Facebook; Use a Little Sense

The problem with Facebook, or any other 'social network', can be best displayed by this real event.

George Bush was speaking to Tony Blair, not appreciating an open microphone.

I don't know if you recall Bush using rather unsavoury language, and Blair shutting off Bush's microphone rather late in the diatribe.

If you hold the image, aware that everything you say, every image you post is seen by every single person on Facebook, you will be more reticent and safer.

I suppose it is obvious that you should not post nude or compromising photographs of yourself, although many people do. They think that no one can see these images but their 'friends'.

If you have six friends and think your images have limited exposure to only those six friends, think again.

These friends also have friends who have friends. Your image comes before a lot of people you don't know. And they can pretty much do whatever they please.

Adjoined with that fact is another, rather insane one; the fact many people seem to have hundreds if not thousands of 'friends'.

This means that there is nothing private on Facebook.

If you do a 'Google' of 'naked pictures + Facebook' you will see a lot of stupid
people in disgusting poses.

You may find it impossible to imagine that anyone could take such a photograph; even if s/he is a $2.00 whore.

Yet, thousands of people take these photos as if they are in the privacy of their homes.

This is only the very tip of the ice berg.

For many take images which portray them as the kind of person you would not
want in your business.

It is an open secret that many employers have their Human Relations staff do a Google and troll Facebook to ascertain the back story for their applicants.

The guy applying for Accountant is discarded when his Facebook page betrays
his proclivities.

Today, before hiring, a search of Social Media is done. Some will ask the applicant: "Do You Have a Facebook Page?"

If the applicant says no, a search will still be done.

What is being looked for are the kind of images and discussions that is NOT wanted in this business.

I can think of a chap who applied for a position in the diplomatic service. His resume was brilliant.

His Facebook page, was not.

The photos he posted there were the kind that were not of the caliber one would expect from a person representing a country.

There are those who post interesting links. Those who may post decent images. But many will slap photos of themselves rub a dubbing, kissing (and more) which suggest the inability to comprehend decorum.

When Personal Computers first arrived, you had to be somewhat of a geek to use them. Nothing was automatic unless you programmed the action.

Hence you would start the computer, get a C:\ (called a 'c' prompt) then enter your instructions.

You could do an autoexec.bat command so that you could basically tell the computer;

"When you turn on, after you do your self checks,
go directly to Windows and bring up Netscape,"

The user who could do this had a triple digit I.Q. and understood the nature of the World Wide Web. Understood that as soon as s/he reached Netscape (a browser) and entered a social networking site, whether a Message Board or a 'Chat Channel', everything typed could be seen by everyone who had access, hence one was on their best behaviour.

Unfortunately, Windows '95 opened the Internet to persons who should not be allowed out without a Nurse. People so stupid that they had to be trained to plug in the computer before turning it.

People all over the world, who knew nothing about computers and the Internet, were now capable of connection. It has proved to be as dangerous as giving a 3 year old a loaded gun.

Pederasts will gather around kiddie movies to find their victims. You know this, you don't let your child go alone.

Pederasts, rapists, criminals, jihadi, and every other kind of sub-human predator gather on Facebook.

You don't know this.

So you let your child go alone. You expose yourself and your child to danger, unaware of what you are doing.

You think everyone on Facebook is normal, decent, in fact, you look at their photo or you read their page and think, "Oh yes, Scott Grant, 25 year old male model who lives in Hawaii. Seems nice."

You don't even imagine that Scott Grant is a 19 year old Nigerian scammer who is on Facebook for the purpose of getting your money out of your pocket.

Of course, Nigerians aren't alone. Jamaicans are overtaking them. And those from Macedonia have a lock on Fake news.

The wisest idea when you join Facebook is to use a pseudonym, a false image, and never reveal anything that could identify you.

Hence, instead of 18 year old Cathy Birbaum who lives at 1301 New York Avenue in Brooklyn, New York posting this, she calls herself 'Birny', (the nick her friends know her by). She posts an image of a puppy as her photograph. And when it comes to 'address', well America is good enough.

Cathy tells her friends that this is her page, and they tell her what name they use. So she knows who they are, they know who they are communicating with.

All the those who view her page, who she doesn't know, she doesn't accept their 'friend' requests.

All those posts which appear on her page from people she doesn't know, (but are friends of her friends) she keeps distant.

In this way she has the benefit of Facebook, few of the detriments.

Facebook makes its money by Ads. It isn't just stupid pop-ups. It is the fact that every keystroke is monitored and every word is analysed.

And the list is sold.

Let me give you an example.

You complain about your car. The next thing is that every site you seem to go to has an advertisement about Cars. You don't know that Facebook has loaded what you can call a 'cookie' on your computer which you will have to physically delete to stop getting car ads.

You can use Ad Block but that doesn't prevent you from being targeted. If you mention taking a trip to the North Coast of Jamaica in a post on Facebook, you will find blurbs from every possible travel agency.

The less you interact on Facebook, the better.

Too many people post images of their families, their address, licence numbers of their car, the school they attend or the office they work at, so that anyone can pretty much pinpoint them.

ONE

So Shelly describes how she is taking a Cruise on Saturday and someone who has been watching her and has seen images of her new house, and knows she lives in Orlando near a particular supermarket, can easily walk along the road, find the house, break in, clean it out, and leave without much risk.

The housebreaker might live in Ft. Lauderdale. He has taken the bus to Orlando, he has done his 'Google Earth', he has found public transport which takes him to that supermarket. He walks the roads, finds the house, waits until night, he completes his crime. Then, he gets back to Ft. Lauderdale.

A week later, Shelly finds all her valuables, including that diamond ring her mother gave her, missing.

Never post what you intend to do. Post ex post facto. Post when you return, not when you are going.

TWO

Jenny had used Facebook in her own name. She sits down and begins to recount her horrible job and express how much she hates her boss.

Her boss is also on Facebook.

Jennie was fired.

THREE

Barry was angry at his girlfriend and posted how he intended to kill her. The F.B.I. monitors Facebook.

Guess who paid Barry a Visit?

The examples are endless.

When you get onto social media, don't use your full name, and behave as if you are at a crowded cocktail party. You don't know many of these people, and you don't want to.

You discuss whatever can be overheard, and you keep it all at arm's length.

Be alert that many people on social media will try to pull you tongue. Try to get you to say something, defend, attack, whatever.

Don't get into flame wars. Ignore them.

When you are asked questions, give vague answers when it is personal. No one needs to know if you are 16 or 61, male or female, your race, religion or ethnicity.

You can always log off.

Just as you can walk out of that cocktail party, you can lock off social media.