As I was looking through my feeds, I saw this little snippet about online safety being taught to kids by none other than Phineas and Ferb. If you have young kids, you likely know about these two. If you don’t – it’s a kids show on Disney Channel that’s fairly amusing.

I watched the little video and for the most part – I thought it was pretty good. Here are their tips in a nutshell:
1. Be careful what you put online – it never goes away, ever!
2. You never know who’s gonna see it!
3. Just because it’s online, doesn’t mean it’s true!
4. Not everyone is who they say they are!
5. If you wouldn’t do it in person, you shouldn’t do it online!

I’m all good on the tips up to this point, but after that last one, it gets a little iffy…
1. Get off the computer
2. Put down the phone
3. Nothing beats spending time with REAL friends!

That last one irked me a little. Seriously Disney? “Real” friends”? I mean, I see what you’re trying to do here, but could you not have phrased that better?

Anyway, in the light of the recent Facebook commotion, it’s kind of interesting to think about these little rules and how they may apply to all that’s going on there.

(this is a modified post from one just posted at “The Social Networking Girl“)

We’ll just skip right over that obligatory line about, “Hey wow it’s been a while since I blogged”, because actually… it hasn’t. Has it been a while since I blogged *here*? Absolutely, and this is the reason for this post.

I’ve seen a lot of discussions about a separation between online identities and the division between personal and professional profiles on various networks. I’ve seen friends create new profiles and make that separation intensely evident. I am of the opinion that creating separate profiles goes against everything that I believe in, but … faced with some situations and some pressure, even I created some divisions, and I regret it. And so, we shall fix it.

At some point in the past I blogged that “The Social Networking Girl” would be where I talk about things related to work, and this site would be for everything else. Well – forget that. It doesn’t work and we’re not doing it. As of this post – this site – “The Social Networking Girl” – is closed. Enough with the separation.

What I’ve found is that when I create different profiles for different ‘identities’ – I never post to the professional accounts. I never log in, I don’t keep track of them, and I end up feeling that anything I post there is for show, or because I feel like I have to. That’s not real, that’s not fun, and frankly – that’s not cool. So, we’re done with that.

Social networking, social media, and community is all about learning who we are, and who everyone else is. If all you do is post links and present a false front, then how much am I really learning about you or connecting with you? I’ll tell you how much – not at all. I can get those links from feeds, and I can do without the fakity fake stuff, thanks.

If we create professional accounts because we’re afraid of offending people or feel that some of what we might show or say is inappropriate for certain audiences – I get that. I don’t agree with it, but I get it. I understand why some people would feel more comfortable with that and feel that it’s “safer”. I can’t do it and feel good about it, but if you need to do it – then do it and rock it.

I want to know about the little things. I *want* to know what you had for breakfast. I want to see photos of your kids, your pets, and your drinkies. I want to know what movies you like, and what the weather’s like where you live. I want to know what pisses you off, and what makes you feel all smooshy inside. I want to know *YOU* and we cannot know each other unless we’re all being real.

Let’s be real.