What NOT to do with Social Media!

“What happens in 'Vegas' stays in 'Vegas'; what happens on 'Twitter' stays on 'Google' forever!” -  Jure Klepic
Ever heard this quote before? Although, the quote is sarcastic, isn't it scary?

For the past one week, we have been hearing news about NSA(National Security Agency), PRISM(A Govt. program, where corporates are supposed to provide user's data shared in social media and call records to Govt.) & several other Govt. agencies gathering personal data out of social media et al.

Here comes the question: Why do NSA or Govt. spy on our personal information? What do they achieve, by doing this?
A brief overview -> According to me, Govt. and the National Security agencies have always spied on the shared information available online. Only now, we are getting to know that our data is being monitored, thanks to a Whistle Blower named "Edward Snowden".

Why is this freaking people out? 
Mainly because of over-sharing of personal data in social media.
The impulse to share has caused many of us to unwittingly divulge ourselves in ways that can compromise our safety and security. Social networking sites are not a closed and safe universe. Others may be able to access your personal information without your knowledge. So be wary before sharing any data online.

Why do you think Govt. needs our data?
To protect us from vulnerabilities like terror attacks - Although, that sounds like a kindergarten student's answer, that is very much true!
After 9/11 attacks, The USA did not have any major attacks for 10 long years until Boston happened. Do you guys really think, there were no attempts made in The USA in the past 10 years? Indeed, there were attempts and those were thwarted with the help of defense and intelligence agencies. How do you think agencies get information about a potential attack dated future? It is a no-brainer! By spying(or espionage) on the available/hidden data. So don't you guys think, it is necessary for the security agencies to keep tab of what is happening in the internet world, when terrorists are also going tech savvy?

So now the obvious question: What should we do?
Indian internet users are the second largest online sharers, says a US report on the internet and computing trends. We are likely to share anything and everything online. Hence it is very likely that whatever we have shared so far are spied upon. And do we have a way out? Indeed, share contents judiciously and do not give away your personal details to the public.
Anything that ends up as digital data is vulnerable, and not just to governments and secret services but to corporates and other criminals too.

What not to do online?
1)Anything you share online is public! Yes, even if you say "Share only to yourself". I don't understand - Why would someone want to share information with themselves?
For example, G+ has this option of sharing to "Only me" - God(If he/she exists), knows why?
If you do not want to share information to public/friends/family, why type down the stuff in social media in the first place?
All data that you share online can be saved, retrieved or recovered.

2)Sharing private information to public is more or less like giving key to your private safe. Although, point number one holds good on any given day, do you really think people will stop sharing? Nope!
So let's move on to something doable: Every social media offers security settings to individuals. The first thing that you can do in G+ and Facebook is creating your social circle or groups. This way you can share only to the selected few, when you think the content that you are sharing is personal or private.

3)People get bolder online:  We start talking about Politicians, our Managers, Peers, big shots, creepy customer services, big corporates et al.(Oh, I do this too!) Why do we get bolder online? Is it because we find it cool to be bold online?
The rule of thumb: "If you cannot tell the targeted person whatever that you have typed down about him/her directly, then please don't say it online".
Or at least carry a disclaimer(like I do) that your views are personal and have no intentions to harm or give trauma to anyone. ;-)

4)Do not post pictures of your kids online, if you do not have your privacy setting fixed to display them only to your friends and family.
When I say friends, I'm not talking about the 500+ that you have in Facebook, to be honest with you, out of the 500 - you can only be closer to a maximum of 30. That is the human capacity, rest can be considered as acquaintances! Get real!

5)Do not let children less than age 15 use social media! Just 10 days back, 15 year-old "Nichole Cable" was allegedly murdered by a 20 something, who communicated with her via a fake Facebook profile, luring her out of her home to meet up with him and did the heinous crime. Do we need this?
Parents should be a part of social media to keep tab of their kid's activities online.

6)Never share your full address/location to the public. Also do not tell the whole world that you and your family are going to Mauritius for a vacation, by giving an open invitation for criminals to take a good look at your home.

Having said all the above, I do believe that friends/acquaintances are an integral part of ones life. It is not a joke when people say - "Show me your friend and I will tell you who you are!". You can make amazing friends online too, just make sure they are credible. Use your intuitive judgement before sharing personal and private data.

Image courtesy: Google