1. MySpace, Facebook and Other Social Networking Sites

2. What is a Social Networking Site? A social networking site is a website where individuals can set up an online profile, describe their interests, and add links to other profiles Generally, users are able to post personal information, including photographs, videos, and blog entries

3. Social Networks

4. Types of Social Networks 1. Profile-based Examples = Facebook, MySpace 2. Content-based Examples = Flickr 3. Multi-user virtual environments Examples = Second Life, WoW 4. Micro-blogging/presence updates Examples = Twitter, FourSquare

5. Popularity of SNS The National School Boards Association study of 9 to 17 year olds found that: They spend almost as much time on social networking sites and other websites as they do watching television (9 hours vs. 10 hours) 96% reported using some form of social networking technology Vs.

6. Popularity of SNS The Pew Internet Research Group found that 73% of 12 – 17 year olds use social networks (82% of 14 – 17 year olds; 55% of 12-13 year olds) 93% of teens 12 – 17 go online

7. Popularity of SNS Most Popular Social Network Sites (as of 10/05/10) #1 Facebook 550 million monthly visitors #2 MySpace 90.5 million monthly visitors #3 Twitter 89.9 million monthly visitors Most Popular websites overall (as of 10/05/10) #2 Facebook #10 MySpace

8. Why SNS? Make connections Socializing View content and find information – topic information, videos, music, photos, etc. Create content and express themselves using video, music, photos, etc. And on and on and on . . .

9. Risks Privacy Inappropriate content Cyberbullying Strangers Reputation

10. Safety Tips Teach students to keep personal information personal Students should never give out their social security number, address, phone number or family financial information

12. Safety Tips Talk with students about choosing user names that don’t reveal too much personal information It is inappropriate and dangerous for children to use their name or home town as their name Most user names made up of personal information are easily deciphered which can lead perpetrators to a student’s identity or location

13. Safety Tips Advise students to be careful what information they put on their profile that is available to the public Pieces of information are likes pieces of a puzzle – they can allow someone to figure out a students’ name, location, etc.

16. Safety Tips Talk with students about only posting information that is appropriate for the entire public Anyone can see individual web pages including teachers, public, police, college admission officers or potential employers What is posted today may be harmful in the future

18. Safety Tips Discuss protecting other persons’ information by not posting anything without that persons’ permission Students should also check their friends’ profiles to see what’s posted there

19. Social Networks & Privacy Most afford varying levels of privacy Only people that you choose can see your information Restrict visibility to registered members or members of certain groups Public – everyone can see your information Many social networking sites allow some sort of customization of privacy

20. Facebook Privacy and Minors Until their 18th birthday, minors: Don’t have public search listings created for them Visibility of their information is limited to friends of friends and networks, even if they chose to make it available to everyone * Does not apply to name, profile picture, gender and networks, which are visible to everyone so real world friends can recognize them

21. Safety Tips Encourage students to customize the privacy settings available rather than accepting the default settings Many times the default settings allow too much information to be shared publicly

22. Facebook “Recommended” Settings

23. My Customized Settings

24. MySpace Privacy Settings

25. Safety Tips Students should be aware that posting inappropriate photos could lead to damaged reputations and unwanted attention

28. Safety Tips Remind students that once information is posted online and deleted or modified, the original will never be completely deleted Older versions can exist on someone else’s computer

29. Safety Tips Warn students against adding strangers as friends– people are not always who they say they are Students should not add people as “friends” unless they know for sure who the person is

30. Safety Tips Talk with students about respecting other people online Students shouldn’t say anything online that they wouldn’t say face-to-face

31. Safety Tips Encourage students to not respond to mean or harassing messages Students should learn to ignore these messages and block or delete the person who sent them Encourage students to speak with a trusted adult if the harassment continues Inform students to save the messages as they could be used as evidence in determining if school policy or a criminal law has been broken

32. Blocking Someone on Facebook Located on the upper right portion of your profile page

33. Blocking Someone on Facebook

34. Blocking Someone on Facebook

35. Blocking Someone on Facebook Located on the bottom left portion of the person’s Facebook profile page

36. Blocking Someone on Myspace Usually located underneath profile picture Located on bottom of profile page

37. Blocking Someone on Myspace

38. Tips for Facebook Control what’s public Your friend’s list is public by default

40. Tips for Facebook Protect Your Photos

42. Tips for Facebook Protect Yourself from Applications Many applications share your personal information with others The Wall Street Journal reported that ten of Facebook’s most popular applications share user’s personal information – three of those were also found to share user’s friend’s information (10/18/10)

46. Tips for Facebook Keep your friends from sharing your information

49. Tips for MySpace Private profiles Every profile has the option of being private This means that only you and those you have added and approved as friends can see the details of your profile, including your blog, photos, interests, etc.

52. Tips for MySpace Pre-approve your comments The default setting for comments on MySpace profiles does not require comments to be approved prior to appearing on your profile

55. Tips for MySpace Block another user If a user that you do not know or want to interact with contacts you, you have the ability to block them from future contact Also, if you feel this person may be a threat to yourself or others, immediately notify a trusted adult or law enforcement and report the user to MySpace through the ‘Contact MySpace’ link at the bottom of every page

56. Blocking Someone on Myspace Usually located underneath profile picture Located on bottom of profile page

57. Blocking Someone on Myspace

58. Tips for MySpace Change the “Online Now” status icon Turn off the ‘online now’ status icon so other users can’t see when you’re on the site and when you’re not

60. SNS Privacy Policies Make sure you read the privacy policy of the SNS you are joining or have already joined to know what information is being shared

62. Excerpt from Facebook’s Privacy Policy “Some of the content you share and the actions you take will show up on your friends’ home pages and other pages they visit. If another user tags you in a photo or video or at a place, you can remove the tag. You can also limit who can see that you have been tagged on your profile from your privacy settings. Even after you remove information from your profile or delete your account, copies of that information may remain viewable elsewhere to the extent it has been shared with others, it was otherwise distributed pursuant to your privacy settings or it was copied or stored by other users. You understand that information might be reshared or copied by other users. Certain types of communications that you send to other users cannot be removed, such as messages. When you post information on another user’s profile or comment on another user’s post, that information will be subject to the other user’s privacy settings. If you use an external source to publish information to Facebook (such as a mobile application or a Connect site), you should check the privacy setting for that post, as it is set by that external source.”

63. Find out what you are sharing on Facebook

64. Find out what you are sharing on Facebook

65. Other Sites Chatroulette Allows people around the world to see each other and chat via text or audio. Users can click “next” to skip from person to person, never knowing what the next image will be Children could be exposed to violent and sexual images

66. Other Sites Stickam Another site where users interact via unmoderated live Webcam chats Again, children can be exposed to inappropriate material Stickam's privacy policy suggests that the video content that users post to the site can be recorded, repurposed, and commercialized by anyone

67. Other Sites Hot or Not Users can upload photos and have them rated Sometimes this is used to cyberbully or harass someone Children can be exposed to inappropriate content

69. Other Sites Formspring Can link to Facebook and Twitter profile which allows you to invite online friends to ask questions or post comments, without having to identify themselves Comments and questions go into private mailbox, where user can ignore, delete or answer them – only answered questions are posted Users can choose not to accept anonymous questions but that doesn’t always happen

70. Other Sites Formspring Allows users to anonymously ask questions for others to publicly answer Anonymity is what draws people – users can anonymously tell someone how they feel about them or something they feel they should know Can ask questions that would otherwise be too embarrassed to ask – BUT, they can also fill a user’s inbox with hate mail, harassment or other inappropriate statements