Model Privacy Part 1

Privacy issues are an ever-present topic in today's world with Facebook and other social networking sites. Today's post will be one in a series covering common privacy issues models face.

Privacy is a delicate topic of models - you want to market yourself, you want to get your face out there and a big part of that is getting exposure to people you don't know - but you want to do it safely. There's a fine line between too much and not enough.

Models often have difficult decisions to make with regard to how much information to share online "publicly". Facebook anymore functions as a online email address directory. With an email address in the search box Facebook will return any registered users that match the address you enter. Pretty quick way to pinpoint someone with what used to be seemingly innocent information.

You hear horror stories in the news of online stalkers etc. Granted this stuff doesn't happen everyday but in today's world you do have to exercise caution - it's just common sense. If you're not going to use a stage name for your modeling identity I encourage models to at least develop a modeling-dedicated email address. One NOT tied to any personal accounts you have online. Another good practice is to set up separate FB accounts for your "modeling life" this way you can keep your modeling and personal lives separate (and contacts). This gives you a great deal of control over how much information your professional contacts can easily access about you online.

So, starting of course with the elephant in the room - Facebook.

To start, understand I'm not knocking Facebook or saying it's unsafe. But users need to be aware of the kinds (and amount) of data is and can be shared about you over Facebook (often without you knowing it). Facebook's Privacy controls are somewhat complex and to the average user can be flat out intimidating. The fine folks at Mashable.com have put together a simple, easy to follow guide on Facebook privacy. I would urge you (especially parents of minors) to review this information and your (your children's) FB account settings to ensure you're doing everything you can to protect your privacy.

Mashable article here: http://mashable.com/2011/02/07/facebook-privacy-guide/