Social media security has become a hot topic in today's internet society and is not something to brush off. As we continue to grow and manage our social media sites across various platforms, it is even more important to focus on security. Social media security is making sure that you are protecting your identity online, mainly in the form of secure passwords and privacy settings, but also by closely monitoring and being aware of what you share online. To think you will completely anonymous online using social media is naive.
Social media policy is a set of guidelines and rules that companies can create in order to provide safety to their employees and themselves. Below is an infographic provided by PayScale via Mashable in an article by Lauren Hockenson (2012) that describes how companies felt about social media at the time.
Hopefully the attitudes have changed somewhat throughout the years and more companies today have policies as they are important to employee and company security. If you are looking for a job and do not have LinkedIn, shame on you!
5 Quick Tips to Social Media Security
To help you easily navigate social media security and better understand why your company's internet policy is in place and important to follow, please follow these guidelines:
1. Privacy Settings are Your Best Friend - Privacy settings are there for a reason and should be used extensively. Like your best friend, get to know and understand your settings so that you can know their limits and purpose. Also, friends can change overtime, and so can your social media sites settings, so take time to look into any new updates.
2. Different Site, Different Password - One security breach can multiply if you let it. Don't let it! Make sure you have different passwords for your social media sites, online banking, credit cards, store accounts, etc. Stop a thief in their tracks.
3. Would You Look Back at This and Regret It? - When posting anything online, think of the consequences and your audience. Would a future employer want to see you dancing on that bar? Does using profanity really make that post more compelling? Would you want to take that post back? Too bad, once posted, always posted. Take time to understand what you are posting and to whom the post will go to. Be kind if you expect that from others. Know your company's social media policy before mentioning them in a post, because they could be watching too.
Personal Example: I was about to study abroad and found out the school I was going through for the program had this nifty networking site. I promptly created a profile, uploaded a bunch of pictures and starting commenting and leaving messages left and right. About 6 months later, I decided to Google myself to see what would come up (which is tip #4). All of my pictures, messages, and information I uploaded onto a college program website were at the top of the results and pictures! If I had not checked, I would have shared a bit more with the companies I had planned on interviewing with than I had liked. If I had followed tips 1 and 3, this would not have happened.
4. Google Your Name Regularly - This is a personal tip, but I feel it is useful in that you can see what others may see if they tried to search you. It may help close security gaps like in my example or help you identify any frauds.
5. When in Doubt Close it Out - Website look a little different than you remember? Is their a strange password prompt or something asking for more information than you feel comfortable giving? Close it out and walk away. As more advanced hackers are coming forward with new schemes, they best policy is to stay away from anything you feel uncomfortable about.
Conclusion
Social media is a great tool if used wisely. Companies should not be scared of social media and create policies that limit all activity, as that may infringe on our constitutional rights if not designated properly to narrow constraints (Collins, 2012). Allowing employees to understand what is expected of them via social media verses limiting it all together not only boosts moral but creates open communication in which problems that may be aired publicly, revert to their proper outlet such as HR.
As we continue to use social media, it is always important to be aware. Awareness is critical, as it will allow us to better spot when things just aren't right and allow us to move comfortably through the internet. For this post I used an array of sources about social media security, all listed below, and there are many more resources if you ever have concerns.
References
Collins, Jillian M. NRLB Report: Employers' Social Media Policies Must be Narrow, Must not Restrict Right to Engage in Protected Activities. February 1, 2012. Retrieved from http://www.natlawreview.com/article/nrlb-report-employers-social-media-policies-must-be-narrow-must-not-restrict-right-t
Hockenson, Lauren. How Employees Really Feel About Social Media [Infographic]. June 10, 2012. Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2012/06/10/employer-social-media/
Social Media Safety. Social Networks. 2014. Retrieved from http://www.staysafeonline.org/stay-safe-online/protect-your-personal-information/social-networks
Stern, Joanna. Safer Internet Day: 10 Tips to Protect Yourself Online. February 4, 2013. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/safer-internet-day-password-online-shopping-internet-safety/story?id=18404839
Whittaker, Zack. September 2011: The Definitive Facebook Lockdown Guide. September 4, 2011. Retrieved from http://www.zdnet.com/blog/igeneration/september-2011-the-definitive-facebook-lockdown-guide/12641.
Courtney,
ReplyDeleteI like the question in your post about whether or not someone would regret what they are posting on social media. I have had too many friends alienate many people due to political rants and "hot button" topics on social media. While everyone is entitled to state what they believe, the residual impact of unthoughtful postings can damage relationships and tarnish an individuals or companies reputation. Given our inundated social media crazed culture, I think it's an important skill to "think before you post."
"In fact, out of 3.9 million users studied, 71 percent censored their own posts, meaning they typed at least five characters before deciding against posting" (Wagstaff, 2013). A great deal of people are paying attention to the reality of their posts, as indicated by this statistic. However, many posts do find their way on the digital landscape, where it's virtually impossible to erase the evidence of something someone might want removed.
