Content is permanent, and search is maturing. Keep this in mind everytime you post a blog, send out a tweet, or fire off a traceable comment on a website. Nothing is deleted, and accessible data mining technologies are just beginning to come into their own (pipl.com, google.com). The exciting potential of open, online dialogue is not outweighed by the risks, by any means, but there are a few things worth keeping in mind.
1. Medical conditions. You mention a medical condition you forget to tell your health insurance company about, and the day you come to make a claim, any accidently withheld conditions might void it. Is the answer to never mention them? No, but make sure that anything you do mention, you have notified your insurance company about in advance of the claim. This includes depression. What you type now will be easily found my insurance companies in 30 years time.
2. Reputation. The aggregate of your public dialogue is your personal brand. For many people who make their living from social media, contoversy is nothing but an opportunity for expanding your brand awareness. As twitter turns the corner into the mainstream though, people relying on their professional careers, might find themselves hamstrung by things they have said. I’m not suggesting people live in fear, but it will take a while before the honest, open dialogue in social media is appreciated by every potential employer.
3. Legal implications. If content can be linked to you, consider any legal implications of your dialogue. Its early days yet, and legislation is yet to catch up with new forms of social media. Hopefully we will bear witness to a new frontier of free speech, but defamation laws may adapt in one form or another. Courts are already making a foray into the world of social networks (see Subpoena served by Facebook), recognising the relationship between an individual and their online presence.
As much as I hate to say it, if you’re new to social media, take it slow at the beginning. Consider the consequences of everything you type. I’m not meaning to throw a wet blanket over something we all know is phenomenally valuable, but its in your own best interest to take your time getting used to it. These are things you can never take back.
Does that mean the dialogue is less honest than it would otherwise would be? Yes, of course. We’re moving through an early phase of a single stream of open dialogue, to the next phase of permission-based online dialogue where information you share is only available to groups you nominate. Existing social networks don’t currently do this beyond classifying people as “friend” or “not friend”, but they will soon.
There will always be a thriving open dialogue, and hopefully, with this, a greater sense of openness about our personal thoughts and feelings. Information about you is valuable, and I’d encourage you to share with the world, in a thoughtful way. Its the many-to-many exchange of information that has made the web what it is, and it is yet to take us places we can’t imagine.
