If you are in Europe – especially in the UK – and have a Facebook account, you will have discovered over the past month a lot of friends coming out of the woodwork and wanting to be your (online) friend again.
In the past we’ve covered social networking and class and an overall picture of social networking (that post, written in March, now looks pre-historic).
But now, the hot theme that just won’t die is back. And this time it’s legal ….
It seems that people are running into the legal complications of living a life online that is less circumspect than their real lives. And their employers are running into hot water for checking up on them using the same tools.
Thomas Otter’s post on this is great, and packed with excellent references, particularly about the legal ramifications for employers of snetworking (sorry, I couldn’t resist that).
And a hat tip to Neil Matheson for this Guardian article on Oxford University graduates stung for revealing more than they should on Facebook. Maths and philosophy student Alex Hill is facing a university disciplinary hearing as a result of photographs posted on a private section of Facebook. She says:
It’s quite unbelievable and I am very pissed off, [I] just hope that no-one else gets ‘caught’ in this way.
This is just silly. Alex should have spent less time getting trashed, and more time reading the rules of social networking self-protection I posted some time ago. Here they are again, but with highlights so that you can squeeze them in before another bout of alcohol-fuelled high jinks that would warrant an ASBO in Splott or Toxteth:
The Four Rules of Social Networking Self-Protection
1. Caches never die
Caches never die – and neither will those pictures. In five years’ time the person interviewing you for that dream job will see them. Will they still want to hire you afterwards?
2. Don’t embarrass your mum
We all know that our friends and relations do daft things. But we don’t like to be confronted with the evidence. You aren’t any different. Your mum certainly isn’t. Don’t let that nasty Mrs Scroggins from next door show her the other side of her offspring by leaning over the fence with a sordid print-out in her hand.
3. Claim your name
You may never use it, but if you claim your name on a social networking tool and cybersquat it, nobody else can use it to impersonate and defame you, either.
4. Assume that everyone sees everything
If you don’t get this, I’m not going to explain it. Just do it. It’s easier that way.
Okay, I’m being light-hearted about this, but it’s a serious issue. Once your information is online, it’s there forever, and you don’t know where it’s going to end up. I’m no conspiracy theorist, but I found this view of Facebook disturbing.
So, if you are snetworking professionally, or considering introducing snetworking to your organisation for learning and development purposes, you might just consider using the 4 rules as part of the implementation.
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