Or MySpace, or Twitter, or any other social media networking site for that matter. Let me clarify, I do not mean to say “don’t get caught USING Facebook”, I mean “don’t get caught BECAUSE of Facebook”. Let me show you. This guy has to be the ultimate example what I mean to be caught on Facebook. What an idiot. This isn’t a how-to for aspiring criminals, however; it’s more about the broader idea of controlling what you share with the world via internet communication.

Email communication has been around long enough for us to learn some of the ropes of avoiding potentially compromising situations. For example, we remember to click “Reply” rather than “Reply to All”. “BCC” (blind carbon copy) also has plenty of useful applications. However, social media is a relatively new phenomenon to the masses and it requires a whole different level of vigilance to avoid a damaging faux pas.

So many parties can learn a lot about you by the content they find on the web – whether you want them to or not. Check this out: some schools will check your Facebook page for character references PRIOR to admitting you. Potential employers are following suit. They are taking into account your resume, your references, and your Facebook page before calling you with an offer.

Or not.

While missing out on the school or job of your dreams is massively unfortunate, some content posted on Facebook can be downright embarrassing or provide your friends fodder for years upon years of teasing. Whether you are an individual or a business, your presence on the web is something that you constantly need to be aware of…

Next time you post something on Facebook. Think to yourself if you’re comfortable with the same information on the front page of the NYTimes or CNN.com. Chances are that you’ll rethink pressing that “Share” button.

Peas and Carrots,

One day, after class, you log on to Facebook to check out the photographic evidence of the beer-fueled music/love fest that was Dave Matthew’s concert at the Gorge over the weekend. Your buddy told you that the pictures he posted from the shindig were priceless, and naturally you had to see for yourself the first chance you got. Then, just as you’ve finishing typing in the name of your first dog for your Facebook password - there it is: a new friend request. Woo hoo, you think, this is the cute girl I met at the concert and she wants to connect! She was SO hot…  

Yes!

Only after opening the friend request do you find it to be from Mrs. Lady-Who-Changed-Your-Diapers-and-Packed-Your-Lunches-Everyday-With-Carrot-Sticks-Lady. In other words, your mom.

No!

Now what? Do you ignore her request at the risk of an uncomfortably long silence at Sunday’s family dinner while your mother wallows in the assumption that you don’t love her anymore, or do you accept the friend request at the risk of being disowned for the discovery of the debaucherous lifestyle you lead outside the watchful eye of dear ol’ mom and dad? Rock and a hard place, my friend, rock and a hard place.

Mom says that she’s only on Facebook to reconnect with her old friends from her college and high school days. I call shenanigans. The ONLY reason your mom is on Facebook is to make sure her “perfect little prince/princess” is behaving as such. What about all of your mom’s college and high school friends listed in her profile? They are doing the exact same thing with their kids. Guaranteed.

More and more people are logging on to Facebook each day. In fact, the user base on this once-selective social media site now tallies over 300 million people. That’s nearly the entire population of the US. One day soon your mom is going to be one of them. What to do? I suggest that you ignore the request and explain to your mother dearest that like in a real-life social setting, you like to enjoy time and space with your friends alone. Even in the virtual setting of Facebook. If that doesn’t work, tell her that you don’t really use Facebook anyway since you are so busy studying for midterms. That’ll work just fine, I promise. Now go crack open a beer and enjoy the thousands of less-than-angelic moments you have electronically documented with your friends on Facebook. Cheers, buddy!

Peas and Carrots,

SEO Grasshopper

To borrow words from Aldous Huxley, it is a Brave New World. For me especially as I begin this electronic adventure in the world of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Internet Marketing. While I have an educational background in Marketing with a focus on International Business, my primary experience throughout my career has been in supply chain analysis and inventory management. With Bonsai, I am able to get back into marketing - even though in a channel that didn't exist during my collegiate years. So much the better, I say.

The first couple of days here at Bonsai have been a bombardment of new concepts, ideas, and energies. I am soaking in as much as I can as quickly as I can.

The Age of Information has changed everything with proliferation of the Internet. Knowledge has been easier and faster to share now more than at any other point in history. The natural evolution we are now witnessing is the Age of Information Integration. With integration tools and techniques, search results are becoming more and more tailored with each passing day. As such, results are more useful to the searcher and the "searchee" parties waiting to be found. And that, my friends, equals a better life.

I'm happy to have joined the Zen Masters here in the Bonsai family and am excited for each new opportunity in SEO.

So far, so good. It's only my first week, though...

Peas and Carrots,

SEO Grasshopper