Social networks provide some rich opportunities to interact and participate with others every daythink of the great people you've met through friends and family members, and through friends of your friends and their family members. This networking approach to meeting new people and enriching your life has been a good social tool for millennia. You've probably relied on the good judgment of your friends whether it was to choose a hair stylist or business partner or to be introduced to a blind date. Taking Social Networking OnlineThe ability to expand your social networks in the virtual world can mirror the benefits of networking in the real world, but there are a few risks to be aware of. In the real world, when you share information with your friends, it is primarily just between the people present at the time. If a record of what happened is kept, it's in someone's journal, or a story retold. In general, the distance that offline information travels is limited, as are the ways in which it can be documented. For example, rarely are photos added to a paper journal or diary; and when do others get to read a journal and vouch for its accuracy? Essentially never. For most people, most of the time, private information remains private. It used to be that only celebrities and politicians had to be concerned about the risk of their private lives being made public. In the online world, your private information and actions can be documented and made public, often by you. Foolish indiscretions once shared with a select group now might be shared with the whole world. Things said in a context that was well understood at the time might take on an entirely different meaning to others. And to an extent never before imaginable, the information shared on the Internet has the potential for full multimedia supporttext, images, video, audio, and corroborating documentation (others' comments that agree or comment on something)documenting your words or actions forever. In a sense, everyone who participates in public social networks is suddenly a public figure. You should consider all the implications that status carries. Taking Control of Your BlogHere is a process you can use to help you and your family learn how publicly available blogs can put the family at risk. Follow these steps to teach your children how to blog safely:
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