May 9, 2011
OPEN Forum Message
Company Culture
Can you recognize signs that your company's culture isn't working? Get advice from the experts on what to look for–and how to fix it.
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We happily and sometimes carelessly post whatever we are doing in our business and our personal lives on the web. We do this through Facebook posts, tweets, YouTube videos and blog entries. Most of these posts are informative and seem at the time, harmless.
But a new group of people are beginning to take advantage of this wealth of information now available online and “mining’ it for their own purposes. Facebook has over 500 million members and users make 140 million posts to Twitter a day! These social media sources give outsiders a cheap tool for a lot of detective work. Since we engage in it voluntarily and usually for another purpose, it is seen as a very accurate source of information.
Here are 7 groups that are looking at every post you make:
1. Employers
Prospective employers are not only looking at your resume but are putting your name into Google to see what added information they can find out. They are reading your Facebook and Twitter posts. They check the accuracy of your resume and accomplishments.
Want to read more about cyber threats? Check these out:
2. College Admission and Financial Aid Officers
Admissions officers check your posts to see what type of student you may be and if you would be a welcomed addition to the student body. College financial aid officers are also matching the information you filed with what you are doing professionally on the Web. Are you saying you have no money, but there is a picture of you in front of “your private jet”?
3. Thieves
Look how Foursquare ended up for Osama Bin Laden. Many of us carelessly post that we are out of town or what our location is in real time. This has been a boon to people looking to rob our homes. Insurance companies are now adding clauses that say they may not pay for a loss due to theft if you posted you were “gone on vacation” on Twitter or Facebook. Also, most social media sites have the three pieces of personal information that can make stealing your identity easy. These include full names, birthday, addresses, phone numbers, names of parents and children.
4. Lawyers and Jury Selection Consultants
Lawyers are now mining the data for potential juror biases that can hurt or help their side of the case. These are now yielding better insights than the ordinary jury questionnaires. Some trial consulting firms such as DecisionQuest actually offer social media monitoring services before, during and after the trial.
5. Lenders
Applying for a loan or mortgage? Do you really behave like you have the assets and income you listed on the application? Are you a spender or very thrifty? Information found in social media about how large your business is and who you do it with are great resources for lenders.
6. Debt Collectors
These people need to find you in order to collect. They can find out if your offline story matches your online story. Are you really unable to pay your debts? What is the best way to contact you to get you to pay (either by phone, email or in person)? Where are you now? What about contacting guarantors of the debt that are connected to you?
7. Government Agencies
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange stated that social media is the biggest source of information for the government. "Facebook in particular is the most appalling spying machine that has ever been invented," He said that “we have the world's most comprehensive database about people, their relationships, their names, their addresses, their locations and the communications with each other, their relatives…"
Are you paying attention to what you post online and thinking about how it can be use?
Check your balance, review recent transactions and pay your bill on the go.
barrymoltz 1 year 0 months and 3 days ago
Excellent add!!