Joe Campana (PHOTO: Jackie Johnson)
Most people have a love-hate relationship with Facebook.
The latest issue of Time magazine has a cover story about Facebook and how the social networking site is redefining privacy. Madison-area privacy expert Joe Campana says for the user — even an expert such as himself — simply trying to keep up with the ever-changing privacy policy is a very laborious process. “My rule of thumb is, again, with Facebook, don’t put anything on Facebook that you don’t want others to see.”
Campana recalls how, in the past, Facebook made some changes, and then told everyone after the fact. His advice is to always assume anyone can see your info.
“Even having your information accessible for a short period of time — you know, a couple days while you find out that they’ve made this change — could increase your vulnerability to identity theft or privacy violations, and even your own character, particularly if you’re putting information out there that’s inappropriate.”
Campana says, in social networking such as Facebook, Twitter or Linked-In, a good rule of thumb is to think before you post anything. Once the information is out there, it’s out there forever. In addition to your so-called friends and followers, all that info can be seen by a potential future employer. He recalls cases in which people have been arrested, resigned and fired based on their Facebook postings.
Joe Campana is the author of “Privacy Makeover: The Essential Guide to Best Practices.” The privacy expert also writes a regular column for the Examiner.