5 Social Networking Dont's

Social Networking is today what emails were a decade ago. Emails were regarded as the new instant communication tool of the 20th Century, and it was!! Now Social Networking has replaced emails allowing for people to share their interest, pics or gossip with others instantly. With the rise of Blackberry and Iphone and other new mobile devices that allow for internet access Social Networking is no longer confined to a laptop and WIFI.
However with every technology advancement there is a learning on protecting your Digital Identity. 10 years ago it was Virus in emails, email bombs, phishing emails. These still do exist but we are more aware about them and hence avoid them. Now there is the same threat with social networking. We now have to learn for this.

Below are 5 dont's when using social networking sites.

1) Never give out your personal details: Adding birthday details, address of residence or maybe listing you cell number may make you a victim of identity theft. Even giving such information to a virtual friend, you have known for 3 years, could get you into trouble.

2) Never save your passwords on your browser: Now this is a rule of thumb. Simply because you will never know when there is a new virus that extracts these passwords form the browser memory. This again will give hackers access to your online and offline identity.

3) If you have doubt about a user; report them. Don't pass it off as saying "Ahh, maybe he’s a weird guy." Let the administrators make that call.

4) Future careers depend on your digital personality: Numerous articles and surveys have come out, in the past couple of years, about how employers look-up on facebook potential recruits and vice versa. Ensure your online profile is reflective of how you would want to be perceived in the real world.

5) Lastly ensure that the company that runs a social networking site doesn't store your user information after you have opted to cancel your account with them. This was one of the main Issues of Facebook some time ago.

These, I think, are some important points to keep in mind while networking online. If in case you want to follow me on twitter look for @JumpingJulious and would be happy to follow you.