Ethical Tweeting

Confessions of a Ghost Tweeter

Twitter is a funny thing in social media.  Most people think anything goes but today I would like to talk about the ethics of tweeting, and specifically ghost tweeting.  Many of you may not even know what ghost tweeting is.  According to URBAN DICTIONARY, Ghost tweeting is:

1. The act of helping a friend fine tune their twitter updates. Either to make them funnier or more concise.
2. Knowingly coming up with tweets for a friend or colleague.
3. Tweeting for a company or entity under the guise of being them.
4. Tweeting as a celebrity without their knowledge.

Ghost tweeting can be something that is established by a politician, celebrity or corporation that has a public relations representative tweet in behalf of the person or group.  This is protected by the verification process on twitter where the person is given a check mark next to their name symbolizing they are who they say they are or at least authorized by that person. 

Throughout your twitter life, you may have noticed many people who claim to be your favorite celebrities, for example Beyoncé, but they do not have the check mark next to their name.  This probably means they are a definition number 4 from above ghost tweeter.  Now they may not be posting anything bad per say but is this an ethical practice?  I say no it is not.  By doing this I believe you are first being dishonest, second could possibly be committing plagiarism if you are not careful, or worse defamation, or even be accused of harassment.

With this said, you never know who is behind the computer or phone screen making tweets, so be careful what you read and what you believe.  There are a lot of people out there making up a ton of junk that is not true just because they are bored.   

So you may not be a movie star, or someone who is cool, and you might just be a loser who sits around and plays grand theft auto five, but I believe it is better to be yourself on social media, especially twitter, than pretend to be something you are not.  Ethically it is not right to pretend you are someone you are not. 

MORAL OF THE STORY:  BE YOURSELF 

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Collaborative Platforms

Life in today’s world is very hectic and complicated.  Schedules are insane, and we are constantly over booking ourselves.  In school or in your career it is often required that you work alongside someone else on a task.  Social media has made this so much easier through collaborative platforms.  I am going to talk about my very favorite platform to use.  This is Google Docs. 

I find Google documents to be a life saver during my crazy college schedule.  You may access a Google document by having the owner add you to the page.  You may then work on it every time you login to your Google account, no matter what computer you using or what location you are at.  Google makes it possible for people to work on a page simultaneously while showing that the other person or persons are online.  You are able to leave comments also to show areas of concern. 

Google Docs does not only consist of documents, but you can make spreadsheets, presentations, drawings and web forms all through the platform.  It is low cost and in my experience free depending on the usage and storage.  I also believe it is very easy to use and share.

Some concerns others have had about Google Docs include, that it is too slow for them, there is no offline access, and the document formatting tools are not very good.  As I have used this program I have noticed that if I want a paper formatted a certain way I usually have to download it from the Google and reformat it in a word document.  This can be tricky when working with a group because you must make sure everyone is happy with the final product and aware of what version is the correct one if you upload the finished version to Google. 

Other than these few problems I have found that Google is very user friendly and makes working with people through social media very accessible for everyone.  It definitely has room for improvement, but I believe Google is concerned enough with their face that they will eventually improve it.  Along with Docs, Google has another many other programs to help connect people to work collaborate on projects, like Hangouts, where you can video chat with others.  This program and many other programs are all available in your Google account.  When it comes to Collaborative Platforms I say go for Google.

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FOURSQUARE:BEWARE

As I mentioned in my previous post it is so easy to stalk someone through social media platforms.  Today I would like to talk about a platform that is a stalkers dream:  Foursquare.  This app will tell you exactly where a person is.  In my opinion Foursquare is very dangerous and should be used with caution.  

           When one uses Foursquare, their smart phone’s GPS will broadcast their location to their friends on Foursquare and anyone else using Foursquare in the area.  Many people put their accounts on private, but what they do not realize is they are still not entirely safe from strangers.  Privacy glitches are not at all uncommon.  Many times a private user’s location will be viewable for anyone if they first click on the name of the business the person is located or has recently checked in at. This gives a stranger access to your location, profile and personal information within a few minutes. 

You might think “what harm could come from someone knowing my location?”  Well there are quite a few things you should be worried about like sexual predators, kidnappings, mugging, or even home evasion.  You cannot trust everyone on the internet, and when you are not being careful about what you are posting you are making yourself vulnerable to be a target for any of these crimes.  

A sexual predator could see that you are at a certain bar through your Foursquare.  It would take very little work on their part to research you so that they are clearly able to identify you.  If there is an opportunity they just might try to take advantage of you or drug your drink.  There have been actual cases where accounts have been closed because of stalkers following Foursquare users.

Not only do Foursquare users see your location, but sites like pleaserobme.com can also access your location and track your whereabouts making it extremely easy for someone to rob you or evade your home.  Do the benefits offset the costs for having this personal information open for anyone to see?  Foursquare may make it easier to find your friends, or enter you to win freebies at businesses you frequent, but you must think of the potential dangerous situations you are putting yourself in.  Is a free drink really worth your safety or piece of mind?

Just as a side note, If Beyoncé had a Foursquare it would make it a whole lot easier to complete my life’s destiny of meeting her.  

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