Staying Safe When Using Social Media

      Social Media has connected our world in ways that we never could have thought possible.  Location and proximity no longer matters when sharing ideas and collaborating and connecting with other people.  Social media has made access to people and information instant, and only seconds away from being accessed.  It also has however, had a significant impact on privacy when it comes to sharing documents and information over the internet.

      In order to stay safe, and maintain personal information and documents of importance, I suggest six simple "In the KNOWs" for how to safely and effectively use social media platforms.  They include:

1.  Know the platform - Understand all of the features of the social networking platform, and how it works.  There are always user instructions available in most settings, or check out a YouTube video to see how it works, and what features it offers to you.

2.  Know the privacy settings - With platforms like Facebook growing by the millions every year, it is important that you protect your personal information.  Many such sites offer the ability to adjust your privacy settings for what others can see and access about you.  Explore them thoroughly, so that way you are only sharing what YOU want others to see.

3.  Know the social networking etiquette - Did you know that there is a twitter etiquette for social interaction and following?  You can check out this link, for some helpful teacher hints for proper and effective Twitter use.  http://www.edudemic.com/guides/guide-to-twitter/

4.  Know the right people - Make sure that you are not just connecting with people you know, but people that are in your field.  The whole purpose is to connect with individuals and expand your personal and professional web.  Social media is an excellent means to help you achieve this.

5.  Know who is following you - Make sure you are always aware of who is attempting to connect with you.  If it someone you are unfamiliar with, or who is not in your field or profession, it could just be spam accessing your personal information.  Always be aware of who you are connecting with.

6.  Know how to use it regularly - If you are not accessing your social media platforms on a regular basis, then not only are you missing out on a great communication tool, but people who you could connect with, may choose to contact you less.  Social media can benefit everyone, you just need to make sure that you do your best to always keep it a two way street.

For further information on how teachers and educators can use Twitter effectively, check out the ideas posted by edudemic.com.

http://www.edudemic.com/100-ways-to-use-twitter-in-education-by-degree-of-difficulty/

You can also check out this document also provided by edudemic.com, for guidelines to effectively establish social media safety guidelines for your school.

http://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/edutopia-anderson-social-media-guidelines.pdf