Because of the vulnerability of using social media in a business/organizational context, do you feel that social media managers are constantly worried about their jobs due to the impact of negative social media exposure, or is that not a reality you have found in the workplace today?
References:
Wagstaff, K. (2013, December 17). Think before you post? 5 reasons people self-censor on Facebook. Retrieved February 26, 2014, from NBC News website: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/think-you-post-5-reasons-people-self-censor-facebook-2D11759816utm_content=buffer4237b&utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer
Issac,
DeleteGood to know that the majority of people do edit their own posts before sending them out. I looked into my history on Facebook for the last several months and noticed I haven't updated my status as much as I used to. Maybe I am being a little too critical!
I am not a social media manager, but I feel that the volatile nature of social media is expected and as long as the right procedures are in place and constantly updated, manager should have no need to worry too much. I found this great article on Digiday that interviewed some social media managers to get their take on what they deal with in this new and ever growing role, here is the link to it!
http://digiday.com/brands/really-like-social-media-manager/
Hi Courtney,
ReplyDeleteSuch a great suggestion to Google yourself every once in awhile. Beyond what you experienced, which is also alarming, it could help catch identify theft. In general, these practices help ensure people maintain their privacy online as much as they want to face-to-face. You don't let random people into your home, why would you invite them into your social networks?
Great post!
Sabrina
Courtney,
ReplyDeleteYour focus on companies’ perspectives on the usage of social media is interesting. After reading your blog, I wanted to share the nonprofit perspective of social media use. “Facebook is the most widely used social media platform by non-profit charitable organizations and trade associations, according to a recent survey” (Brown, 2014).
I have come to realize that social media usage is definitely industry specific. Do you recall that example someone posted on our Facebook page about a retailer letting a teenager Tweet on their behalf? As you mention we don’t want to hold back our employees, but we want to exercise good practice. I think that each industry should have a set of guidelines of appropriate behavior for personal and private usage. A useful database of social media policies can be found here: http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies/
But I think this needs to be taken a step further and provide guidance for each industry. I think it would benefit the organizations but also help regulate some of the policies. Some agencies like the Red Cross have already broken their policies guidelines, one for the main organization and another for local branches.
Do you think breaking these apart or creating industry specific usage policies would create more confusion? Or provide a baseline of principals for each to follow?
-Becky
Reference:
Brown, E. (2014, February 19). Facebook beats twitter, linkedIn and youtube for non-profit social media platforms. Retrieved February 27, 2014, from ZDnet: http://www.zdnet.com/facebook-beats-twitter-linkedin-and-youtube-for-non-profit-social-media-platforms-7000026510/
Becky,
DeleteI feel that having industry specific guidelines would create a lot of confusion. Companies are going to want to control policies. Take for instance having a guideline for the food industry. What works for the General Mills would not work for a start-up local bakery. What works for a domestic company, would not work for an international company. Each company would have to change the guidelines, so as much as it would be nice to have a starting point, I feel that with the nature of the internet and social media, they will change so much and be applied so differently that it wouldn't be worth while.
What I do think would work are guidelines like those mentioned in our readings that revolve around industry specific governmental guidelines. As the government works hard to control the information online, having guidelines like these would be helpful. Would this be something that would help with non-profits?
Yes, it would be incredibly helpful. We deal with so many issues revolving around privacy as it is, that there needs to be standard. Just like the HIPPA guidelines, we need a social media guideline that will suit all of us trying to raise funds for diseases. In particularly we need these guidelines to help us formulate policies and procedures for usage. It's such a sensitive subject when talking about healthcare, treatments, clinical trials and we need some guidance to help our community the best way we possibly can.
DeleteAfter reading your response, I understand the confusion it would start for those industries, but maybe when it comes to healthcare and treatments we could benefit from guidelines to do just that- guide us in creating our own policy.
Thank you for the great feedback. Lets keep brainstorming how we can provide resources to those smaller nonprofits...this is a huge help for me.
-Becky
Hi Courtney,
ReplyDeleteSearching your name online is so important that even Google has a “Manage your online reputation” section of their help page.
1) Search for yourself
2) Create a Google profile
3) Remove unwanted content and the associated search results
4) Get notified when your personal data appears on the web
Check out Google’s tips here: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/1228138?hl=en
Of course, creating a Google profile is more a marketing scheme for them but the other tips are useful. Google has features that allow you to set up notifications when something is posted about you in their “Me on the Web” dashboard and gives you directions on how to remove a page from Google’s search results (Google, 2014). Even if the content is now owned by you (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) you can still maintain some control over what is out there about you. I know that control makes me feel at least a little better! In your example with your pictures, were you able to immediately delete them or was it a bit more of a hassle since it was now part of the college website?
Thanks for the helpful tips!
