By: Arthur Cooper
Submitted: 2010-07-26 18:13:12 | Word Count: 664
Twitter is something of a unique experience. An easy to use website allows users to effectively create and share microblogs. Microblogs, or very, very short blog postings are used for promoting products or services as well as sharing information among friends and family. The system is easy to use and intuitive, leading many users to forget about common sense measures that protect them. Twitter safety tips are a must for anyone who uses the service.
The most important safety measure for anyone using Twitter, or any social media site, is being aware of what is posted. Users who post information regarding their whereabouts are doing nothing more than advertising when their home or apartment is empty. There are several sites, most notably Pleaserobme.com which regularly troll social media postings and gather information regarding empty houses. Users who have previously announced their address or other location information and then ‘tweet’ that they are out of town for the weekend are at risk for home invasion.
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Apart from carefully monitoring user postings, anyone who is considering using Twitter as part of their social media packages should be aware of two more critical rules.
1. Security matters: While account security has been a drive since the advent of the Internet, many users ‘fall’ for password scams. It is critical that anyone using twitter, or any password-protected site, protect his or her login information. Twitter will never ask for a password via instant message or email. Users are cautioned to not give their login information to anyone. Doing so is the quickest way to compromise account security.
2. The whole world can see it: While it may be a bit of an exaggeration to say the entire world will see a particular Tweet, it isn’t an exaggeration to say that users have little control over who sees their Tweets. Retweeting means that a users Tweet may be sent to more people than they had originally intended. Users are cautioned to only post information via Twitter that will not impact their own safety or their security. All Tweets should be considered ‘public’ knowledge – this is the best way to avoid posting anything that a user wouldn’t want the general public to have access to.
One of the realities of social media and the Internet is that there are unscrupulous people that will take advantage of the information they can mine from social sites. From child predators looking for vulnerable teenagers to criminals looking for an empty house to rob, social media has become a veritable treasure trove for people looking to exploit the information they find there. Unfortunately, most of these ‘security breaches’ lie with the user, not Twitter. Users should learn to practice safe Tweeting and to always carefully guard their personal information. It is also a great idea to not ‘retweet’ posts from friends or family that contain personal information.
Twitter is a fun and effective way to keep in touch with friends, family and clients. Be sure to take the appropriate steps to keep Tweeting as safe as it is fun.
