cue from what you see others doing to set the tone.
2.) Overshare (too much). Depending on the site and how public or private it is, there are any number of things that may be TMI or simply information that you shouldn’t be giving out. A public forum like Twitter probably is not the place to be spouting off about how your house will be unattended all week when you are in Aspen, and pretty much every site isn’t the place to post pictures of your baby’s dirty diapers.
3.) Keep your kids away. There are social networks that are fun and safe for kids, and by all means let them use these with your supervision. The regular social networks for adults, however, need to be off limits. Letting your kid use these sites can expose them to predators, creeps and adult situations they simply may not be ready for yet. Additionally, putting information about your kids and their photos front and center on your profiles still exposes your kids to creeps and predators and possibly even situations that no one will ever be ready for. This may sound paranoid, but these are your kids, so it is good to be extra cautious.
4.) Pick an easy password. There are a lot of scammers out there, and there are a shocking number of folks who protect their social media accounts with one of the top 20 most popular passwords. Additionally, a lot of folks pick names of significant others, their kids, their pets and other things that can be far too easy to figure out. If you have an easy password (or one you use for multiple sites), you may end up with some big problems, not only from scammers who may want to pose as you or use your site to send out spam, but from people you know who want to know what you have been saying in your private messages.
5.) Say something that could get you in trouble. There are many different types of trouble, and they all should be avoided. You can get in hot water with employers, coworkers, friends, relatives, strangers, teachers, spouses and more with social network posts and updates. People have lost their jobs, lost their friends and even lost their lives over something that they spouted off about on Facebook or Twitter. That being said, don’t post about things that you shouldn’t be doing because they are against some rules or against the law. Unless you are trying to stir up controversy, don’t say things that are controversial. Don’t advertise that you are slacking off at work or tweeting during a lecture. Don’t use these sites to air someone’s dirty laundry. Arrests, expulsions, divorces, lawsuits and more have come as the result of something carelessly posted on a social site, so please post with thought and with care.
This article is provided by Kevin Moor who writes for different sites, which inter alias are working to find better disk cleaner.