Last week I wrote about an unfortunate incident where a person was fired over Facebook for an unruly update. Well forget that for a while because your unruly update could lead to your house getting robbed (via Mashable):

The concept is backed up by recent statistics from British insurance and investment management firm Legal & General, whose survey found nearly 40% of social networking users share holiday plans on sites like Facebook and Twitter. They also found about 13% of Facebook users and 92% of Twitter users tend to accept friend requests or follows without checking up on the source.

Of course, on Twitter that’s default behavior. You have to actively go out of your way to block someone, and the social culture is infused with an ethos of openness and public updating. On the flip side, surely there is some gray area emerging as we culturally get used to the ramifications of “living out in the open” with increasing frequency. It takes some getting used to, and until we’re more widely savvy about it these kinds of events will continue to be learning experiences.

The ramifications of living your online life out in the open is starting to come into play. The question remains if people are going to react and actually start living a bit more privately or if it will take some major crimes to convince people to not keep such an open network.

What are some things you can do to protect yourself?

1. Don’t allow stranger to access your personal information. Things like addresses and phone numbers can be used to trace you and figure out where you are at.
2. Use discretion when posting real time updates. You can always post pictures and updates when you are back home.
3. Be aware of other people’s information and keep a close eye on anything suspicious. Like an online neighborhood watch.