"Please don't tag me!!" Facebook's New Graph Search

Facebook's new Graph Search feature seems to be bringing up fairly strong opinions on the ever present issue of what is really private online anymore.  For my self personally, while yes it does make me slightly uncomfortable that if someone searches a restaurant I was at, you will have a fairly direct link to my profile and pictures...at the same time, my views on privacy remain essentially the same.  Be smart about what you post.  Don't put pictures or tag yourself at locations which could lead to trouble for you.  If I am out with friends or at a party, I make sure that I'm only in photos, or personally post my own photos, that show enough to say, "Hey, night out with the girls.  We got dressed up.  Yay!!" and nothing more.  My best friend tags us at every location we go to be it our restaurant of choice for lunch, the mall, the movies, etc.  If she begins to go on a "tagging rampage", I simply ask her to not tag us so much because it makes me uncomfortable.  I rarely, if ever, check into a location.  So in that regards, my issue with Graph Search comes into play.  Because I have little to no control over what my friends post.

This may cause certain concerns for people that may be attempting to find a job with a company or already employed with someone and are actively involved online.  If a future employer sees photos of you doing things that could make the company look bad, you may not get hired.  I heard a story, I believe it was last year, about a woman that was laid off from her teaching position for a Facebook status that bashed her students.

Really the moral of the story, and I know I'm probably beating this point senseless right now, is just BE SMART.  Privacy online is dead.  Keep yourself up to date with new privacy statements and controls and regulate what you post and keep an eye on what your friends may post about you.  Google knows all, and does not forget.

For anyone that may want more information about Graph Search here are two videos that I feel give a nice idea of what it is.  This first one is shorter and gives a slightly "romantic" feel to this new feature for anyone that may already feel a little put out by it.

(credit to YouTube)

And this video that is, in my mind, slightly more detailed :)

(Credit for video goes to YouTube and Nightline)

I like this video because it raises another interesting question...does anyone believe Facebook could ever have the capacity to replace Google??