glass houses

Glass houses. This is something our class has touched upon that has boggled my mind. We use social networking without discretion nowadays. We post everything about our lives on Facebook and Twitter: what we are doing at the moment, pictures of us drinking the weekend before, our phone number, who we are in a relationship with, who we hate, who we love, and so forth and so forth. It is almost as if our social network site mirrors who we are in real life, only through pictures, images, and text on a screen. We can also be whoever we want on the internet: reveal a bit too much, or post things we would never say in real life.
Regardless, social networking has provided us a place to create an alternate reality. One in which we say and do what we want without restrictions. But who do we expect to read our "online identity?" Our intended audience, that is who. Generally however, this is not the only group who looks into our glass house. I may post things expecting only my close friends to see. I may post things expecting my ex-boyfriend or his friends to see. There may be postings that are intended for people I am not so close to in real life but are "internet friends" to see. But... we can never really control who is to look through our glass house.
There are ways for major businesses and corporations to view our profile, regardless of whether it is private or not. There are ways for your mom to view your Facebook (like standing above your brother while he is viewing your page). Educators and prospective employers can find ways to view your page. This proves that although we expect only about 20 or so people to actually follow us through social networks, there are ways around the system.
It is crazy to think that I post my life through the web. I have about a gazillion (exaggerated) friends on Facebook, and do not even realize that a good portion of them may check my pictures and statuses on a daily basis. Just as Danah Boyd mentioned in her lecture, we have an intended audience. And then we have an even larger audience who can take our information and do what they please with it. Social networks provide us glass houses. We can post what we wish, but should do so with caution. There is a whole world of people out there who can see our online profile, and manipulate it in whatever way they wish.