Last week’s media coverage has again brought peoples’ fears over online chat rooms and networks – and Facebook specifically – back to the forefront. The general public has often been suspicious of the internet, with genuine concerns of never quite knowing who you are talking to or who is watching, even with the strictest privacy policies. But are the latest headlines something to worry about and should companies and professional organisations be fearful of engaging?
The latest stories concerned an ex-detective who posed as a 14-year-old girl online to catch out men making sexual suggestions after Facebook had to defend their decision not to include a ‘panic button’ linking users to report concerns to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre following the imprisonment of a man who murdered a woman after seeing pictures of her with a new boyfriend on Facebook.
Back in the world of digital PR, there is a likely knock-on impact on brands feeling cautious about the dangers of engaging online. While murder is the more extreme of concerns, the concept that you may not be able to trust the people you interact with online can heighten a pre-existing fear of the unknown world of Web 2.0 and online communications. A well planned and implemented digital campaign really cuts down on this, and it should not be used as yet another excuse to say ‘online is too risky’. We all know online is where it’s at, and it takes baby steps to get involved, but you’ve got to start somewhere. We highly recommend taking a good look at Jon Richman’s latest post: 9 simple steps to getting started in social media.
Tags: digital pharma, dose of digital, Facebook, jonathan richman
[...] networks just because of this report. Facebook scare stories are nothing new (as we said in a post not long ago). So is this a complete red herring? Should we care in the field of healthcare [...]