Facebook question

[Parfait]

Is it better to have an open Facebook or a private one? Looking around GC the advice is constantly given "if it's bad, delete it or make it private" but this is a bit different.

If it's private and someone decides to search PNM1 and finds a private profile will she think "What is she hiding?" or not think anything of it? (Obviously you can't read minds, so I suppose more of a WWYD thing.)


For what it's worth, my account is about as clean as they come, perhaps a little too innocent. No drunken status updates, no incriminating pictures on my account or any friend accounts, and no being a fan/liking groups such as "i LoVe TeH bOyZ n tEh PaRtY LoL!!" or "lEtS gEt dRuNk!!"
However, I keep it private (and photos as "friends only") because I don't want creepy ex-coworkers stalking my page.

[33girl]

PRIVATE. Lots of people have private profiles just for the sake of security.

[ThetaPrincess24]

Not having it private can hurt your chances. As recruitment advisor, I have had members bring PNM profiles to my attention that contained pictures with less than appropriate poses & attire as well as illegal activity.

Mark your profile private and make your profile picture an appropriate one!

[1stSoon2BePhD]

You don't know who is looking at your profile. Sometimes it's just future employers which is fine (since your profile is squeaky clean) but there are always perverts/stalkers. And not everyone with a private facebook, blog, etc has something to hide. It's about not broadcasting your life for the ENTIRE WORLD to see.

Private all the way.

[ree-Xi]

Originally Posted by Parfait

Is it better to have an open Facebook or a private one? Looking around GC the advice is constantly given "if it's bad, delete it or make it private" but this is a bit different.

>> Private, no matter who you are. People can "steal" pictures, use info form status updates and other benign info to "track" you, etc. Not that you necessarily have anything to hide, but if you have a compartmentalized life (who doesn't?), it's easier to manage your info if you have certain controls in place.

If it's private and someone decides to search PNM1 and finds a private profile will she think "What is she hiding?" or not think anything of it? (Obviously you can't read minds, so I suppose more of a WWYD thing.)

>> No!

For what it's worth, my account is about as clean as they come, perhaps a little too innocent. No drunken status updates, no incriminating pictures on my account or any friend accounts, and no being a fan/liking groups such as "i LoVe TeH bOyZ n tEh PaRtY LoL!!" or "lEtS gEt dRuNk!!"
However, I keep it private (and photos as "friends only") because I don't want creepy ex-coworkers stalking my page.

>> Exactly. Not everyone needs to know everything. That's why I even tailor my status updates to who I want (or don't want) to see it.

I think that people share too much info these days. There is little mystery or personal space these days. Yes, I use FB and Twitter, but I am selective in terms of who I let into my different worlds. I think that your online presence should mimic your off-line presence. Yes, once the info is out there, it can be found and shared, but isn't it better to control what you can?

[AOEforme]

Whenever I see someone without a private profile page, I actually judge them a bit (yes, I know this makes me a wench) because I assume they are naive enough to not understand what a public place the internet is.

I never assume private profiles are "hiding" things: I just think those girls are smart!

[KSUViolet06]

I find that most people in my network on FB have private profiles. It's really not viewed as "hiding something" in most cases. Most people just don't want randoms seeing their info.

[wide-eyed]

Originally Posted by Parfait

I
If it's private and someone decides to search PNM1 and finds a private profile will she think "What is she hiding?" or not think anything of it? (Obviously you can't read minds, so I suppose more of a WWYD thing.)

I hope this isn't the case, but if you're still worried about it you might consider customizing the privacy settings. Like maybe letting people, in a certain network (e.g. your school network) that aren't your friends, see your profile picture, some interests and your major (or whatever you feel is best). This way you can keep creeps out of your business, friends in the open, and give potential sisters something to chew on.

Just something to consider.

[txpacer]

Personally, I set my profile so that only people on my university's network could see it (and my friends, of course). I don't think it hurt me at all. But, my profile is VERY clean. There are no curse words, no friends who post inappropriate things, no questionable pictures (others are not allowed to tag me in photos without my approval via FB privacy settings).

I'm not going to say that that is what you should do because I don't know where you are rushing, but it is what I did.

[agzg]

In my opinion, private is always best, and it should be clean in spite of being private. You never know when Facebook is going to change their privacy settings and your profile ends up public again.

When I search for someone on FB, I don't think anything of them setting their profile to private. That's what privacy settings are for. If I really want to see what's on their profile, and I have a legitimate interest in that person (so, NOT facebook stalking them), I add them as a friend.

[knight_shadow]

I only recently made my profile private, and that was because my current and previous jobs had individuals that were constantly poking around social media sites. I had to make sure potential clients (not employers -- haven't had any issues with them viewing my social media pages) weren't seeing risque posts/pics/etc.

The privacy factor isn't a big deal for me. Someone can get my phone number and the city I live in, but who cares? I don't have to pick up the phone, and there are 6,599,999 other people that someone would have to go through before getting to me.

[Gusteau]

Originally Posted by AOEforme

Whenever I see someone without a private profile page, I actually judge them a bit (yes, I know this makes me a wench) because I assume they are naive enough to not understand what a public place the internet is.

I never assume private profiles are "hiding" things: I just think those girls are smart!

This is so me - if I come upon someone's public profile my first thought is, "Haha, dumbass!"

I keep my profile private and utilize limited profile for certain friends, even so I'm not naive enough to think privacy setting could stop people from getting to everything if they wanted to.

[DGAnchorGirl]

Originally Posted by wide-eyed

I hope this isn't the case, but if you're still worried about it you might consider customizing the privacy settings. Like maybe letting people, in a certain network (e.g. your school network) that aren't your friends, see your profile picture, some interests and your major (or whatever you feel is best). This way you can keep creeps out of your business, friends in the open, and give potential sisters something to chew on.

Just something to consider.

I agree with this one. As a current collegian, it's nice for sorority members to see what your interests are so we can put more to you than just the picture you send, and the recs we receive. I go to a school with a very competitive greek system. Honestly, if we receive a rec, we will look the girl up. If she has a private facebook, we kind of are like "hmmm" and we forget about her. Though if you do keep it public, I agree on making it squeaky clean! Sororities are hugely turned off by party pictures of a girl peeing on the toilet or tacky statuses. That's just the nature of my school though.

I would totally make my profile private after recruitment though. Too many randos!

[AXOrushadvisor]

Originally Posted by ThetaPrincess24

Not having it private can hurt your chances. As recruitment advisor, I have had members bring PNM profiles to my attention that contained pictures with less than appropriate poses & attire as well as illegal activity.

Mark your profile private and make your profile picture an appropriate one!

I agree totally with the post above. The girls will go immediately to your profile if they like you.

[honeychile]

Just to make sure - everyone does realize that Facebook just recently tweaked the privacy part. You might want to make doubly sure that your profile is indeed private.

In those nanoseconds between FB making the switch to my changing my settings back to private, a high school teacher who was a real perv and a guy I've cut all ties with were able to read everything I'm doing. Not that it's so sordid (dog rescue, for example), but there are some people in everyone's life who shouldn't know jack about your life!

Private = Discreet. Discreet = Mature.