Do You Know Who Is #Following You?

Late one dark Saturday night as my friends and I were making our way toward our car on the west bank of the flats, I felt the uneasy presence we were being followed. Without trying to draw attention I subtly scoped out the situation and confirmed my suspicion. I calmly encouraged my gal pals not to panic but rather to stick together and pick up the pace. Needless to say, my dearest friend immediately screamed and ran for her life. At that point there was no point in trying to be coy any longer, so we all followed suit.

The point in sharing this story is that at one time we could identify, or at least see the stranger following us. "With the world of social media today, many of us have gained lots of “followers” — some who we recognize and some we don’t. There are the red flags signaling those we may want to try to escape, while some fly under the radar just keeping up with what you’re posting.

I’m not a frequent tweeter, but I find it can be entertaining and a good way to keep up with current news, interests and friends. I’ll sometimes tweet about what activity the day held, and occasionally I’ll get a response or a re-tweet from someone who found it interesting. My audience isn’t huge, so I can easily keep an eye on who’s following me – most of the time. I have observed that depending on the topic, a sudden shift in followers will appear and may disappear – here today, gone tomorrow kind of effect.

For example, I tweeted about a yoga class I had taken and soon found a hemp-related Twitter handle following me as well as a grass roots eco-conscious clothing company and a green peace organization. What would they find interesting about my yoga class? Obviously, they have a stake in what’s happening in that demographic which makes my random tweet of interest to their industry.

The same goes for politics. I began following a political candidate and was notified of a “unique” Twitter handle following me. Of course I read the bio for this anonymous person and found I wanted to escape this stranger. I could delete them, but I decided to wait it out. After all, I am in complete control of what I share.

A computer allows these “creepers” anonymity, while social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter allow them access to our personal information by friending or following us. Some might concur this same activity equates to stalking.

Interestingly enough, stalking or not, there is a Twitter etiquette. If someone follows you, you in turn, are supposed to follow them. So if you decide to ignore the guidelines for those socially networking, that’s completely up to you.

“The number one reason people whom you don’t know follow you is because you have a common follower of theirs. You pop up in their stream of people they may know, and they may look at your profile and see similar interests. They may follow three or four people or organizations you follow and then decide to follow you,” explained Jennifer Kramer, director of public relations and marketing communications at Kent State University’s College of Communication and Information.

If you are uncomfortable with a follower, the option to "un-follow" you is available on Twitter by deleting them from your list. Check into your settings and you can determine who has access to follow you. The same goes for Facebook; you have the option to "un-friend" anyone you choose.

According to Kramer, Facebook recently made internal changes to their system which requires users to adjust their account settings to make it a secure location. Prior to this when a user opened the site that meant your account wasn’t secure. Someone could hack or geo-locate you. If you’re not familiar with the new settings, here’s what you can do:

Log into your Facebook account and click on account then account settings. Then click on manage privacy options, then customize privacy. Customize your privacy settings the way you want them. Your satisfied comfort level is the key for all social media sites.

“It doesn’t have to be alarming; it’s all very controllable,” said Kramer. “It’s supposed to be in good fun and a way for you to stay connected with friends, family and colleagues. It’s a way for people to communicate and it’s a way for people to consume news. You want them to be engaged in social media, but it’s also your responsibility to protect yourself.”

Here are a few obvious suggestions to keep the creepers at bay and protect your privacy.

• Check your account settings on the social media sites you use. Stay current on updates and security updates
• Don’t post personal information in advance of a planned activity which allows followers to know where you are going to be at a particular date/time
• Don’t tweet that you’re going on vacation for a specific time period allowing the followers to know your house will likely be unattended
• If you don’t want to be identified, choose a Twitter handle that doesn’t reflect your personal information.
• Keep in mind the topic on which you may be tweeting – if you wouldn’t want your neighbor to read out about it, forgo the post and keep it to yourself
• Check cell phone settings to make sure the extra security gps measure is set. If you need help, stop in your provider's retail store and ask for assistance

Follow Stow Patch on Facebook and Twitter, we won't think it's creepy.