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| [Various Social Media Logos] |
How
I’d LOVE to hide on Twitter.
Before you ask why (or what) … I’ll ask (and answer):
“What does this have to do with snapshots or Project: 365”
… quite a bit if you’ve read the last few blogs:
That’s
where I presented the pitfalls of having a profile picture of myself and an actor
and how it led to a bit of a misunderstanding with me and another one of his
fans. She was a French speaking fan, and I had to use Google Translate, and a
slight language barrier.
While
it turned out with a positive ending (she blocked me when I replied to her in response
to her messages to me), it was a wake-up call.
Project: 365 – Privacy and Social
Media
This
blog is where I stated why I preferred using Facebook over Twitter to share
pictures on – highlighting the privacy settings of Facebook, and how I may not
continue the project on Twitter in light of certain events related to “photo
stealing”.
Social Media and Intellectual
Property Theft
This
is where I discussed the severity of something that happened in December 2014,
and why it was a bigger issue than some people thought.
In
this research, it led me to an incident in New Mexico where a woman is suing
artist Anne Taintor for using an old high school photograph with a snarky
message on a flask.
One
of the many articles I referenced:
“NM woman sues over yearbook photo, novelty flask”
“NM woman sues over yearbook photo, novelty flask”
And,
how we can set about changing the “sign of the times …
this will never change” mindset by awareness, education,
vigilance, and privacy.
Finally … the one that started it:
Online Privacy and Fake Memories
This
is where I discussed how the discovery of a modern digital photo was used to
represent kids from “long ago” (circa 1970’s) and one of the people mentioned
in it commented on it to perpetuate the “fake profile” theory.
However,
the blog highlighted bigger problems than someone using it to validate another fake
profile.
I
mentioned how a friend’s Facebook post about the photo highlighted the
complacency a few friends took with regard to online safety and being aware
that some people are not at all who they seem.
In
addition, it highlighted the need for perhaps making profiles more private, and
watching what we share and WHO we share that information with.
This
is where this blog is heading …
I
never give out personal information to people I don’t know. I certainly don’t
post my address online, my telephone numbers, my email addresses. I try not to
show too many family photos (unless the family is deceased) on Twitter. I try
to keep it for public use – things I don’t mind letting out because they might
come out any way or would be out as a result of being in a public place such as
a theme park, racetrack, mall, etc.
My primary profile is on there to interact on a personal level with friends and some businesses, etc. With businesses I share good experiences, compliment service, and sometimes complaints.
My primary profile is on there to interact on a personal level with friends and some businesses, etc. With businesses I share good experiences, compliment service, and sometimes complaints.
I
do have a secondary account which is a business account. I haven’t been using
too much here lately. I’m hoping to begin focusing on that in the near future.
I
save Facebook for family and VERY close friends – sometimes it is family only
depending on the content I am sharing.
On
Facebook and Twitter … I also like to post my “picture of the day” or rather
“Project: 365” photo.
Given
what I learned in December, I’m hesitant about sharing my photos on Twitter. On
Facebook, I have greater privacy controls for the reasons stated here and in
the blogs too.
With Twitter my profile choices are either:
With Twitter my profile choices are either:
PRIVATE
PUBLIC
I’d
like to be to select the “PRIVATE” option as Twitter doesn’t have detailed
options, nor a “share direct” feature like Instagram does.
I run into certain problems if I choose a “PRIVATE” profile:
I run into certain problems if I choose a “PRIVATE” profile:
1.)
Unless people are following me, there’s a good chance they won’t see my tweets
if I were to tweet a reply to them or a general “hi, great service” kind of
tweet
2.)
I can’t interact for the purposes of giveaways (yes, I enjoy those)
3.)
People who want to follow are often turned off by the “PRIVATE, PROTECTED
TWEETS” status– I’ve been blocked as well during the short time I had a “PRIVATE”
account – the only reason? PRIVATE account.
Some
celebrities have even taken issue with those who have “PRIVATE PROFILES” when
you follow them. This I know firsthand from reading a particular celebrity’s
tweets, and no I am not going to name them. They, like most of us, have their
reasons.
