Protecting Your Online Presence, Pt. I

Many of us in this profession spend time in court and are used to the challenges of expert testimony. But as people have more and more of a presence online, careless posts, profiles and pics (alliteration! at 5:30 AM!) are surfacing as an issue with increasing frequency. In the talk I’m giving today in Seattle, we’ll be discussing surviving cross examination, and in doing so, discussing the issue of online presence, including the use of social networking sites like Facebook.

I am a fan of Facebook–you’ll find me there, along with many esteemed colleagues–so this is not a post telling you to stay away from social networking sites. But it is a post about protecting your privacy on Facebook. Many people have written on the subject, so below is simply a smattering of what’s out there. I like these particular articles, because of their ease of use and accessible language:

• 10 Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Know (if you read only one of these, it should be this one)
• Facebook Best Practice
• How to Protect Your Private Information on Facebook (the most basic of the articles)
• From the Washington Post, a look at just how not-private your info really can be: A Flashy Facebook Page, at a Cost to Privacy