Keep yo' place safe. Use your head.
I was catching up on old news yesterday and came across a piece in a Sunday paper about the owner of an home-based video business whose place was burglarized while he and his wife were out of town. He went on Twitter and shared real-time details of a trip to Kansas City. “We’re preparing to head out of town,” “Made it to Kansas City.” He figures his Twitter updates tipped the burglars off.
When you head off on vacation, do you leave a sign outside your home or business that you’re going to be gone? Does the message on your answering machine state where you’re off to and how long you’re planning to be away? Dur. Of course you don’t.
But according to a recent Associated Press report, users of social media unwittingly invite burglars into their homes and businesses by doing just that.
How?
Consider automatic e-mail messages such as “Sorry. Out of the office until Wednesday. Will get back to you when I return.”
Or, Facebook/MySpace entries that provide even more information: “Preparing to leave for Belize. Gone for a week. Can’t wait!”
Tweets such as, “Just arrived in Chicago for the Blues Festival. Great food. Great music. Two days doesn’t seem long enough.”
No matter how fun it is to share your experiences, using social media does not require that you leave your common sense back at home. Keep yo’ stuff -and yo’ place -safe.
