Twitter Strategies: How Secure Are Your Tweets?

Courtesy Bouncer Wiki

Have you ever been stalked? I have. Have you ever had your home robbed? My parent’s home was robbed. Have you ever been confronted by an unknown person? I have. Security in today’s world is often a consideration we fail to understand. Either we feel safe, we reason we are not celebrities and thus immune, or we do not worry about the subject altogether. Twitter is a wonderful real time communication tool with ramifications if you are not careful. Like real estate, location-location-location, security begins with protecting your plans or location.

Personal Security Risks: Tweets That Tell Too Much?

Transparency is a staple of Web 2.0 and social networks yet how much information is too much? The following are the type of tweets that could be security risks to you or a loved one:

• Locations: tweets that divulge your exact location
  Why: you have no idea who is following your tweet stream and monitoring your whereabouts-giving exact locations places you in a position to be approached; add a close likeness in your bio picture and you are “findable”
• Times: tweets that provide exact times of your location or a location you will be in the future
  Why: these tweets can provide a possible unwanted someone enough information to locate you
• Future Travel: tweets that outline specific travel activities with time or time frames
  Why: the possibility of a burglary, although remote due to address information and other logistics needed, is not impossible considering the amount of information available about you especially when criminals know you are leaving your home

Business Security Risks: Lose Your Job, Business, or Advantage

Like our personal safety, our businesses should remain secure. The following tweets could be a security risk to your business or your job:

• Partnerships: tweeting your new partnerships before they are solid business arrangements
  Why: competitors looking for partners could be monitoring your efforts with an eye on your business partner
• Sales: tweeting your new accounts, new contracts, new consulting gigs
  Why: competitors can quickly act to attempt to under cut price, provide better product or service, and steal your new clients who are yet to be sticky to you or your company
• Future Niche: tweeting your intention to pursue a new niche
  Why: this alerts your competitors of new or fertile ground to be examined. If you believe you are first to the party–don’t tell anyone or you will have company
• Business Travel: telling everyone you are attending a conference filled with your prospects is a sure fire way of attracting added unwanted competitors
• Personal Opinions: As the Ketchum PR disaster already taught us, if you have an opinion detrimental to your customer you would be best to zip it and not say a word.
  Why: if you have to ask why you truly do not get it
• Realtor Open Houses: this is especially ominous. Be careful to have security measures in place before tweeting your open house information
  Why: Incidents of open house crimes are on the rise nationally with murder, rape, attempted rape, assaults, and burglaries some of the felonies committed