We’ve discussed before how you should think before you tweet, but the risks of social networks and public video sites have a further reach than just accidentally spilling secrets.
YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, Twitter and any of the public sites you use to reveal any image, video or text representing yourself should be considered carefully. If your children are auditioning for things, putting their auditions up on YouTube gives anyone full access to what they look like, their name, and personal information about them. Not to mention, putting your own auditions and videos on YouTube exposes footage that could come back to haunt you.
There is no “undo” when you give public sites a piece of your identity – so consider it carefully. If you intend on being a well-known face, people are going to be scouring the internet for things you did before you were famous. You should value the opportunity that the internet provides in giving you access to a wide network of people, but you should also take that power seriously. Here are a few guidelines to consider before releasing something or posting it online:
-Don’t post things that you don’t want every single person in the world to be able to see it at any time, be it now or ten years from now.
-Look for sites that allow you to control access to who can view the material.
-Keep things hidden or on a password protected site.
-Always be thinking into the future about whether you really want to be associated with a particular photo, thought, or video before you post it.
When you post something to a site that has no password protection or security in place, you forfeit the ability to control it – and as an actor, the one thing you can and must control is your own image.