What Happens Online Stays Online

Or does it? Oh it REALLY does!

It’s Snapchat era and everyone’s loving the idea of content disappearing in seconds! But where is it really going? Can Snapchat see every sneaky snap you send out? Is it getting stored in some fantasy cloud? Can those data people track your every conversation? I know I thought this when Snapchat introduced its new feature of adding emojis next to your contacts. How on earth do they know to put a heart next to your boyfriend?!

Well that certainly proves that once something is online, it’s ALWAYS going to be there!

Even Hillary Clinton knows that now! US officials are in a frenzy, rummaging through all her personal emails, hoping NOT to find any classified information that could have been sent out when the then Secretary of State used her “not-so-secure” private email server for official purposes! Phew!

I’ve talked previously about how ONE minute in internet time is as long as that last minute of your last exam. Brands have ended up in trouble for putting something controversial online, and although they might have managed to get it off within seconds, the damage is already done. Among the million impressions it received, someone, somewhere, shared it already on one of the many social platforms. And now it will live there forever.

You might think dark social is the way out. But ask Evan Speigel. His “frat boy” charm really did not come in handy here.

So how do we stay safe online when all these websites, social media platforms, apps, are constantly asking us for all our personal information? We have probably reached that point where we don’t care; privacy has become just another overused word, and we hit accept anyway. Well, maybe the users of Ashley Madison might disagree!

Jokes apart! Your online avatar can get you fired from a job even before you get it!

I’m sure all of us out there Google people all the time! Colleagues, co-workers, professors, potential employers. Ever tried Googling yourself? It’s a good reality check once in a while, especially before an interview. Also, never add a co-worker on your personal social media, because before you know it, they found THAT picture of you, from your friend’s boyfriend’s cousin’s nephew’s Facebook, because that nephew was their sister-in-law’s brother’s son’s friend! Now do you really want to risk it?

So my two-cents on this would be – Be VERY VERY careful of what you put up online, because you might be able to clear your cookies and your search history, but you can NEVER clear your online story!

However, your lack of digital presence in this day and age, could send a signal that you have something to hide. First impressions still count. Today they happen online. And a good way to stay safe online is to make sure you build your online brand right! Here is a great tool to help you do that.

On that note, since we spoke so much about Snapchat, have you seen this hilariously creepy video of parents using the new Snapchat filters on babies?

Oh Technology! Where have thou brought us?