Here’s my brilliant observation for this week about social networks like Facebook and Twitter, the Internet, and privacy:

If you’re smart…

…you will think of the Internet and social networks as something you should DATE, not something you MARRY.

When you’re dating:

• You’re GENERALLY on your best behavior

• You share SOME of yourself, NOT all of yourself.

When you’re married:

• Let’s just say that over time, it ALL comes out

Now think about the current uproar over Facebook’s changed privacy settings:

• Stuff you thought was private isn’t private anymore

So here’s the question to ask yourself:

• Have I been DATING Facebook, or have I MARRIED it?

And here are some old rules for social networking and other online interactions…

…that are worth reviewing:

RULE #1:

REMEMBER THIS: IT’S ALL PUBLIC INFORMATION

Inc. magazine is reporting on a woman in St. Louis who anonymously blogged and tweeted every day about her love life.

But she made one mistake:

When she created her Twitter account, she used her real name…

…then went back a few minutes later and erased it.

A few minutes was all it took for her name to be burned into the memory of the Internet forever.

Her employer Googled her, figured out the anonymous sex blog was hers, and fired her.

End of story.

But maybe her story can save you:

The Internet has ears and eyes everywhere…

…so if you want to keep something private, keep it away from Twitter, Facebook and the Internet at large.

RULE #2:

TREAT THE INTERNET LIKE AN OIL SPILL

Here’s what the folks at Exxon and BP have learned the hard way:

• It’s better to PREVENT an oil spill

• …than it is to have to attempt the impossible job of CLEANING one up.

And if you’re smart…

…you’ll apply this lesson to your personal life and the Internet, and prevent spills instead of doing things you’ll have to clean up later.

RULE #3:

KEEP A BAR OF SOAP ON YOUR DESK

At least once, your mother made you wash your mouth out with soap for something terrible you said.

To help you remember not to say terrible things while you’re online…

…I suggest that you keep a bar of soap on your desk.

And then when you’re tempted to type something mean or nasty or naughty into Facebook or Twitter or onto your blog…

…lick the bar of soap to help remind yourself that if you say the wrong thing online, you’re may regret it later on.

RULE #4:

KEEP A PICTURE OF GRANDMA ON YOUR DESK, TOO

This is a simple rule:

If you wouldn’t say it to Grandma…

…then don’t say it on Facebook or Twitter or on your blog.

Doesn’t that make it simple?

RULE #5:

YOU CAN TRY TO GAME THE SYSTEM

If there are damning videos or pictures or words on the Internet that can hurt you…

…you can try to game the system and make them (almost) disappear.

Here’s how:

• Add a ton of new stuff that represents you well:

If you add a ton of new stuff about yourself to the Internet that represents you well…

…the sheer volume will overpower the bad old stuff, and pretty soon it will almost disappear to the bottom of Google’s search results for you.

• Add new stuff about yourself every day:

Facebook and Twitter are a great way to add tons of new stuff in your own name and to do it all day long.

By frequently tweeting and updating your Facebook status…

…you are quickly and easily building a new identity for yourself while pushing your old identify towards obscurity.

• Dump your old Facebook and Twitter identities:

If you’re worried about what is there…

…create new, cleansed Facebook and Twitter accounts and use them often, to push the old accounts to the bottom of Google’s search results for you.

• But still, don’t kid yourself:

No matter how hard you try to get rid of the bad old stuff…

…it’s never going away.

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