Coming to a Home Near You: Robbery, or, Don't Leave Home without Tweeting!

I have posted before (here, here, here, and here) about taking care of your personal information while online. Fark, twitter, Facebook, Google Buzz, My Space, Digg, ad nauseum provide people with 'way too many outlets for giving up their identity, and there are plenty of people out there who are happy to take advantage of what they (you?) Tweet (or whatever).

I was interviewed several months ago by the local CBS affiliate regarding the web site Please Rob Me, which re-posted tweets in real time from people telling the world that they are not home and how long they will be gone. (Please Rob Me has since ceased that activity.) You don't need to tell me that right this minute you are waiting in line for a table at the newest rage restaurant, Horse Trough Sushi. We don't need to know that you are about to take your seat at the U2 concert at Phillips Arena, or that on October 13th you are flying down to the Atacama Desert in Chile for a week to see the last of the Chilean miners brought up from the cave in.

When you do those things, you are telling the world, "My House Is Empty. Take What You Want!"

Instead, tell us after the event.

For some of you, I know that's hard. We humans like to toot our own horns when we can. It's a way of showing off, and in the current state of American society, there's plenty of pressure to compete with others (Aww, Andy! Goober got to leap out of an airplane without a 'chute! Why can't I?) Resist the urge. Do yourself a favor.

Be aware of what the repercussions might be from what you are posting.
Tell your kids how to be careful online, and
Monitor their use of social media.

They could be giving away your jewelry and computers.

I know that most people aren't thinking about that when they post stuff online, but they should be. Here is a news video clip of what happened to one woman when she announced to her 1500 closest friends that she was not going to be home. A bit scary, huh?

Oh, yeah. Above all, do not post a date and time you won't be home and then not go out. The people who come to take your stuff might have weapons and find you there. Not a pleasant thought, is it?

I post about critical thinking here, and when you use these sites where anyone and everyone can stick their nose into your business because they can (and remember this, please - YOU LET THEM!), you open yourself up to home invasion.

Think, think, think! Please! Don't walk around this planet mindlessly. The computer, jewelry, and or life lost might be yours.