Homeland Security Steps in to Save Us From Social Networking

Lately there has been a lot of discussion about privacy issues on social media sites, including Facebook's recent changes to 'Like' the entire Internet. The brew-ha-ha has blown up to the point that this morning I received this email from the US Department of Homeland Security:



ALERT! ALERT! ALERT! HIGH RISK! BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SHARE ON FACEBOOK! (Click the icon above to share this message on Facebook).

The irony made me laugh. The message itself was pretty basic: You may feel safe sharing personal information online, it's stupid to think that, don't be stupid.

It seems like common sense, but as social media becomes more and more prominent, it's good to recognize that just like all things on the Internet, social networking is not 100% safe. Bottom line: don't make any personal information public you wouldn't be OK sharing with the next stranger who drives down your street (especially if that driver happens to be the Google Street View truck).