Twitter Safety Tips

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Twitter has become a hugely popular social networking tool that provides people all over the world a way to communicate their thoughts, whether fleeting thoughts or serious news related thoughts. People have fallen in love with Twitter, and just like when we fall in love with a person, we tend to overlook the bad things or the potential for bad things to happen.

With all of the Twitter applications available for our computers and phones, it’s easier than ever to Tweet 24/7 whether at home or on the road. The fact is that the web remains a prime target market for sexual predators and people who want steal identities and can do so with very little but just the right information.
Here are a few Twitter safety tips that I find useful.

Twitter Safety Tip #1:
Never post your full name.  If someone ‘Tweets’ you telling you that you won a million dollars and asks for your full name and address.. uh, don’t do it!

Twitter Safety Tip #2:
Don’t advertise to your fellow Tweeters that you are going to Bob’s Dance Club located at 55 Bob Street at 11pm tonight.  If you have hundreds of Twitter followers you probably don’t know them all and might not want a few of your Twitter followers to know where they can find you tonight.

Twitter Safety Tip #3:
This is a tip for parents. As a parent of a 9 year old, I know how important Internet safety is.  I don’t want my son to have the opportunity to browse Twitter or other social networks so I close all Internet applications when I walk away from the computer.

I know that using Twitter is fun. There’s  something addicting about being able to post what you’re doing or what you’re feeling at this exact moment… and having hundreds of followers seeing it.  The instant feedback is satisfying especially for Twitter users who don’t have a lot of outside social interaction such as stay-at-home-moms or work-from-home-moms.

The bottom line is that Twitter safety is to be taken seriously.  Twitter is a fast paced environment and when people move fast, they tend to not pay as much attention to safety as they should.  Don’t you remember your middle school teacher telling you to slow down on your work?  Well, that’s what we need to do with Twitter.. slow down and be aware of what’s going on and who’s following you.

Please note that I use and enjoy Twitter am in no way affiliated with Twitter.

Do you have any Twitter safety tips to add?  Please share them with us in the comments below!  Thanks