A recent Pew Research Center study found that the Internet is now the third most-popular news platform, behind local and national television news and ahead of national print newspapers, local print newspapers and radio. Yep, our world has gone digital and–as my March Her Nashville column points out–if you’re not exactly tech savvy and don’t have a go-to geek in your corner, you’re missing a fine pixel parade.

Having a geek in your corner will increase your confidence and teach you a thing or two. If you don’t have someone to turn to for your slightly-intimidating social media and technology issues, find one. Among other things, your go-to-geek will:

• Encourage you to be your own guinea pig
Avoid the geeks that call themselves “gurus.” You don’t need a spiritual leader; you need the guidance of a tech-savvy person who encourages you to try your hand at social media, blogging, and good email etiquette. Through your relationship with this geek, you should begin to see in yourself increased confidence when talking about and using new media, not a gal who is rendered dependent on some secret geek sauce. Read More…

Oh, boy! Looks like more folks are discovering public relations truths via Google. This recent Flackrabbit search query needs no introduction…

…but it does need an answer. Here, let me: Read More…

There’s a whole lotta Twitter and Facebook phishing going on and I’m freaked the heck out that my peeps will get hooked.  Some of them already have. I’m worried; is my enthusiastic go forth and micro-blog! approach part of the problem?

When used correctly – communications tools like Facebook, Twitter,  blogs and RSS feeds can make you more productive and just plain better at your job.

But just like any good relationship, there should always be a little mystery between you and the interwebs.

DATA:  Do not give your entire self over to the Facebook Info tab, your blog or a Twitter account. It’s great for the internet to know your profession, favorite music, thoughts and opinions – but don’t hang your home phone number, home address or the year of your birth out there for the whole world to see. Every time I see someone who has literally filled out every. single. line. on their Facebook profile I cry a little.

PASSWORDS: As for the web’s little friends — those ridiculous Facebook applications and “helpful” Twitter tools — they certainly don’t need access to your passwords. It’s not that I don’t want to join you on the Oregon Trail or in the Auburn wave, it’s that I don’t want my account hacked.

PHOTOS: And Lord knows the web can’t be trusted with those sketchy digital photos of you and your friends in Vegas. You already know how I feel about that one.

What I’m trying to say is get comfortable with social media, but don’t sleep with it. If you give it all away, you’ve just empowered some moron to take advantage of your trust.

Just this morning a friend forwarded me an email he’d received touting a Twitter service scam:

…In fact, once you start taking advantage of Twitter.com using the proper tools and techniques you might be pleasantly surprised by the number of paying clients that you will have from Twitter as well as the people that they refer to you…I am prepared to offer you our service for only $199 a month and you get a full 30 days to try out our service to see just how great it is…

Keep in mind: if it sounds too good to be true, it’s spam.

I’m sure this dude will get a few takers, especially among folks who are newbies or are intimidated by social networking sites.  He’ll either run off with someone’s money, or he’ll just spam the crap out of folks until someone figures him out. Either way, he’s a crappy malicious person.

Feel the same way about this guy and the 20 batrillion idiots like him who will bait folks to porn or some get-rich-quick scam:

Don’t get me wrong — I’m still a technology advocate.

Should you Twitter? Absolutely! Should you Facebook? Indeed! Share, connect, engage and voice your opinions online – but proceed with caution and as a vigilant protector of your personal data.

As much as I love seeing folks get comfy with technology – I loath the thought of some jerk taking advantage of it. It’s a tangled web out there, folks. Please be careful.

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