Should Schools Track Social Media?

Being that a Twitter threat was a possible warning to the Ohio shooting, the question has been raised “Should schools be monitoring students' social media accounts?” It’s kind of interesting that this question is posed around the same time news sites are reporting that employers are asking to have access to employee’s social networking accounts. In that case, I say it’s a violation of privacy, but in the case of the schools? Maybe not.

When we’re talking about saving lives, I think it’s a different issue. It’s kind of like how the government monitors our online activity to help identify threats to national security. Although this certainly can be abused, I think overall, I’d opt for safety.

What people are talking about with the schools, though, is not really an invasion of privacy at all. They’re talking about having someone monitor online activity that is already public. So, it would kind of be like that person is a student, although they may not be. It would be that person’s responsibility to interact and befriend students online and to decide whether any threats made are legitimate.

The problem with this approach is that there are actually a lot of threats made online, especially among students. It’s a hard job to weed out the ones that could potentially be real. That person wouldn’t have an easy job, and he undoubtedly would be wrong every so often, but I think it would be better to have someone listening to the online conversation than not.

If someone had been doing this before the Ohio shooting, maybe things would have gone differently. Maybe police would have been dispatched to that troubled student’s home before he could show up at school with a gun and create the tragic situation we have come to find out about. Overall, I think it’s a good policy for schools to adopt. What do you think?

What Not To Say on Social Networks

 I’m sort of amazed that I keep hearing about people getting in trouble at work because of things they’ve posted on social networks. Actually, I’m equally amazed that some of my friends and family members post discipline-worthy things on their pages – all the time. Maybe they have private pages and don’t have co-workers or bosses as friends, but in my opinion, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. With the new Facebook timeline coming up, your boss can easily see what you posted before you were even friends. That’s sort of a recipe for disaster if you aren’t careful, but that’s another story entirely. My point here today is that you should exhibit some self control and avoid posting things that could get you in trouble at work. It’s just not worth it. Even if you don’t care about your current job, future employers definitely don’t want to see that sort of stuff either.

Here are a few posts that could get you into some hot water at work:

“Omg, I’m sooo bored.” -- Posting this during work hours? Not a good idea. If you’re bored, maybe you need more work. Or, maybe you just need a new job. A boss who sees this post might help nudge you in that direction – with a pink slip.

“People around here need an attitude adjustment.” – Again, if you’re posting stuff like this during work hours, everyone knows you’re complaining about your job. They probably even know exactly who you’re complaining about. I’d love to shout this one from the rooftops: Your “cryptic” messages aren’t so cryptic; everyone knows exactly what you’re talking about – and it doesn’t make you look good.

“We just crushed {competitor} in sales this month, yet again” – It’s great to have some “team spirit,” really. Just be careful about what you say about the competition. For one, you might be eating your words when you see they're looking for a senior software engineer and paying much more than you're making, but it also makes your current company look a little petty. Instead, just talk about how great your company is without mentioning the competition.

“Check out this picture of my new [inappropriate] tattoo” – If you don’t want people at work seeing something, don’t post it on the internet. It’s as simple as that.

"This is the best concert I have ever seen in my life!" -- Don't post anything like this after calling in sick to work. It's not very bright and it can get you fired almost immediately. 

Facebooking with Mom

Ever since your mom set up that Facebook profile, she has been friend requesting you, am I right? Who wants their mom to see the truth about what they did last night, really? Some kids actually do, and I think that’s rather cool, but sharing your online life with the parents isn’t for everyone. So, you have two options. One, you can keep ignoring it and hoping it’ll go away. Two, you can share only the parts of your profile that you want her to see. Problem solved? Let’s take a closer look.

1. You can ignore your mom’s Facebook requests, but that will only make her more intrigued by what she’s missing. You know the drill; if you act like you’ve got something to hide, people are going to start thinking you have something to hide. According to a recent survey, 73 percent of moms who aren’t friends with their children on Facebook view their profiles from someone else’s account. That’s right; while you think your mom is at work taking care of her ever-important administrative assistant duties, she’s actually spying on your Facebook account. Oh yeah; you can run, but you can’t hide. Does it make sense now how your mom seems to know everything about your life?

2. If you share only the parts of your profile you’d like her to see, you may appease the situation somewhat. But, be careful not to overdo it. Hiding everything but your name and contact info sends the same message as ignoring her friend requests. So, you might want to share your pictures, but not give her access to other people’s pictures that you’re tagged in. That just means you can’t post anything that you don’t want her to see, but it’s ok if other people do (as long as she’s not Facebook friends with them too).

3. Now, here’s the third super-stealthy option that I didn’t mention upfront: Start asking mom questions about her profile. You probably didn’t think much about what’s happening on mom’s page, but there may be a thing or two that she’s hiding from you. According to that same study (mentioned above) 46 percent of moms hide all or part of their profiles from their children. Say what? Time to turn the tables, my friend. Ask her to give you full access to her profile before you give her access to yours.