Some people think that Facebook is safe. You can say whatever you want, because you manage your privacy settings regularly and only "friend" people you trust. Well, consider this true story.
I attended a small, public charter high school in Santa Cruz, CA. Basically, the school received federal funding, but was to free to operate under its own power, and not answer to any county superintendent. As a result, the parent board made most of those fiscal and ideological decisions that would normally be made by the school district. And, long story short, I came to distrust them. And I made a Facebook group about it.
Next thing you know, the board forces the principal to resign over semantics, and people begin to get suspicious. And then I get a message in my Facebook Inbox from a news reporter, asking me if I could be interviewed for an upcoming piece. Turns out, the opinions I had posted on this Facebook group was pretty inflammatory, much more so than I had meant.
This didn't matter to me so much as a student, but the situation made me think about what Facebook can do to a person's reputation. You never know how your words will be misinterpreted online. Or when a friend suddenly posts pictures of you at a party, drinking out of Solo cups that look pretty suspicious.
Again, I'm not really in a position to be scrutinized. But if I ever become someone of worth, this whole social networking thing is going to keep me up at night.
15 years ago
Was the group closed? There are options on facebook to keep it as private as possible from people who aren't technologically able to hack, or aren't determined enough to find the information. The group could have also been "secret." I'm sure, though, that you weren't thinking of how the group would have an effect on others that were indirectly involved -- so the lesson should be to think of all the possibilities prior to posting ANYTHING online.
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