What is social media? Is it safe? Which one(s) do I need? Which of them is right for me?

Actually, not too long ago, I found myself asking the same questions? And I needed answers quickly. So, I dove in and tried them all. Here is what I learned

Social media is just a new way of describing what you and I have been doing all our lives - communicating with people. These new forms of communication are based on gadgets - Smartphones, iPhones, laptops, netbooks and tablet PCs. Today, many people cannot leave their homes without one of these electronic umbilical cords to attach them to business, friends or family.

Are they safe? Yes, if you use common sense. As in life, it is always best not to talk to strangers. But if you do, do not volunteer personal information like full name, address, telephone numbers, etc. Observe common sense rules and make sure you set up your account not to share any personal information with people you do not know - and you will be fine.

Which one(s) do I need? Since all of them do, basically, the same thing, you do not need more than one of them. And this choice can be determined by a number of factors including whether you already are using one or if friends or family have asked you to get a facebook page, for instance.

Which one is right for me? Think of these media as light, medium and heavy. Twitter is usually the briefest communication with, probably, the highest frequency as it is the easiest to produce. Facebook and MySpace are the medium weight and require a little more deliberation and maybe less frequent as a result. Under heavy, I include blogs, or, at least, our blogs as they take a lot of thought, research and time to produce.

At Border Control, we produce both light and medium messages frequently, often several times a day. And we repackage our medium articles so that people who only have a Twitter account can get read larger length messages by clicking the URL address embedded in their Twits.

The choice is yours, of course. For me, I rely on my Twitter account that keeps me current throughout the day via my cellphone. But to get the big picture, I urge you to get our blog and our alerts delivered to you via email.

Welcome to the brave new world of social media. Enjoy!