Privacy and Social Networking

So today I came onto facebook and literally, someone had posted "Hate this new facebook nothings private anymore!"... as if at some point facebook had been private. Hasn't anyone watced The Social Network? Facebook was created to get everyone in everyone's face and business! I don't feel like it's too hard to maintain an obscurity online... just don't participate. Don't add people has friends that you sort of remember from one class in high school 10 years ago. Don't make anything public. Require that no one can check you into locations or tag you in anything without your permission. Require that nothing appear on the www.

Interestingly enough, more people become searchable through a google+ account, which automatically makes one searchable in google searches. 

Publishing all your business online and then complaining about privacy is like owning glass house, walking around in a towel and then complaining that the neighbors can see your ass. So perhaps the problem isn't facebook or google+ but our new need to let everyone know what we're doing constantly and get feedback on it. 

I know I'm guilty of it as well, at times. But I think we can learn a lot from blogging pros about the rules of the online world. 

1. Make rules for yourself and stick with them. Have a purpose to your online existence and differentiate it from your actual existence. 

2. Be tech-smart. Read the fine print before signing up to something trendy and know what you're getting yourself into. 

3. Remember, the internet and social networking are tools to have an even more enriched life, not a less-so one, so turn off your phone and your laptop and get out into the community. 

Social Networking is like burlesque art and classic horror films... the suggestion, rather than the actuality, is often more powerful, more artistic and more meaningful.