Jasmine Fowlkes | Online

I had an epiphany the other day. If someone wanted to follow me, not just on Twitter, but wanted to literally “follow” my every move in real life, I make it quite easy for them to do so through my tweets that I post everyday.

Take a minute to stop and think about all the personal information that we thoughtlessly share through our tweets. Through Foursquare, Twitpics, and other Twitter features, we give specific details about our current location to complete strangers in 140 characters or less.

With that said, I must say, be extremely careful what you tweet.

Social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter allow us to sometimes share TOO MUCH information with the world. Because of Twitter’s instantaneous tweet system, and second-by-second tweet feed, this makes it the ideal place for stalkers and weirdos to gather information about a person without even having to look hard for it. Once again, be extremely careful what you share through your tweets.

I have to be fair and practice what I preach. I’m guilty of sharing too much information as well. Some of my tweets that provided too much information have included, but are not limited too:

• “It’s official, I hate ProCopy on Fowler Ave.” (Bad idea to inform my followers of my EXACT location)
• “It’s such a beautiful day outside, and I will be studying in the library for the next 10 hours.” (Extremely bad idea to let my followers know the exact amount of time I will be at a certain location.)

Please keep tweets like these in mind before tweeting something too specific. Twitter features such as Foursquare and ÜberTwitter allow individuals to update their exact location from their mobile device. Long gone are the days where we only had an idea of the area where someone is, with modern technology nowadays, we know exactly where they are via Google maps and other high-tech atlases.

With most people having over 300 followers, there is little to no chance that you know each of your followers personally. To avoid a stalker situation, either place a lock on your Twitter profile that requires you to approve each follower, or be very vague and general in your tweets.

Twitpics allow followers to see exactly what we look like at any given time. For example, post a twitpic of yourself or friends at a party, a restaurant, or a concert, and any follower, or better yet any stalker, will be able to determine what you look like amongst the crowd. Scary, right? Right.

The moral of this story is simple. Although Twitter is the perfect venue to network and share our innermost thoughts and feelings, be careful. Be mindful of the 400+ followers that may be following  and watching your tweets closer than you think. You can still be specific yet general in your tweets. Don’t give more information than needed.

Be mindful of the Dangers of the Twitterverse: Watch what you tweet!