Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Are you giving out too much information online(TMI)?

There is a recent trend afoot that is irritating.  People are telling their social media friends what they are doing all day and all night long. It's called TMI---too much information, and we don't want to really know every move you make.

Do we really need to know your every move?
Let's say you have 2,000 Facebook friends, and 3,000 Twitter followers. Do you realize that all of those people can follow what you are doing at any minute? Well, silly me, of course you do, otherwise you wouldn't be on Twitter or Facebook broadcasting your every move, gaining FREE advertising, promotional value, and FREE marketing!
But do you also realize that ALL of those social media people are not your friends?
Many people just signed up with social media to be in on the action. And then there are the other people who are certifiable nutjobs. They will follow your every move, becoming your new nightmare. They might become your new stalking friend. (Remember the Police song, "Every Breathe You Take?")
There are also the people out there in the cyber world, who are just using Facebook and Twitter to make money. They will act like your friend, or possibly you are already friends with them. They want your business. Therefore, they will be very friendly, throwing in what they did today, and cleverly weaving a business quip into the mix, so that they can do more business , thus making more money.

Watch out for the dangers!
Just to make you aware, when you post something to an online audience, you can potentially reach millions of people. Facebook posts your likes in the sidebar. Friends of friends are able to read what you said. Okay, at least they used to do this, my sidebar is currently filled with boring ads. This means , many people who you do not know are potentially able to read, see, look at what you just said. So if you create a funny, sexy, titillating comment, someone you really do not know at all, will be seeing your post.
If you say, "We are going to Aruba two months from now." Well, some people will be happy for you, some will become jealous and a few, more dangerous types will find out where you live, and steal anything of value from your house. For all you know you may have had your so-called Internet friends living it up in your house for a fun filled two weeks.

Then of course, there's always the scammers, spammers, and email thieves who are just making friends with everyone they can to get more email addresses, Facebook information and online information to scam, spam and steal from you. So, be careful out there, my friend!

Why does nearly everyone think they are a star, baby?
What makes everyone think they have become celebrities? Realizing that celebrities are all over Twitter gaining thousands of followers, their lives certainly are more interesting than ours. Celebrities make millions to make a movie. We don't so all I'm saying is do we have to act like we are celebrities?
Do we really care, or really need to know that you got up early, went shopping, dropped the kids off at daycare, and have a full day ahead of you? Chances are----probably not.
Do we social media friends of yours need to know that you are currently sitting at a local pub with your spouse, drinking a certain alcoholic beverage? No, we don't!

Be responsible with your Internet media socializing. Don't bully your classmates, old friends, new friends. Perhaps the best advice I can give you is don't tell everyone what you are doing all day long. Don't tell your Internet friends when and where you are going on vacation--because--- oh hell they might want to go with you!And please don't tell anyone you had great sex last night (TMI!), or what time you're leaving to go on that vacation of a lifetime----because my friend, I might just show up at your house while you are gone! Copyright(c) 2013, written by Kate Johns, a professional author since 2004.


No comments: