Jan 16, 2017 |
Building an Author Platform: How Much Information is Safe to Share Online?
by Edie Melson @EdieMelson
Edie Melson- Building an Author Platform: How Much Information is Safe to Share Online?
As writers we know the importance of developing an online presence, but is there such a thing as too much information out there?
Absolutely!
The result of too much information online can range from the irritating to the dangerous. But it is possible to be smart and still have an online presence that will garner you the right kind of reader notice.
So how much is too much to stay safe online? Anything that lets your online presence collide with your physical presence without you managing the connections.
Here are some tips to help you stay out of trouble:
- Have boundaries firmly established in your own mind—BEFORE something happens. That way, when someone get too familiar, you’ll be ready to do more than just feel vaguely uncomfortable. So often I talk to writers who have a cyber-stalker and they’re not even certain whether they should be concerned or not.
- Trust your instincts. I cannot emphasize this one strongly enough. If someone makes you uncomfortable, act on your feelings.
- Don’t friend/follow/or otherwise engage someone who isn’t willing to post a picture and/or give out reasonable information.
- Don’t use any social media networks and/or settings where you check in at places. There is no good reason for someone to know where you are generally. If you’re at a conference or a big event, you can let people know you’re there if you choose, but don’t leave your safety to a computer program.
- Turn OFF your location settings for all your digital devices—phone, digital camera, ereader and tablet. Otherwise, any picture you take with those devices could have an imbedded code that gives the latitude and longitude of where the picture was taken. This is especially true if you post pictures of children (your own or even grandkids). Don’t make it easy for a predator to map out your location.
What should you do when something makes you uncomfortable?
The biggest thing is do NOT be tempted to be polite when you’re worried. This is similar to following your instincts in that we often push down our uncomfortable feelings for the sake of being polite. If someone is tweeting to you, sending you repeated Facebook messages, or contacting you in any way that makes you uncomfortable, don’t ignore your feelings.
- First, if it’s someone you know, confront the person making you uncomfortable and request they respect your boundaries. If it’s a spammer, do NOT engage. Just move straight to blocking them.
- If they don’t adhere to your guidelines, immediately block them from the social media networks where they are contacting you.
- Finally, report them to the social media network(s) where the infraction occurred.
This isn’t something you should fool around with, but it’s also something you shouldn’t be worried about. Taking these steps will keep you safe and give you the boundaries you need to stay safe online.
What steps do you take to stay safe? Have you ever felt uncomfortable by a contact? If so what did you do?
CLICK TO TWEET: Frankly, My Dear: Building an Author Platform: How Much Information is Safe to Share Online?
Edie Melson
Edie Melson—author, blogger, and speaker is a prolific writer with years of experience in the publishing industry. Her best-selling ebook has been expanded and re-released as Connections: Social Media and Networking Techniques for Writers. Her popular industry blog, The Write Conversation, reaches thousands of writers each month.
In addition, she’s the Director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, the Social Media director for Southern Writers Magazine, Social Media Mentor for My Book Therapy and the Senior Editor at Novel Rocket.
You can also connect with Edie through Twitter and Facebook.
And Frankly, My Dear . . . That’s all she wrote!
Jul 5, 2012 |
I’ve written about Pinterest before.
I introduced you to This Thing Called Pinterest. I wrote an open letter about Pinning to Dear Pinners….
I’ve shared with you my own Pinterest account, and updated when I create new boards.
Today I discovered that not all my own Pins were linked accurately. Of course, as a blogger/writer, it’s important that my articles are attached to the Pins I create for them. So I spent about thirty minutes reviewing and correcting. It wasn’t that bad. In fact, it was a little fun seeing Pins from months ago that I’d forgotten about.
I tweeted about today’s revelation, which brought about the conversation “What exactly is Pinterest, and how do you use it?”
The best way to describe it is it’s a digital scrapbook. It’s a spaceless way to store your ideas, suggestions, likes and adventures. If it’s online and you like it, you can Pin it.
It’s easy to get an account. Typically, you need an invitation from a friend or you can request one directly from Pinterest. Once you have an account, you can Pin one of two ways.
You can search Pinterest itself. For example, in their search bar type “coffee” and you’ll be inundated with a mass assortment of flavors, cups, stores, ideas, stories… when you see one you like, move your cursor over it and you’ll see buttons appear: “Repin”, “Like”, “Comment”. You can pick and choose which actions you want. If you choose to “Repin”, a new window will pop up and you can select which of your Boards you want it Pinned to.
The other way to Pin is to download their “Pin It” Button. It’s a small download that you set in your internet toolbar. When you see something online that you like, you click your “Pin It” button, and it asks you which picture to Pin, and to which Board.
Your boards are your categories. Pinterest sets up a few to get you started. You can edit, delete, and add your own. My friend Keri has a board strictly dedicated to all things “Purple”. I have 36 Boards ranging from writing ideas to recipes to people and places and even a bucket list!
There are a few things to remember when Pinning:
- The Pinterest Terms and Privacy are very clear that you cannot Pin any copyright material. Many professional photographers have removed their photos due to this requirement. An alternate option is to include a watermark on your own photos: an unremovable mark that indicates you hold the copyrights.
- I pin my photos to Pinterest because I know they link back to my Blog. And traffic is currency in the Blogosphere. This doesn’t give others the right to claim my work as their own, but it does give you the right to Pin and share and say, “Hey, this is worthwhile stuff.”
- Laura asked if you need to get permission before Pinning. I’ve checked around and the main consensus is, that’s sometimes impossible. In the digital media world in which we live, everything is everywhere. You can’t always track back to the source. You should try, definitely. But if it’s already online, it’s shareable.
- You can’t Pin personal photos from Facebook or your computer. It has to be already online.
- Pinterest has very easy-to-understand Etiquette guidelines. Their Terms are written for every person to understand, not a lot of Legaleeze.
I love the idea of storing ideas online instead of odd-shaped magazine clippings stored in paper boxes. I love that I can put the same Pin on several boards. How often have you had to decide whether a clipping should be placed in “Recipe” or “Holiday”? Is a Dictionary a “Book” or “Writer Wishlist” item? Is a great blog article “inspiring”, “faith-based” or simply “A Good Blog”? With Pinterest, you don’t have to decide. You can Pin the same article to as many Boards as you have.
I also discovered that to get to the main article, you needn’t “backtrack” through other Pinners. Just click on the Pin itself. It will enlarge on your computer screen. Click again on the Pin, and you should be directed to the original posting whether it be from a blog, company, photographer’s page, or wherever it originated. It’s important to make sure that your Pins link back to the source as much as possible. It’s only fair to give credit where credit is due.
So. Are you ready to starting Pinning?
Just click. Pin. And share.
You’ll be glad you did. (And so will I!)
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
