Safety and the Check-In Feature on Social Media
Don’t get me wrong; I play my part in the social media check-in craze. I enjoy the occasional restaurant or venue display linked to my Facebook and Twitter accounts, even more so when I score a deal or promotion. However, when you become a serial “check-in” user, not only are you bombarding our mini-feeds, you’re broadcasting your every move via Foursquare or Facebook Places [Ed. Note - Facebook recently changed their location-based tagging.] for the entire social networking world to see. Not only are these social media overloads exhausting to watch, they are extremely unsafe for those participating.
Checking in and out of places allows a large audience of people – some you may or may not know – to not only figure out your physical location, but also learn your every day routine. Patterns can allow for an easy crime target. Since the launch of these types of networks, there have been a number of reported burglaries associated with the information victims projected into the social media atmosphere.
For instance, John tweeting about his upcoming vacation and then checking in at his local airport, allows every follower he has to know exactly when he has left his home. Those checking into other people’s houses could also put their friends and family at risk. A simple click on your Foursquare app sends out a detailed map of exactly where “Mom’s House” is, allowing her to potentially fall victim as well.
So, the next time you’re mentioning your next moves, keep in mind the risks associated. Privacy settings can only restrict so much – do you really know those 1,423 friends? For information on Foursquare privacy loopholes, check out an article from ZDNet.com.
Checking in with O2 Fitness
O2 Fitness is one of our clients here in the PR department at HM&P and we have had a lot of fun helping them spread the word about their seven (and growing!) locations around the Triangle.
O2 Fitness already runs their own Twitter account, Facebook fan page and blog. A new avenue of social media marketing we have explored with them are location-based applications. One of the new growing trends in social media – location-based applications – allow you to share your location with others by ‘checking in’. More »