Meagan
References:
Google. (2014). Manage your online reputation. Google. Retrieved February 27, 2014 from https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/1228138?hl=en.
Hi Courtney,
ReplyDeleteI like the infographic you included on whether employers “like” social media. I found it really interesting that more small companies (57%) have a social media policy in place than large companies (47%). My initial thought was that smaller companies are perhaps more in touch when it comes to being social and acclimating to the digital age, or perhaps more small companies allow social media access than larger companies. When I started at my company just over two years ago we had no social media access on our network. We’ve since been granted access, but it did seem a bit behind the times.
Some believe that “in the 2010s, your company’s social media presence may become as critical to your enterprise as your web site was in the 2000s” (Rossheim, n.d.). And implementing a social media policy helps ensure employees will stay within the bounds.
Do you currently have social media access at work, and does your company have a policy? Also, what’s your take on there being more small (rather than large) companies with social media policies?
Great post!
Lindsey
Reference
Rossheim, J. (n.d.). Your company’s social media policy 2.0. Retrieved from http://hiring.monster.com/hr/hr-best-practices/workforce-management/hr-management-skills/social-media-policy-updated.aspx
Lindsey,
ReplyDeleteI currently do not have access to any social media sites Kellogg's runs. We have a team of people who work on our sites from that I have gathered from co-workers, whether or not this is done by an outside company or our own people I do not know.
Social media for a small company is the cheapest way to reach a large group of people. By having a Facebook, a small restaurant can have people check in to their location and that instantly reaches out to their network of friends who most likely live in the same area, for free. Having multiple, active, social media accounts also helps small businesses with search optimization. Instead of paying to be at the top of searches, small businesses can use social media to move up in the ranks.
Check out this article from YP Advertising Solutions that has 8 Benefits to Social Media for Small Businesses... http://adsolutions.yp.com/small-business-marketing-center/small-business-marketing-articles/8-benefits-of-social-media-for-small-business
Hi Courtney,
ReplyDeleteYou posted many interesting points in relation to social media security. I like the infographic you posted depicting what companies felt about social media use within their organization. I found it interesting that smaller companies had a larger percentage of social media policies in place then larger companies. Why do you think this is the case? In my opinion, I feel early on when social media was less known than it is today, smaller companies needed to find cost effective ways to spread their messaging. I think it be only natural that they adapted earlier on to using social media for this purpose than larger companies with bigger budgets. With that in mind, since smaller companies might have been more active in their usage of social media, it called for policy to be implemented earlier on, in order to maintain order internally, than larger companies which might have taken longer to get on the social media band wagon.
After reading that you googled your name, only to reveal things you had posted to a site in the past, I immediately opened a new tab and googled my name. I must be doing something right, because I didn't find anything. Its a very real thing moving forward when posting things on line, you must first consider who could see this? Employers are really making it common practice now to use your social channels and identities as a way to find out more information about you. If you feel something you post could paint you in a negative light, don't post it.
Great Post,
- Dan
Dan,
DeleteSimilar to what I told Lindsey, I think it comes down to cost initially for small businesses to be drawn to social media and then it evolves into finding their niche of customers.
I recently had an interview and got a notification on my LinkedIn that the people who would be interviewing me viewed my profile. I was able to view theirs as well and used information I learned about their backgrounds to help with small talk. Another great perk of social media!
Hi Courtney,
ReplyDeleteI like when you said, "once posted, always posted." If you wouldn't show the post or picture to your mother; chances are you probably shouldn't be posting it. I think social media has allowed people to completely lose compassion for other people in the world. I scroll through my Instagram feed and I see so many negative comments on a daily basis whether it's people commenting on a celebrities picture or a blogger or Youtube video blogger. Somewhere down the line people have gotten the idea that because they're not face-to-face they can say whatever they want and there are no consequences for their actions. I always find it funny though that the people who do leave the negative comments are the ones that always have their profiles set to private, or have zero followers, or don't even have a profile picture. Its as if these people create fake or ghost profiles simply to go around spreading negativity through social media posts and comments.
On another classmates blog (Daniel Egan I believe) we were talking about the need for government to enlist laws for the use of social media. In his post he posted a video that basically said that many people believe that the web will suffer a catastrophic event similar to that of 9-11 in which the government will then be forced to jump in and start laying down the law. Do you think that with everything that goes on online and through social media that this could be where we're headed?
Damaris,
DeleteGovernment in social media is going to be a huge fine line to be walked. Constitutional rights are at the center of the issue. How to allow free speech while preventing defamation is a difficult task. Take the case with Courtney Love on Twitter. The first public Twitter libel case...http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/courtney-love-cleared-in-twitter-libel-trial-20140125
I really like tip #5. I think a lot of people unfortunately fall for this rather often. I am still amazed when I see people post things about how they won something that simply can not be true or click on links in emails or Facebook posts that simply sound a bit off. I think it is very important to always be aware of what you are clicking and where you put your personal info.
ReplyDelete