Sharing Your

Information

with Others

T

he Internet offers many options for connect-

ing with people and sharing information.

You’ll find discussion boards and chat sites on
a wide variety of sites, from news sites to recipe
sites, sites focused around grief and health
issues, and sites that host political- or con-
sumer-oriented discussions.

There are some great senior chat rooms for
making friends, and many sites allow you to
create new chat rooms on topics at any time.

Another way people share information is
through mini-comments on social journals
(not to be confused with social networks).
These sites, which limit any comment to no
more than 140 characters (about three sen-
tences), allow you to add your comments
about your life in an ongoing stream of com-
ments from many users. Creating rich, short
messages has become almost an art form
among devotees.

Instant messaging (IM), on the other hand,
isn’t a Web site but a service. Using software
such as MSN Messenger, IM allows you to chat
in real time with your contacts. You can access
instant messaging programs via your computer
or your cell phone.

7

In this chapter...

➟Your Information Is Online,

Even If You Aren’t ..............138

➟Understand How Information

Understand How Information Is Spread and Collected ......................

➟Consider the Cumulative

Effect................................143

➟Find Yourself Online ..........145

➟Respect Other People’s

Information ......................147

➟Spot How People Expose

Others ..............................148

➟Use Discussion Boards........149

➟Participate in Chat ............151

➟Contribute to Social

Journaling Sites ................153

➟Send and Receive Instant

Messages (IM) ..................155

➟Safety Tips for Instant

Messaging ........................158

➟

Chapter