By Barbara McRae (Continued from EdWorld At Home) - Keep personal information about YOURSELF private; leave detailed information about your name, contact
data, school name, your close relationships, and the places you frequent out of your blog.
Predators look for this information!
- Keep personal information about OTHERS private; giving out their contact information could endanger
them. If you want to vent about suspicions you have of the behavior of others, don't post it. Rumors are gossip;
if you gossip verbally and it causes injury to another, it's slander; if you post it, it's libel. Neither
one is a good thing, but ...
Libel is actually a crime!
- Check your post before submitting it. Read it as if you were a stranger and double check for revealing
personal information. Then, ask yourself, how you'd feel if your post was read by your parents or teachers.
Would you still send it? How about if it showed up in your daily newspaper?
Remember, blogs are public. If you're not comfortable having the whole world know your content, rewrite
it.
- Check any photos that you are including. Would you be comfortable having your future employer see
them? It's possible they will. The photos and information you post are readily accessible to anyone. Do the
photos reveal personal information by giving specific clues to location?
Predators can use photos, too!
- Protect your blog. Keep your password to yourself and exit out of your blog page when your computer
is unattended to be sure that no one else can enter and write something, pretending to be you.
Your blog can be fun, even creative; don't let it become a dangerous nightmare!
© 2005 Barbara McRae, MCC.
Barbara McRae, Master Certified Coach, Parent/Teen Expert, and Founder of www.teenfrontier.com,
"A Neon Whispers ™ Company", is the bestselling author of Coach
Your Teen to Success. Barbara coaches internationally, facilitates workshops, and has been featured in various
media outlets, including radio, TV, national magazines, and newspapers.
Education World®
Copyright © 2006 Education World
01/25/2006 |