Watch Your Step

We hear a lot about how some kids are taking unnecessary risks on social networks like MySpace, Xanga and Facebook. Because of these risks, a lot has been written about how kids should and can use these sites more safely.

But kids aren't the only ones using these networks and taking risks. Adults can get into trouble, too, if they're not careful.

The vast majority of social networkers and bloggers are adults. Even MySpace — which is extremely popular among teens — is mostly used by adults. Another popular site, facebook.com, is mainly used by college students, who are typically older than 18.

(Disclosure: I help operate a non-profit Web site called blogsafety.com which is funded in part by social networking companies including MySpace, Facebook and Xanga.)

The vast majority of people who use traditional blogging services such as Blogger, TypePad and Word Press are also adults, using these services for everything from professional networking to personal expression.

For adults, the risks include getting in trouble at work or with the law, financial risks, risk to reputation, privacy risks, stalking and — if you get together with someone you meet through a blog — the possibility of molestation, robbery and other attacks.

Perhaps the biggest risk for adult bloggers is getting in trouble at work. A report by the Employment Law Alliance estimates that perhaps as much as 5 percent of the American work force is maintaining online personal diaries but only 15 percent of employers "have a policy directly addressing blogging activities."

Of those that do, according to the report, "62% say the policy prohibits posting any employer-related information, 60% say the policy discourages employees from criticizing or making negative comments against the employer and 58% say the regulations deal with all blogging, regardless of content."

There are numerous reports about bloggers who have been fired or disciplined for things they've posted on their blog. The most frequent examples involve employees who write about their employers. Even Google, a company known for progressive employee policies and the operator of blogger.com, has reportedly fired at least one employee for criticizing the company in a blog, according to a story on news.com.

Bloggers at Microsoft and the social networking site Friendster have met similar fates, according to news accounts. Ellen Simonetti, also known as "Queen of the Sky," said she was fired by Delta Airlines for famously posting what someone at work apparently considered "inappropriate images" of Simonetti in her flight attendant uniform.

There are also reports of college students who have been disciplined or even expelled from school as a result of their blogs or Facebook profiles. In 2005, the president of Fisher College Student Government Association was expelled from the Boston-area college for posting a critique of a campus police officer on the student's Facebook profile, according to the Boston Globe.

Even people who work for media companies may be limited in what they can say. There are broadcast and print outlets that restrict what editorial staff and other employees can say in their private blogs as well as on any company sponsored blogs.

Check Policies

Whether you're a student or an employee (or both), it's a good idea to see if your company or school has a policy about blogging. If you're not happy with that policy you might want to bring that up in an appropriate manner, but violating it could have severe consequences. Even if there isn't a policy, you could still wind up in trouble if you report something on a blog that offends someone in charge.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has prepared an online guide, "How to Blog Safely (About Work or Anything Else)," which points out that, "while your right to free speech is protected by the First Amendment, this protection does not shield you from the consequences of what you say."

Employers can fire you for revealing company information and, in some cases, even for postings that are not directly related to the company. However, some states, according to the EFF, do have labor laws that prohibit employers from punishing workers for expressing political opinions, unionizing and, in some cases, whistleblowing.

The EFF also says that federal workers have specific protections including the right to report on what is happening at their workplace.

In addition to your boss or school, the long arm of the law now reaches into cyberspace. We've heard of numerous police departments regularly checking blogs and social networks for evidence of gang activity, drug use, displays of weapons and other crimes. And they don't need a warrant to search a public blog. Anything you say can be used against you.

There is some controversy as to whether bloggers enjoy the same rights as journalists, but even if we assume they do, there are limits as to what you can legally say about other people or companies.

Bloggers — like traditional journalists — can be sued for libel and defamation.

In the Georgia case of Banks v. Milum, a jury awarded the plaintiff $50,000 in compensatory damages for "several postings on the site [which] alleged that Banks [the plaintiff] had delivered bribes from drug dealers to a now-deceased judge," according to a report by the Media Resource Law Center.

Safety

Legal and employment issues aside, adults as well as kids need to be concerned about their personal safety and privacy. Children aren't the only victims of sexual molestation and assault. Adult bloggers and adults who visit blogs also need to be careful before giving out personal information or getting together with people they meet online.

Whether it's through a blog, a social networking service or an online dating service, it's important to be very careful about any actual meeting you arrange with people you've virtually met online. Be sure the meeting is in a public place and, ideally, take a friend or two along and let people know where you're going.

Not everyone is who they say they are. This also applies to classified ads and auctions. There was a case of a "Craigslist robber" in the San Jose area who would pose as a buyer or seller on Craigslist, arrange a meeting to make a sale and then rob his victim at gunpoint, either of the item (if he posed as a buyer) or the person's money, when he posed as a seller.

Of course, you also need to be careful about your financial information. Anything you post on a blog could get into the wrong hands.

Having said this, millions of people are using blogs and social networks, and the problems — while occasionally sad or even tragic — are relatively rare. All it takes to avoid being a statistic is a little caution and some common sense.

By Larry Magid