Benefits and Dangers of Location-based Social Media (Part 2)
The Dangers
- Burglary/Theft
While it’s not extremely likely that thieves are trolling the Web for info on when people leave their homes, the Web site Please Rob Me brings to light some of the dangers surrounding location-based social media. The site aggregates a list of people’s status updates that share their current location – therefore sharing the fact that their home-base is open and ready for the taking. Obviously, the site creators are not out to get you robbed, but they’re trying to bring to make us all aware of some of the dangers surrounding the transparency of location-based social media. It’s a reminder to be smart about what you share online and that it can leave us vulnerable. - Reputation
According to the Reputation Defender Blog, online reputation management is a double-edged sword. In order to protect yourself from Internet slander and promote your personal and professional brand, you have to maintain a strong presence online. However, the more you share on the web, the more you have to work at preserving your digital identity.
They make a great point: Consider what you’re sharing before you post it. If you’re late to work because you stayed out late, will you be able to explain it to your boss? Not if they can see on Foursquare that you checked into five bars last night and were out until the wee hours of the morning. (Solution: Maybe don’t Tweet that info out and keep your location private… or just don’t befriend your boss online.) - Personal Safety
I think the biggest concern with location-based social media concerns the personal safety of minors. In the 90′s we saw sexual predators using chat rooms to target children, the last decade, they’ve used the likes of MySpace and even Facebook; but now we’re allowing our children to use smartphones with lots of fun new apps. Apps like Foursquare. They have access to location-based social media tools and could be broadcasting their locations out to sexual predators. It does happen. I guess this applies to adults as well, but I think one area of caution with the use of these tools is with children. They may not be as choosy when it comes to who they befriend, and may not think through the repercussions of telling their locations to the world. Be sure to talk to your kids about the new technology and, if they insist on using it, teach them how to be smart about it.
I think it’s great to stay on top of the latest trends. I really think that FourSquare is coming up with some great new ways for us to share recommendations, find great new venues and interact with our friends. We just need to think before we share.
See some benefits of these tools in Part 1 of this post.
No comments yet.
Leave a Reply
About the “expert”
Sometimes, just being born into Gen Y can get you coined as a “new media expert” in the workplace. Yes, I’m a classic Gen Y’er who uses Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn religiously; but that alone does not make me an expert.
What makes me different? I want to learn the strategy behind how to use these tools from a business standpoint. So many people are starting to throw themselves into new media marketing/advertising “just to be there” – without any rhyme or reason. It’s called New Media for a reason. It’s all new to me, too. But I want to learn more. So, while I research Web 2.0 strategies, tools and new ideas, I figured a blog of my ideas and critiques would be more helpful in the long run than a droning Word doc. Hope you find it helpful, too!
