“I was street-smart- but unfortunately the street was Rodeo Drive” Carrie Fisher

Today I was on Facebook to see what friends were up to and I noticed one person said she was going on vacation. Curious, I checked her friend’s list and it was over 2000. This made me worried. She had just told 2000 people that she would be away from her home and for how long. Some of her friends” have to be at the very most casual acquaintances, essentially strangers. Now this is the strength of FB, the meeting of new people and refreshing old relationships. However this is also a weakness. As an example, I would never yell out my address and tell people that I will on vacation while riding on the bus. That is essentially what is going on all over FB. Now I am not an overly cautious or paranoid person but there is common sense to use even when online. Some basic things she could have done instead. She could have used a little white lie and said someone would be staying at the house while she is gone. This immediately takes away her apartment as an easy target. Also there is a nice feature on FB called lists. You can go through your friends and assign people to lists like close friends, casual friends, work friends and so on. I personally like to use old chum for some of my lists. Now when she wants to tell the important people she is going on vacation she clicks the little lock next to her post and chooses to customize who can see this post. Then she can choose certain people or type in the name of the list to make it easier. Friends, by the way, can be on multiple lists like a person who is both a family member and close friend. Finally the most secure thing is to put it in a private email. People can still comment and respond but you can limit this to just the most trusted people. Remember when using Facebook to use the same cautiousness you would use on the streets