Being selective about who is in your network

A young man is proud of having over 500 Facebook friends. Several professionals have over 500 connections in Linkedin, while others have thousands of followers in Twitter. None of them can confirm that they actually know these people, write down a credible list of their names or even remember how and where they had something in common to justify such associations.

 

Why is this an issue?

Amazingly, it is possible to buy “Friends” and “Followers” to apparently enhance one’s image (any search engine will lead you to places that will sell you such services).

 

Unknown people wishing to link up with you may therefore not even be real but, by linking, they will have access to all the information you choose to provide and may subsequently use it against you.

What you should do about it

The answer is simple and difficult to apply, particularly those who like social media and spend considerable time immersed in it. Don’t link to anyone you do not know, however good the reasons others may advance for accepting them.

 

Review your links regularly – you can in fact remove people from your network (a search engine will give you step by step instructions). Some social media sites make it more complicated that it should be.