Tell me about Facebook?

[daisy1234]

Do you social network online? IS it safe??? I have been invited to veiw friends pictures on Facebook this past week....It has been a mystery until recently!

[LarsMal]

I just joined a couple months ago. I have been very selective about the friends I accept. I don't know how, but somehow my account won't let anyone just add me as a friend. I've gotten emails from friends saying they found me, but it says they can't add me. I don't know why that is, but I like it!!!

As far as photos, I always choose the "only friends" when it asks who can view them.

I was very hesitant to join, but I *think* it's okay. Although, I will say, when DH was going through his interview for his security clearance, they told him he's not "allowed" to have any of those social network accounts. Maybe they aren't as safe as we think!!

[Melaine]

I do think it is relatively safe, but you have to be really careful to get your settings right. For instance, I didn't really understand at first that there are several options for posting pictures. The options are "everyone can see", "only my friends can see", or "friends of my friends can see", and things like that. I'm not at all keen on the idea of meeting new people through facebook....I just stick to people I know and would actually talk to in real life. I love it for keeping up with friends and family and re-connecting with old friends too, but I have no desire to meet new people. Like, someone with my same name asked to be my friend because she thought it would be fun. I think it would be fun too, in a way, but I am not going to be friends with anyone I don't know IRL because my kids' pictures, etc. are posted on there, ykwim? that just doesn't seem safe at all....but as far as facebook itself being safe, I hope it is....!

[citymama]

If you join, spend a bunch of time modifying and editing your privacy/security settings to make sure you're as private or public as you want to be! I am uber-private, and I like it that way.:)

[bethie_73]

I was very hesitant to join, but I *think* it's okay. Although, I will say, when DH was going through his interview for his security clearance, they told him he's not "allowed" to have any of those social network accounts. Maybe they aren't as safe as we think!!
I hadn't heard that, although DH isn't a facebook member and he is just doing his renewals this year and next. I should ask him.

[MontrealMum]

If you join, spend a bunch of time modifying and editing your privacy/security settings to make sure you're as private or public as you want to be! I am uber-private, and I like it that way.:)

:yeahthat: ...and all of the above.

If you keep if fairly private, it's as "safe" as anything else online. Nothing is *totally* safe from hackers or whatever, but I think you're relatively OK if you keep your privacy settings pretty high. The issues people have run into have been in job interviews where interviewees have posted racy pictures, or inappropriate material on their pages and have lost out on job opportunities. The definition of "inappropriate" can be quite broad. Many companies have been on to Facebook and Myspace for awhile - they set up dummy accounts to suss out workers and candidates, so when you post, comment, put up pics or links, keep in mind "would I be embarrassed by this?" or "could this be misconstrued?". Also, FB faced quite a lot of criticism last year for things not being actually deleted. As in, you had an account, and "closed" it...but it was not actually gone. They *said* that they were going to change that, I don't know if they have or not.

[LarsMal]

I hadn't heard that, although DH isn't a facebook member and he is just doing his renewals this year and next. I should ask him.

Maybe I shouldn't have put "allowed" in quotes! They asked him if he had social network accounts and he said he had signed up for FB at one point, but never logged in again. The guy said, "Well don't, and don't join any others either."

This was for high level clearance, so maybe it varies for the type of clearance you get.

[theCAS]

Just adding another post to agree with what everyone else has said. You manage your own privacy settings so you control who can see what. It's a great way to connect and reconnect with friends.

[amldaley]

I use FB on a daily basis and love it. It is easy to use one-handed while nursing! Lots of clicking and typing in short bits.

It is as private as you make it - you have to add someone as a friend then they approve or confirm the request before they can see your profile content. I only approve people I know IRL - has been wonderful reconnecting with old friends. DH is military, so we are far from home - this helps!

I play games while nursing like scrabble and communicate w/ the outside world (all my working friend use FB while at work!) I find it much easier to use and less creepy than MySpace.

It is free, but nothing is really free. Your content is scanned for targeted advertising. Funny, as I use the word nurse for BF, so I have a ton of nursing school ads and ads for scrubs etc. I have the word "photography" in my profile, so it shows camera ads. I talk about my dd, it shows baby stuff.

As for pp mentioning dh getting a security clearance, I wouldn't worry about it. His interviewer was probably being overly safe. As long as he isn't posting sensitive info or bragging about his job, it isn't an issue unless he is an abduction, political prisoner, pow or blackmail risk. For military personnel and DoD civilians and contractors deploying to war zones, it is a good idea to suspend the account. God forbid it be used against a POW. Yes, it can be hacked.

For the average mommy, it is safe. I don't put our phone number on, my birth year, our address, plans, dates etc. Be sensible in how you use it - just like anything else.

[scrooks]

I was freaked out too by everyone being able to see my photos but I just joined recently and really love it. I think I have my privacy settings correct. I love it because I am communicating with family and friends I haven't seen in years!

[farsk]

I use social networks, including Facebook, during the course of my work with criminal intelligence. Your account is private, but there are many ways that those motivated to do so can see your account. I'm listing the tricks I use so that you can keep yourself safe:

1. Sending a message: I'll often send a simple message like "I'm looking for a 'Charlie Sheen' that I went to college with in Kentucky. Are you him?" Chances are excellent that they'll message you back, and if they've not changed the privacy settings on the account, you gain limited access for ONE MONTH.

2. View the friends list: Then make a duplicate account of one of their friends. Request to be added as a friend with a lame excuse that they were deleted by mistake. Most people add without investigating.

3. BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN YOU TAG A PHOTO: There are times when you'll tag a child or something to the parents account or whatever. There is a way to take the tagged photo and manipulate the URL so that you have access to the entire contents of that album, and not just the picture that you've tagged. You'll want to pay special attention to if the person you're tagging has more relaxed privacy settings.

