Share and Share Alike
Facebook’s announcement last week that it will be allowing non-members to perform people searches and opening its listings up to outside search engines caused a bit of a stir, and got me thinking about online privacy. The subject is hardly new, but it seems more relevant than ever. There are endless social networks, professional networking sites, photo-sharing sites, video-sharing sites, social bookmarking sites, and microblogging platforms upon which we disseminate personal information. Is this dangerous? How much of ourselves do we really want to share online?
I think there are various levels, and maintaining a level we’re personally comfortable with is the best way to approach it:
Level One: Bunker Dwellers
A good friend of mine refuses to sign up for any networking site at all, calling them “a stalker’s dream.” This is probably a bit of a paranoid way to look at it, but she is not alone in this line of thinking. Another friend was extremely upset with me one day when he discovered he was featured (blurry, and in the background) in one of my MySpace photos. Never mind that my MySpace page is also set to private, he did not want a single image of himself to appear on the Internet, ever. A bit of wishful thinking in this day and age, I think, but I of course complied with his wishes and took the photo down. Bunker Dwellers do not participate, and cannot be talked into doing so. Trust me, don’t bother, I’ve tried.
Level Two: Lurkers
The Lurker may occasionally log into social networking sites, but does not share their own information. Everyone has at least one MySpace or Facebook friend who signs up for a dummy profile; this way they can join in the fun of connecting with people without having to share information they deem too private. They aren’t quite as anti-networking as the Bunker types, but still aren’t comfortable with putting too much information out for the world to find. Unlike the Bunker Dweller, the Lurker is definitely interested in the conversation, but not quite ready to join in themselves.
Level Three: Dabblers
The dabbler may have a Facebook or MySpace page (definitely not both), and keep a resume on LinkedIn, but they probably don’t have more than one or two social networking profiles, and probably don’t share more information than absolutely necessary. They might have a Flickr page, for example, to share photos with friends, but probably don’t tag photos with their real name. The dabbler is open to social networking on principle, but rather than use it to reach out to new people, they likely play their cards closer to their chest and interact mainly with contacts they already know “in real life.” In my entirely unscientific analysis (ie, just my opinion), I’d say that the vast majority of folks on social networking pages can be classified as Dabblers.
Level Four: Open Books
To use myself as guinea pig, I qualify as an Online Open Book. Maybe it’s dangerous, and Lord knows my Dad sure doesn’t like it, but I share a lot of my life online. I keep several blogs, and profiles on just about every site I linked to in my introduction, some public, some private. My del.icio.us page reveals that I am interested in entertainment and technology news. A quick scan of my Twitter page reveals that I like watching the Red Sox and the Patriots, link often to my blogs or articles about technology and business, and go out every Thursday night with my girlfriends. You get the idea—I’ve elected to share my life with any interested party. Perhaps it’s put me at risk, but the rewards have far outweighed the negatives—at least thus far.
The beauty of social networking is the simplicity. Uncomfortable with putting too much info about yourself online? Then…don’t. Or, if you’re itching to participate, set up camp online but make use of all the protections available to you. Everyone squawking about the Facebook announcement seems to forget that with a couple of clicks, you can remove your profile from search results. Most people reading this right now are potentially also Open Books.
Do you ever feel overexposed?
