Since the introduction of sites such as Geocities, livejournal, blogger, then apps such as AIM, ICQ, Yahoo Messenger, then social media sites like Facebook and Myspace, social media has taken over the world. It seems like every other week, a new social media app is created, each trying to gain attention and users to allow them to share content.
In no particular order, here are some of the most popular apps in the world:
How much social media do we really need, and how many different accounts do we need?
I follow several athletes, friends, and public corporations on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. I don't use Snapchat or Tiktok.
Facebook and Instagram are basically the same format, allowing a user to post a picture with a description of almost infinite text. Twitter allows you to post content, but limits you to 240 characters per "post", or Tweet. Snapchat claims that when you post a picture or comment, it's only visible for 24 hours, or you can choose to keep it up longer. TikTok allows you to create "short, music videos". People can "follow" you on these sites to see your content.
So why so many sites, and why do people feel the need to be on each?
What I find is a lot of the exact same content is posted to each social media site. Heck, Instagram allows you to cross post to Twitter and Facebook. And let's be honest, aside from politicians or professional athletes, when was the last time you went through and reviewed every tweet, every instagram post, or Facebook post?
We see so much data being sent, and now there are concerns about privacy and how your data is used. Several questions have been raised recently about who owns each site, and what their policies read.
A gentle reminder that once something is on the internet, it is there forever. There are too many bots out there collecting data, meaning that facebook post or that snapchat you regret sending 8 hours earlier will be out there forever. Even companies that allow you to "delete" all your data cannot be trusted, as you can never be sure all that data has been scrubbed from said company's servers.
Before you sign up for a new social media account, or post something, look at a company's privacy policy, do some research on the company, and choose only those that are important to you, not who may make you infamous, sometimes for the wrong reasons. And of course, you are always open to spoofing attacks and account cloning, where somebody creates an account similar to your name, and pretends to be you. Those usually are malicious.
Social media can be fun if used safely and smartly. But think long and hard before creating that account that you might regret later.
In no particular order, here are some of the most popular apps in the world:
- Snapchat
- TikTok
- Youtube
- Tumblr
- Flickr
- Blogspot
How much social media do we really need, and how many different accounts do we need?
I follow several athletes, friends, and public corporations on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. I don't use Snapchat or Tiktok.
Facebook and Instagram are basically the same format, allowing a user to post a picture with a description of almost infinite text. Twitter allows you to post content, but limits you to 240 characters per "post", or Tweet. Snapchat claims that when you post a picture or comment, it's only visible for 24 hours, or you can choose to keep it up longer. TikTok allows you to create "short, music videos". People can "follow" you on these sites to see your content.
So why so many sites, and why do people feel the need to be on each?
What I find is a lot of the exact same content is posted to each social media site. Heck, Instagram allows you to cross post to Twitter and Facebook. And let's be honest, aside from politicians or professional athletes, when was the last time you went through and reviewed every tweet, every instagram post, or Facebook post?
We see so much data being sent, and now there are concerns about privacy and how your data is used. Several questions have been raised recently about who owns each site, and what their policies read.
A gentle reminder that once something is on the internet, it is there forever. There are too many bots out there collecting data, meaning that facebook post or that snapchat you regret sending 8 hours earlier will be out there forever. Even companies that allow you to "delete" all your data cannot be trusted, as you can never be sure all that data has been scrubbed from said company's servers.
Before you sign up for a new social media account, or post something, look at a company's privacy policy, do some research on the company, and choose only those that are important to you, not who may make you infamous, sometimes for the wrong reasons. And of course, you are always open to spoofing attacks and account cloning, where somebody creates an account similar to your name, and pretends to be you. Those usually are malicious.
Social media can be fun if used safely and smartly. But think long and hard before creating that account that you might regret later.
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