Monday, March 22, 2010

Caution with Twitter, too- just like every other social media

Similar to my last post, in regards to having caution on Facebook based on the groups and fan pages you join, I can say the same about Twitter. Instead, however, I would advise users to be careful not only about what they're tweeting, which is obvious, but about what they're saying regarding certain trending topics.
There are numerous odd and inappropriate trends on twitter that we should stray away from if we're concerned about who is paying attention to what we're saying. As I'm typing this, one of the top trends on Twitter is #dearfuturewife, which has brought up some humorous, but mostly inappropriate responses.
When we're applying for internships, jobs, and other opportunities, we must be aware that everything we do on these networks can be found easily. It all goes to show, that no matter what social media is in fashion at any given time, we must always be, as Professor Strate said in my last post, aware of our "online hygiene".
This is so important as we continue to incorporate the Internet, and more specifically, social media into our personal lives. Only a few years ago, most of us would never think of putting any personal information, opinions, or other ideas on the web simply out of fear.
But with the emergence and expansion of social media, those things we swore we would never do, have become the "cool" thing to do now. Maybe it's cool to brag about how drunk we were last night on Twitter to our friends, but is this because we are now just more comfortable with the web then we were at the beginning of the century? Maybe, but it doesn't change the notion that even if we're comfortable with it, that doesn't mean someone else is.
By now, we're conscious of our behavior on Facebook and MySpace (for the most part), but it doesn't end with these networks. It's the same way for Twitter, and will continue to be so with any other social media that may develop in the future.

4 comments:

  1. Just heard about this in the news: 2 Twitter users who were upset with the passing of the health care bill the other night, tweeted about assasinating President Obama. These users are now in trouble with the secret service, who are pending an investigation against their tweets.
    This shows just how seriously our ideas and actions online are taken nowadays.

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  2. I just heard about that as well. I agree that we must be very careful about what views we express on these social networking platforms, especially at this time in our lives when we are seeking employment. I really do like Twitter and other new media for how democratic they are, but I do think there is value to the way traditional media operates- having an "middle man" editor review what you publish for grammar, accuracy and overall appropriateness.

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  3. Good point. Twitter offers something that many other social media provide, but there must be something else it brings to the table, because it has become so popular.

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  4. It's best to keep in mind that whatever you put out there is public and permanent. Of course, that's easier said than done...

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