With a family vacation coming up soon and my addiction to social media, social networking, and geolocation based apps in full swing, I thought it would be a good time to reiterate some of my helpful tips that I use to keep me and my family safe when sharing information and whereabouts online.
It’s best not to broadcast details of an upcoming or in progress trip via Twitter, Facebook, or other social networking outlets unless you’re perfectly comfortable with the possibility of those statements becoming public knowledge. Don’t promote when you’ll be away or where you’ll be going.
When using geolocation based apps such as Foursquare, Gowalla, and Yelp, I recommend not doing the following:
Check-in at home – there’s no sense broadcasting where you live to those that don’t already know (and honestly need to know) where you live.
Check-in at someone else’s home – if you shouldn’t check-in at your home, it’s a given that you shouldn’t check-in at someone else’s.
Check-in at your children’s school – this is more the paranoid first-time father in me talking, but it makes sense not to broadcast where your children are if they’re not with you. It also makes sense not to broadcast where they might be when they’re not with you.
When sharing your information online, treat that information just as you would something you’d yell across a crowded street to a friend passing by. If you’re not comfortable with the possibility that anyone could find out what you’re doing and where you are (or perhaps more importantly, where you’re not), don’t share it online.
