How to Use Facebook, For Facebook Users
Using Facebook can be sneaky. One day you’re innocently passing around photos to friends and the next day your grandma’s calling you wondering what a keg stand is and why you have an entire photo album dedicated to it.
The way we post to social media sites—and the way social media sites use our posts—changes all the time. I spend an above average amount of time (not including upload-obsessed college kids) keeping up with Facebook for work, and boy have I learned a thing or two in the process. Here’s how I’ve changed my personal usage to stay a step ahead of Facebook’s constant changes.
Open Vault
Nothing on the Internet is private, no matter how many privacy settings fool you into thinking so. Content you hide on Facebook one day can be mysteriously unlocked in the next batch of site changes. Es no bueno.
Adopt the idea that your witty status updates about your ex-boyfriend and photos of you over-celebrating at a football game aren’t yours—they’re Facebook’s. When privacy, security and site changes pop up, your once hidden content may grace the public space of your newsfeed—or even public—a Google search on your name.
Solution: Check yourself before you wreck yourself (wow, did I have to say that?). Build a mental list of five people from different sectors of your life: an obscure yet sensitive family member; a current or future employer; an ex—of the nasty-break-up variety; a frenemy; your future self. Populate your list with people both on and off Facebook, and with people you’re virtual friends with and not friends with. If you’d be ok with this fun bunch seeing your content, publish away.
Spring Cleaning
Sometimes a comment is funny in the moment and less humorous down the road. Sometimes those photos your friend posted of you aren’t that bad. It’s like shopping for clothes—occasionally you buy an ill-fitting shirt and three years of prime closet real estate wasted later you come to terms and realize it’s better off donated.
Solution: It’s hard to have a spot-on, real time filter of your own life. Pop in your account every month or so with the intention of cleaning out your Facebook “closet”. Delete and detag content that doesn’t fly past your five test people (see Open Vault solution). Resist the urge to privacy protect; you never know how future changes could unlock these gems later on.
Force-Sharing
New apps created daily use your interaction as a way to gain attention. For instance, a new STD app allows users to test themselves for diseases, and also can push results to your social media pages. Um, es really no bueno.
This is a shocking and unusual example of course, but hundreds of apps can collect data from your profile page and can also push data to your profile without constant consent from you. Original auto-sharing consent is part of that fine print you read before accepting the app, remember?
Keep an eye on your content each time Facebook changes. I recently noticed an auto-sharing function, which publishes my location (collected from the device I’m using) under each status update. I’m assuming this data collection was used to auto-build the map that now appears on my profile showing where I’ve been. Is this a big deal to me? No, not really. But a similarly small tweak like this in the future could be.
Solution: Download apps skeptically. Those that may improve your life—like the knowledge of an STD—could also produce sensitive or inappropriate info if shared. And for heaven’s sake, think outside the box. You very well may be able to get the info you’re using that app for somewhere else.
Facebook touts itself as tools to help improve, ease and share your life—which is mostly true. Keep in mind that at the end of the day, all social media sites and apps are a business and have their best interest in mind over yours.
I don’t use Facebook as much as I use to. Following my own rules has stripped some of the carefree fun out sharing. Sometimes I pass up content that I really wish I could share because I’m not 100% confident it would jive with one of the five people I mentally check my virtual decisions by. But with my rules in place, I’m more confident that my content won’t create a digital blow up later on.
The way we post to social media sites—and the way social media sites use our posts—changes all the time. I spend an above average amount of time (not including upload-obsessed college kids) keeping up with Facebook for work, and boy have I learned a thing or two in the process. Here’s how I’ve changed my personal usage to stay a step ahead of Facebook’s constant changes.
Open Vault
Nothing on the Internet is private, no matter how many privacy settings fool you into thinking so. Content you hide on Facebook one day can be mysteriously unlocked in the next batch of site changes. Es no bueno.
Adopt the idea that your witty status updates about your ex-boyfriend and photos of you over-celebrating at a football game aren’t yours—they’re Facebook’s. When privacy, security and site changes pop up, your once hidden content may grace the public space of your newsfeed—or even public
Solution: Check yourself before you wreck yourself (wow, did I have to say that?). Build a mental list of five people from different sectors of your life: an obscure yet sensitive family member; a current or future employer; an ex—of the nasty-break-up variety; a frenemy; your future self. Populate your list with people both on and off Facebook, and with people you’re virtual friends with and not friends with. If you’d be ok with this fun bunch seeing your content, publish away.
Spring Cleaning
Sometimes a comment is funny in the moment and less humorous down the road. Sometimes those photos your friend posted of you aren’t that bad. It’s like shopping for clothes—occasionally you buy an ill-fitting shirt and three years of prime closet real estate wasted later you come to terms and realize it’s better off donated.
Solution: It’s hard to have a spot-on, real time filter of your own life. Pop in your account every month or so with the intention of cleaning out your Facebook “closet”. Delete and detag content that doesn’t fly past your five test people (see Open Vault solution). Resist the urge to privacy protect; you never know how future changes could unlock these gems later on.
Force-Sharing
New apps created daily use your interaction as a way to gain attention. For instance, a new STD app allows users to test themselves for diseases, and also can push results to your social media pages. Um, es really no bueno.
This is a shocking and unusual example of course, but hundreds of apps can collect data from your profile page and can also push data to your profile without constant consent from you. Original auto-sharing consent is part of that fine print you read before accepting the app, remember?
Keep an eye on your content each time Facebook changes. I recently noticed an auto-sharing function, which publishes my location (collected from the device I’m using) under each status update. I’m assuming this data collection was used to auto-build the map that now appears on my profile showing where I’ve been. Is this a big deal to me? No, not really. But a similarly small tweak like this in the future could be.
Solution: Download apps skeptically. Those that may improve your life—like the knowledge of an STD—could also produce sensitive or inappropriate info if shared. And for heaven’s sake, think outside the box. You very well may be able to get the info you’re using that app for somewhere else.
Facebook touts itself as tools to help improve, ease and share your life—which is mostly true. Keep in mind that at the end of the day, all social media sites and apps are a business and have their best interest in mind over yours.
I don’t use Facebook as much as I use to. Following my own rules has stripped some of the carefree fun out sharing. Sometimes I pass up content that I really wish I could share because I’m not 100% confident it would jive with one of the five people I mentally check my virtual decisions by. But with my rules in place, I’m more confident that my content won’t create a digital blow up later on.