The Word of Bowers You don't have to agree with me, just accept I'm probably right.

Social networking and privacy

Privacy is dead, and social media hold the smoking gun. -Pete Cashmore, 10/28/09, CNN.com

I love the Internet.  It truly is a wonderful place.  Thanks to a computer and a high-speed internet connection, I can keep up to date on what's going on in the world, how my favorite athletic teams are doing, and I can research just about any topic to ever cross my mind.  In the last several years, we've developed the ability to stay updated on our friends' lives more easily: Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc. have allowed us to learn more about our peers than we ever thought imaginable.

However, it's because of this that many people forget a very valuable lesson: it's still the Internet.

I first got on the Internet around the time I got to high school, thanks to non-traditional means.  (Sega Saturn NetLink or WebTV, anyone?)  It was at this point I gained the desire to put myself on the internet by starting my own Web sites.  Of course, I really didn't have much to offer except a few pictures an an "online journal."  It was basically a blog without the cool interface to create it.  Back in those days, I wrote about whatever I wanted: school, friends, problems, etc.  It was then I discovered I really enjoy writing, but I also had a tendency of writing too much.  It didn't hit me at the time that maybe I shouldn't be writing about my "relationship issues" or why I was mad at the drama club, even when people got mad.  It's my personal Web site, I thought.  Nevermind the fact it was on the Internet and I made sure other people knew it was on the Internet.  It's a mindset that went away shortly after I got to college, with a few painful exceptions. 

Sadly, most people still haven't gotten the memo. 

Most of you probably remember the uproar over Facebook's news feed being introduced.  (Here's the group that started the revolt if you don't remember.)  So many people complained: "I don't want everyone to know my business.  It's my personal life."

Here's a suggestion: if you don't want something to get out there, don't put it on the Internet.

Ben Parr, the student who started the popular "Students against Facebook News Feed" group several years ago, wrote last year about how privacy has evolved things to Facebook.  He argues that people are more comfortable than ever broadcasting their life over the Internet, which can be both good (e.g. connecting with old friends and family members) and bad (e.g. when current or potential employers discover something they shouldn't).  But Parr offers a pretty good piece of advice:

The thing we’ve realized is that we still have control over our privacy. It’s called choice. If you’re uncomfortable with speaking to people digitally, you can decline to sign up for those social media websites. Or you update them differently than others. I can either block relationship updates from News Feed or, in my case, I just never update about it.

He's right on with that.  Thanks to social networking, 500 of your "closest friends" can know within minutes if you have a new job, if you're engaged, if you just had a baby, or if you just went to the bathroom.  But that doesn't mean you have to share this information.  You have the choice to share as much personal information as you want.  Or, for that matter, as little as you want.

So go, my friends.  Broadcast your life as much as you want.  Just remember that it's the Internet, and you never know who may viewing your broadcast.