Every time we make an entry on Facebook, Twitter or any other social media, we are telling our life story in short little increments.   We are letting the world see a glimpse of who we are.  What do your posts and tweets say about your life? About you?  ~Fee

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In her post, What is Your Social Media Life Story, Kathleen encourages us to think about our online legacy, the messages we put into cyberspace that speak volumes about who we are.

Today I offer some practical tips for protecting our reputations and privacy as we navigate the sometimes-confusing information superhighway.

Don’t be shy about protecting your privacy.  If a friend or family member posts something about you that you think is embarrassing or inappropriate, don’t hesitate to ask them to remove it. Similarly, be sensitive to the privacy needs of your own contacts and don’t flip out if they ask you to remove content.

Guard your reputation on social networks. Once a picture or post is out there, it’s hard to get rid of.  While the pictures you posted from your pole dancing class may have gotten a million likes, a potential employer may not be a fan.  Studies found that 70% of job recruiters eliminated candidates based on information they found online.

Know who you’re friending. There are slews of identity thieves out there that create fake profiles in order to get personal information from unsuspecting social networkers.  It sounds simple, but don’t accept a friend request from someone you’re unsure of, even if you have several mutual friends.

Think before you Tweet.  This is scary- the government has archived every public Tweet since the service’s launch in 2006.  That’s over 50 million Tweets a day and there are few limitations on how the information can be accessed and used.  Maybe not the best place to go on a 140 character anti-government rant.

Any suggestions on how to smartly navigate the Internet?  We’d love to hear it!

Sources & Resources- click on any of the links below for more information!

http://www.staysafeonline.org, Social Networks.

http://www.microsoft.com, 11 tips for social networking safety.

Wailin Wong (Chicago Tribune), Twitter goes to Washington- Library of Congress to catalog all public Tweets ever sent.