As I stated in one of the blogs …
As I stated in one of the blogs …
“that
doesn’t sit well with some potential followers, even famous people. Some have
openly expressed the fact they feel that by asking to follow someone on Twitter
it is an audition of sorts and one stated “why be private if you’re going
to be online”. They feel
you have something to hide …”
Of
course I have something to hide (like others) – but not for the wrong reasons.
Some
people are “PRIVATE” on Twitter because:
1.)
Perhaps they don’t want to share their life or memories for someone else to
steal them (as what I have shown in previous blogs and mentioned here)
2.)
Maybe they have a stalker (or someone who is bullying them) and don’t want them
to know where they live or what is going on. After all, they shouldn’t have to
give up living their life in order to accommodate a stalker or bully, that’d be
re-victimizing them over and over.
3.)
Perhaps it is a military family member who is keeping in contact with their
family/friends back home; or the other way around (OpSec and all)
4.)
It might be a teen’s account and being private is part of an agreement between
parent and child in order to have the account – usually the account is for
interaction with long-distance family and friends; family-friendly
accounts/content; etc.
With
that said, celebrities should know #2 more than anyone. They can always elect
to block the “private” person or simply ask “why do you have a private profile”
before blocking. I’d have no problem explaining why, as most honest people
likely would. It is their choice overall – just something to consider.
They
should also understand #3 as well – after all the good guys aren’t the only ones
who use Twitter or social media. Don’t we all know about “loose lips sink
ships” – Operational Security (OpSec)?
Number four (4) could be viewed as responsible parenting
and responsible use of social media. It should be applauded as a way to keep
kids safe while learning about the “online world”.
Personally,
I would like a feature that Facebook offers: being able to create lists of who
to post what content to. That’d make Twitter better and safer as well. But, I get the point. Some people are just leery of those who want to be private. I get it, but there are cases as to why private profiles exist.
As
I also said in my other blogs, I get that each social network wants to be
different (it’s why some users favor one over the other). When it comes to
privacy, that’s where you can’t have just two choices, it’s not feasible. Even Google + (G+) has
“circles” you could create to post specific content to – if the person wasn’t
in the circle, they didn’t see the content.
In
an age where we’re trying to be so connected, we end up connecting with the
wrong people. In some respect we’re all bullied near daily – whether it be on a
Facebook post about our reaction to a devastating and somewhat personal event,
or something we might feel strongly about … each day someone will get bullied. Privacy
settings help us stay connected to those we want to and stay away from those we
don’t. They are essential to controlling the way we interact and protect
ourselves – even how we protect our family.
Facebook
has greater privacy control than Twitter. Even Instagram has better privacy control
options (at least on the phone app).
For
our safety, we’re told to lock down our social media, but yet we’re ostracized
for doing so or made to feel bad for doing so. As an adult, that is confusing.
To a child? I can’t even imagine where their level of confusion would be with
“lock down your social media, what are you hiding for, why are you being
private while online?” I’m confused. But, I’ve read it. On one hand people tell
you to watch what you post on social media, but they ask why you’re being so
secretive.
That
makes NO sense to me. Those who know me will tell you – I’m pretty darn smart
(even my college transcripts indicate that), and I catch on quickly.
I’ve
had protected accounts follow me; usually there isn’t a problem when I ask to
follow them. Most people approve it within 24 hours. If I send a request and
they accept, fine it’s all good. After all, I can always block them if I don’t
like their content. If they don’t approve my request in a timely manner, I will
block them – haven’t had to do that too often though.
Here’s
how I look at it on Twitter … unless you’re comfortable with me following you
back, don’t follow me. I don’t mind asking to follow someone with protected
tweets. It isn’t an audition – it is in most cases for their safety and
security – and I respect that – just as I would expect my privacy, safety, and
security respected as well.
So,
the next time someone asks any of those questions on Twitter (“why do you have
a private profile”, etc.) … I might just direct them to this blog as it’d take
far too many tweets to explain it.
And,
when someone suggests I protect my tweets, I’ll also direct them here –
sometimes it isn’t as easy to explain as it seems.
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