What is the value of a friend on Facebook? Did you know there are some companies that will provide you with fake virtual online friends for price? I'm not sure what they are charging these days, maybe it's 10 for $10, and you get the 11th one free? That seems pretty silly doesn't it? Okay so let's talk about all these topics for second shall we?

Not long ago, someone mentioned to me after reading an article I'd written on this topic that he'd noticed an interesting trend in our society with regards to online "friends" on social networks. He stated; "The more acquaintances you can amass, the greater the chance you will have someone to turn to in need."

Now then, I understand the concept of amassing "friends" online to network and improve the chances of getting help in time of need. Maybe that's why so many people wish to be my friend? I hate to think that everyone contacting me "wants something" but alas that is the mentality of so many folks - they want a stimulus, food stamps, a new job, or some gift from the gods, such as the old fat mean-spirited lady who reads romance novels where an ultra-rich, good looking, muscular hunk rescues them from mundaneness. I just see this sort of nonsense as counter-productive and much akin to playing the lottery, after all if one amasses enough lottery tickets they are bound to eventually win? I see it all as petty, and quite telling of society's mentality.

Okay so, you might indeed see it differently, in fact, you might be all in when it comes to getting friends on Facebook or your other social networking websites. If that's your goal to amass the highest number of friends to surpass your other friends (real or imaginary), and therefore find self-validation, then go for it. Who am I to tell you what your life's goals should be? To each his own I say. Nevertheless, one could ask the question; is this even healthy for human societies, not just here the United States, but everywhere else in the world as well.

There are over 1 billion people on Facebook alone, and even if 10% of those people are make believe and bogus profiles that still leaves 900 million people and that is a large percentage of the Earth's population. Not only that, but Facebook is hardly the only social networking website online. Why not do a self-study, why not ask all your friends on your social networking site to help you with some important project that you have or to send you money. How many of those friends that you have would be so inclined to help you?

You probably haven't asked anyone for help so far on your social networking site, so this would be a new thing. Indeed, many individuals believe that amassing friends is a smart way to go in case these individual users are ever in need. Of course, accumulating friends in advance to ask them for something is not a very friendly thing to do, is it? What happened to self-reliance? I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Internet Social Networking. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net/

View the original article here

Ultimately, a user holds all the cards when it comes to social media privacy. A user chooses everyday how much privacy they have and how much privacy they will have in the future. They do this either consciously or unconsciously, either way; the user is choosing their future and their destiny at every post and every update.

Therefore, a person must be aware of what they are doing at every moment they use a social network. Every post and every update moves them closer to having no privacy. Therefore, a person must be extremely careful what they say on the social networks.

The new world of social media has demonstrated that the things a person says online have meaning far beyond what the user intends them to have in most cases. This means that a person is in danger of losing their job or not being able to get a job in the future. Every sentence and every word can be scrutinized and used against the user in the future.

There have been people who have lost their jobs and sent back to their home country because of the things they have said on the social networks. Granted, this was mostly government based updates or posts (posts and updates that seemed threatening to local governments). However, this demonstrates that privacy on the social networks does not exist and everything that a person says on the internet can be potentially damaging to that person in the future.

Some people would call this paranoia; however, the fact of the matter is that everything that a person says on the social media systems is being checked over by someone. Therefore, everything said on a social media system is dangerous and should be carefully examined before a person says it.

Social media is the newest place where a person must be politically correct at all times. A person who does this has more opportunity than a person who does not pay attention to this fact. This means that any person who wants to have a realistic shot of getting any job they want should start cleaning up their social media profile right now.

In fact, it is a smart idea for that person to close their account and start over fresh. This is because everything a social media says online can be used against them in the future (even in court). Therefore, a person must get as much privacy as possible before it is too late. They must keep their profiles as clean as possible to get new jobs and to keep them out of legal trouble in the future.

Scott Buendia consults for Bizbuilt.com. All the views and tactics in this article are tactics and ideas of the author; they do not necessarily represent the ideals, beliefs, or trademarks of Bizbuilt.com. Visit his card on Bizbuilt here, https://www.bizbuilt.com/socialmediaprivacy.

View the original article here