Image courtesy of:
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In his book The New
Rules of Marketing & PR, David Scott discusses social networking and
personal branding (2015). He urges
readers that “an important thing to consider is how your online actions are a
reflection of your personal branding” (Scott, 2015, pg. 273). Using Twitter as
an example, he outlines several recommendations on how to develop the most
effective personal brand through your online presence including:
·
Using your real name
·
Listing “the town or nearest city that makes
sense for you” (Scott, 2015, pg. 273)
·
Links to your other corresponding websites or
social media platforms
·
Not leaving the bio section blank and attempting
to be both descriptive and specific in this section
·
Using a real photo of you for the profile
picture
While these recommendation will leave a user with an online
personal brand to work with and project, it will also open them up to real
security threats.
The Chief Operating Officer of Hide My Ass!, (a VPN
solutions provider), points out that “while many people say they want to
protect themselves online, it is difficult for them to sacrifice things like
their level of social presence” (Morrison, 2016). Both Microsoft and McAfee
mention the risks of divulging too much personal information online:
·
“Avoid publicly answering questionnaires with
details like your middle name, as this is the type of information financial
institutions may use to verify your identity” (Siciliano, 2011)
·
“A
common way that hackers break into financial or other accounts is by clicking
the "Forgot your password?" link on the account login page. To break
into your account, they search for the answers to your security questions, such
as your birthday, home town, high school class, or mother's middle name. If the
site allows, make up your own password questions, and don't draw them from
material anyone could find with a quick search” (Microsoft, n.d.)
All too often users on social media tend to disclose more
personal information than they should (we all have those over-sharers in our
newsfeed). The following infographic defines different types of social media
users based on social and security factors:
Image
courtesy of: http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/social-media-users-unwilling-to-sacrifice-social-presence-for-security-infographic/634403
The readings this week show us the importance of protecting
personal information and the need to put a system in place in order to manage
and control security and privacy online, in order to balance what we learned
from Scott (2015) about giving as much personal information as possible.
Based on the infographic, what type of user (Reactive,
Proactive or Realized) do you most identify with and why?
What advice would you give to someone who is new to social
media on ways to protect their personal information online?
Where do you think the balance is between posting enough
pertinent information to effectively create your personal brand online and
putting yourself at risk for security threats?
~Nicole
References
Microsoft (n.d.) 11
tips for social networking safety. Retrieved from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/online-privacy/social-networking.aspx
Mitrano, T. (2006, January 1). A Wider World: Youth, Privacy, and Social Networking Technologies.
Retrieved from http://er.educause.edu/articles/2006/1/a-wider-world-youth-privacy-and-social-networking-technologies
Morrison, K. (2016, February 17). Social Media Users Unwilling to Sacrifice Social Presence for Security
(Infographic). Retrieved from
Scott, David M. (2015). The New
Rules of Marketing & PR. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley &
Sons, Inc.
Siciliano, R. (2011, July 13). 15 Social Media Security Tips. Retrieved from https://blogs.mcafee.com/consumer/15-social-media-security-tips/
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