I have several investigative accounts, but no personal accounts. They're not fool proof, but if someone were motivated, almost every privacy feature can be defeated.

[teedeedee]

I just joined a couple months ago. I have been very selective about the friends I accept. I don't know how, but somehow my account won't let anyone just add me as a friend. I've gotten emails from friends saying they found me, but it says they can't add me. I don't know why that is, but I like it!!!

As far as photos, I always choose the "only friends" when it asks who can view them.

I was very hesitant to join, but I *think* it's okay. Although, I will say, when DH was going through his interview for his security clearance, they told him he's not "allowed" to have any of those social network accounts. Maybe they aren't as safe as we think!!

My DH had to do his clearance recently too. What he was told was to make sure you've really set all the privacy settings to their max and to not list your affiliation anywhere on it. In other words make your page very "vanilla" and don't call attention to or discuss your affiliation with the military. Also, be careful with giving too much personal info.

Other than that, just be careful because it's SO ADDICTIVE!!!

[wolverine2]

I just signed up so I could connect with some far away friends, and I've enjoyed seeing their pictures, but the whole thing does make me a little nervous. I have fooled around with the security and I think I've done it right, but could someone say what settings to change so that it is the most secure? What about the profile photos- so many people seem to have pics of their kids or whole families, and that makes me nervous too...

[BeachBum]

I just joined....fun so far.

I have a question though. I don't want anyone except friends to see my profile info. How to I set the security to make sure that is what is happening. I'm having trouble figuring out how.

[caleymama]

I use social networks, including Facebook, during the course of my work with criminal intelligence. Your account is private, but there are many ways that those motivated to do so can see your account. I'm listing the tricks I use so that you can keep yourself safe:

1. Sending a message: I'll often send a simple message like "I'm looking for a 'Charlie Sheen' that I went to college with in Kentucky. Are you him?" Chances are excellent that they'll message you back, and if they've not changed the privacy settings on the account, you gain limited access for ONE MONTH.

2. View the friends list: Then make a duplicate account of one of their friends. Request to be added as a friend with a lame excuse that they were deleted by mistake. Most people add without investigating.

3. BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN YOU TAG A PHOTO: There are times when you'll tag a child or something to the parents account or whatever. There is a way to take the tagged photo and manipulate the URL so that you have access to the entire contents of that album, and not just the picture that you've tagged. You'll want to pay special attention to if the person you're tagging has more relaxed privacy settings.

I have several investigative accounts, but no personal accounts. They're not fool proof, but if someone were motivated, almost every privacy feature can be defeated.

Excellent post. I am on FB but it took me a long time to get up the nerve to join.

[caleymama]

I just joined....fun so far.

I have a question though. I don't want anyone except friends to see my profile info. How to I set the security to make sure that is what is happening. I'm having trouble figuring out how.

On the top of the screen to the right of your name is a "settings" tab. Select "privacy settings" from the drop-down menu. Then click on "Profile." From there you will be able to select who can see or not see the various parts of your profile. Save your changes (at the bottom) when you are done. Then go back to the "privacy settings" page and check your "search" settings and so on. HTH

[MontrealMum]

I just joined....fun so far.

I have a question though. I don't want anyone except friends to see my profile info. How to I set the security to make sure that is what is happening. I'm having trouble figuring out how.

1) click on Settings in the banner across the top, a drop-down menu will open, choose "privacy settings". This will bring up a page with 4 options.
2) click on Profile and you can select your choice from the drop-down menu; you probably want "only friends" but you can customize as well
3) click on Search to control who can search for you. For instance, I used to have this on "only friends", but have now opened it up to "friends of friends". You can also tick "highschool networks" "regional networks" as well, it's your choice.
4) at the bottom of the Privacy Settings page there is an option to block people. I have blocked exes that I know are on FB, and also people on my friends' friends lists that I don't want to deal with.
5) aditionally, you want to go to the application tab in the lower left hand corner anytime you add an application. Click Applications and chose "edit" from the top of that menu. This will bring up all your applications. You need to do this because when you add something it automatically chooses "my networks and friends" under the profile tab, and will also automatically choose "publish stories" --- you need to manually change this each and every time.

The tagging thing is an important thing to remember too. And when you comment on someone's photo, it shows up on your page for everyone you've allowed to see - whether they have access to that person's pages or not. So that will work in the reverse too. Think about that when posting photos if you don't want to be found.

Like other pp have said, no, it's not entirely private. But you can control it to some degree, and you have to watch what you post - i.e. LarsMal's current FB thread.

ETA - I see I was too slow!

[caleymama]

ETA - I see I was too slow!
But you were much more thorough! :thumbsup: Your #5 is a very good one that I forgot to mention.

[wolverine2]

1)
The tagging thing is an important thing to remember too. And when you comment on someone's photo, it shows up on your page for everyone you've allowed to see - whether they have access to that person's pages or not. So that will work in the reverse too. Think about that when posting photos if you don't want to be found.

I'm a little confused...
Is there any way to get rid of the tag? Or request that people not tag you?
Is there any way to control where your comments show up? Does my photo actually show up on someone else's page if they've commented on it, even though I only allow friends to see my photos?

[MontrealMum]

I'm a little confused...
Is there any way to get rid of the tag? Or request that people not tag you?
Is there any way to control where your comments show up? Does my photo actually show up on someone else's page if they've commented on it, even though I only allow friends to see my photos?

I honestly don't know the answer to that, and I'm considering taking my pictures down, or really tightly controlling who I allow to view them (you can chose "customize") because of it. It's something that I've only recently noticed, and it worries me.