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Archive for the 'facebook' Category

Feb 19 2009

Facebook for a good cause

Published by ksumm26 under advice, blog, communications, facebook, myspace, news, nonprofit public-relations career e-news blogging envir, online identity, public affairs, public relations Edit This

It seems that Facebook is all over the blogs and on everyones mind lately. In Maine it is solving crimes and in Georgia there was a story in today’s paper about the whole content/privacy issue.

Not too long ago many people were weighing in on the whole 25 things floating around, even to the point of creating groups to protest. Personally I kind of got into that list thing, but then I only got tagged a couple times. I guess it is because I am a total nerd for the random info in my head (my friends count on me for trivia all the time). This article was a little more positive but still concerned with the amount of info online.

So with all this negativity, I though I would share something positive about this social media tool that may be getting missed in all the privacy/leave me out of the 25 things hoop-la.

So I got a strange request from my boss not too long ago. I was asked to cruise Facebook of all things…on the clock. Turns out as many of us already know, there is this application called “causes” that basically allows you to either show your support for a particular cause, or to create your own. Not only can you recruit “friends” you can also raise money for your particular cause.

The GA state parks friends group as a page, so when my boss wanted me to look into it for our own 501(c)3 friends group I was all for it. After all we are stretched pretty thin….budget wise anyways, as everyone who works for the state is aware of.

If you have a non-profit, what better way to reach out to people than through an online tool that reaches approximately 8 million people all over the world, second in the number of users only to Myspace. Started in 2004 by Harvard grad Mark Zuckerberg, the company offers the ad-supported site to anyone to use free of charge.

So if you are an organization that relies on donations, word of mouth marketing and viral buzz in order to survive, I can’t see a much better way than to take advantage of this awesome tool. Some are worried about credibility and not looking respectable but with our economy in the toilet and non-profits shutting their doors everyday, why not get creative and start looking to what’s out there. Maybe I am just realizing that the old adage is true. If you can’t beat ‘em…join ‘em.

See you online.

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Oct 18 2008

Just how much SHOULD be online?

Published by ksumm26 under advice, blog, bloggers, blogging information, brazen careerist, career, facebook, gen x, gen y, identity theft, media hounds, myspace, networking, online identity, predators, transparent, twitter Edit This

This particular topic is the cause for frequent arguments in my household. With the seemingly omnipresence of the Internet - everyone is online, often living out a completely separate life via social networking sites such as MySpace, LinkedIN, Twitter and Facebook.

At the same time identity theft is on the rise, as well as other online threats. Which leads me to my question….just how much should be online?

I did a post a while back about living a transparent life. While I still agree that networking and having an online identity is good and even necessary in some cases, I am beginning to see the merits of the argument for the opposite side.

Just to stop and to clarify, I am on the borderline between Gen X and Gen Y and have a very active online life. And although I came into the game a little later than many of my Brazen pals. I readily admit that I am addicted to email, blog on a regular basis and really enjoy catching up with pals on Facebook.

However, I have also been the victim of a selfish, unprofessional and slightly vindictive reporter, so I am also aware of the dangers of having too much information available for the world to see.
So how much is too much?

I do not publish under a false name or identity as some bloggers do. I am proud of what I write and what I am contributing to society. Lately though, I have begun to wonder about the world that exists outside my online community, which of course includes my family, my job and life.

There are some things the world maybe does not need to know about. For starters, having too much personal information regarding your family, particularly your children, is never a good idea. As paranoid as it may sound, we live in a different world than our parents did and kids are no longer immune from from media hounds looking for a story, or predators for that matter. And I don’t just mean children of celebrities. It seems that just about anyone can become a person of interest in this day and age and if you have kids, they are considered fair game for that person trying to dig up information on you. So it would seem, that keeping them offline entirely is probably a good idea.

Something else to consider, personal, financial and employment information. This seems like a no-brainer to me, but I heard recently about a fellow blogger who was duped (incredibly so, because she is a very intelligent person) by someone claiming to want to help her with her blog. She had posted information about what she did for a living and even what the salary ranges are for her particular occupation. I will respect her privacy and not go into more detail, but I realize that the only reason she was tricked was because of the extent of the information that the online predator had about her. (collected from Facebook, her blog and LinkedIn) Curious I did a google search on myself and was somewhat surprised about the amount of information out there. I can honestly say that maybe I have been a little too lax in allowing my personal identity to be broadcast to the world.

I often wonder at times just who is reading my blog and am beginning to think that maybe having an online life is not always the greatest thing. I mean, should I worry about mentioning my professor, or my boss? Are they reading and will they seek retribution? Am I worried for nothing?

I enjoy blogging but have been told that I sometimes cross the line with my posts.

I want to continue doing what it is I do, which hopefully is reaching out to other bloggers, PR students, writers, and anyone really who is on the same wave-length as me. I do not want to put my children or career at risk however so I have much to contemplate.

Does anyone else experience this dilemma or have I finally let Big Brother get to me? Feel free to share your own experiences, positive or negative. We are all online these days and a part of a larger world than our parents ever could have imagined. Is this good, bad, or nothing new? Maybe I am a little crazy, but without comments I may never know!

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