So, what do you need to know to avoid making a twit of yourself on twitter, or get mud in your face on Facebook?
One of the most important things to be aware of is privacy settings, ie, who can see your comments and pictures and who can share them with others?
On Facebook, if you want to limit who can see your information then limit this just to friends you have approved. (See the privacy settings options.)
Where it gets tricky is friends that share or tag your photos. A good way to think about this is as you would a school photo: you have little control over who passes the photo on. You can control who pins this to your profile to avoid all your friends seeing the photo. (To do this review the timeline and tagging settings.)
Most social media are similar: you can control whom you are friends with and how they share information. Sometimes real life is not so simple.
Social media does have some positive uses beyond sharing selfies and cat videos. There are some great discussion group options in Facebook.
For employers and business owners LinkedIn is a great tool to review potential candidates or network. The groups are strong; think of it as a global discussion group on just about any topic in the world. Here is your chance to share grain growing experiences with farmers in Australia, America and Europe.
SnapChat appears to be the tool of choice for tweens and teenagers now Facebook is becoming uncool with all us oldies joining it. Our 9-year-old has been able to connect with her friends across Canterbury which is really cool. It is important that they understand the privacy settings and have an awareness of internet bullying. www.netsafe.org.nz is a great resource.
Twitter is also a great way to quickly get information out and shared with others; MPI used it to communicate the recent fruit fly scare.
Even if you are not ready to post your life on the internet, having a profile on any of the sites above allows you to follow the news for the day when you are ready to send your first tweet. Good sites to start with include.
@ruralnews, @rippedorange
FaceBook.com/ruralnews
FaceBook.com/rippedorange
• David Jackson, of Canterbury, studied at Lincoln University and has worked in agribusiness. Ripped Orange is a technology training company www.rippedorange.co.nz
