One of the challenges of Facebook, I think, is that it so directly brings together the various communities to which you belong. My friends list on FB is comprised of family members, high school friends, college friends, professional friends, FSU people, and other people I just happen to know. When I post there, I'm quite aware of who may be reading. I've decided to not care if they think I'm stupid or frivolous (if I post a silly status update that may not make sense given the context in which they know me), but I am cautious to not post things that could get me in trouble. Still, there's always the potential for awkwardness. My sisters sometimes post things on my wall that I'd rather not have colleagues read. I don't need people in my here and now reading about memories of high school exploits. Etc. Of course, people reading my status updates are most likely to find out about me and my daughter, what I'm eating or listening to, where I'm traveling, how much I hate long meetings, and benign stuff like that. I've probably had updates a few times about having so much grading that I want to poke my eyeballs out, but I've seem updates from students about wanting to poke their eyeballs out because of the papers they're writing so I don't feel too bad about complaining about grading. :) There are many things I would post there for one group or another, but don't because I don't want a certain subgroup of my friends to see it and I don't want to engage in that heavy of a level of privacy management on there (plus I don't always trust the filtering technology to work).
What do you think? Do you have concerns about being on Facebook? Do you do anything about it?
I think most everyone has the problem of "worlds colliding." As George put it on "Seinfeld," when a person's worlds that are comprised of family, different circles of friends, coworkers, classmates, etc collide, these worlds can collide with negative results. Similar to your example of your sisters posting on your FB wall items that you'd your professional cohorts not read.
ReplyDeleteI think it is part of the bargain one makes when one signs up for anything online, especially social networks. If you want the closest thing to separate worlds when online, you have to make the choice to use different networks or different screen names, as well as possibly leaving out photos. Else, you run the risk of some form of privacy being ruined.
I have a big mix of friends on FB. I think being able to see the social side of people, be they peers or executives, helps to flatten the network and makes innovation earlier.
ReplyDeleteI decided about 2 years ago to be totally open. It is too much effort to be different depending on the audience. I'm geeky, talkative, goofy, and have some unique interests. If you have ever been around me IRL you know this is just how I am.
That being said, I don't "rant" about anything in any of the social spaces I am in. I am careful what I post about my family, and take things down if they ask me.
A colleague of mine posted about this on his blog a few months back
I don't post anything on my Facebook account I'd be embarrassed about in any venue. However, I use LinkedIn for my work social networking and Facebook for my friends and family.
ReplyDeleteI have both marked as private and keep them completely separate. If a potential client did manage to get to my Facebook account, they'd know I like to travel, like to go out with friends, and even have a few drinks when I feel like it.
I'm responsible with my words and actions everyday, so I don't see using the Internet as an excuse to stop.
Facebook has been my first teacher in the far reaching tendrils of Web 2.0. After googling my name and being brought to a limited profile page with a listing of my friends and their photos, I was a little freaked out. My privacy settings allow only my friends to see my posts and my photos, but it is doesn't work when your friends post on your wall or put your photos on their profile. One of my childhood friends put a picture of me up as a 13 year old with a vulgar hand gesture, which really annoyed me.
ReplyDeleteThere are certain groups of people that are very comfortable with sharing their everything. Do you think that it is mostly generational? I don't include myself in that group, but I am slowly getting used to some aspects of it.
Welcome to my blog about privacy! :) I'm definitely very aware of what I put on my Facebook page, although sometimes I have complained about my workload, etc. I certainly don't use it as a forum to complain about people, etc. or post anything too personal.
ReplyDeleteToo bad there isn't a way to filter who can see what among your friends.
I'm also very selective about who my friends are. I don't just add people for having "friends." I have to know you personally -- through school or work or activities I'm involved with.
I am a firm believer in not posting anything anywhere that I wouldn't want to see on the front page of my local newspaper. Unfortunately, some of my friends don't feel quite the same way nor do they have a job as visible as mine. I hate "guilt by association" but sometimes postings on facebook by my friends do cause discomfort.
ReplyDeleteCan you believe this story. It seems that even those you should know better, don't!
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/o645k3
I seem to have 2 identities on this blog: charwendel and cw08d. I've confused myself! Any hints on how what method/software/tool to keep passwords and logins organized?
ReplyDeleteMy daughter has askd that I not post too much info about her kids on FB. Someone near them actually had someone appear on their door step as a stalker based solely on info they gained from FB.
ReplyDeleteI too have people from several vastly different groups in my friends at FB and I have found myself editing what I post there because of that and have thought about multiple accounts much like I use a different yahoo email address for each class I teach to keep things organized.