status updates

Poll

Do You Self-Edit Your Social Network Posts?

In this day and age, having an online profile can be a useful tool in keeping you connected with long lost friends, but it can also help you get a great job or — on the other end of the spectrum — get you fired or even land you in court.

In this day and age, having an online profile can be a useful tool in keeping you connected with long lost friends, but it can also help you get a great job or — on the other end of the spectrum — get you fired or even land you in court. As an effect, users may be more inclined to self-edit their status updates to ensure they don't seem like a risky choice for future employers, or say anything that could be taken out of context if faced with a legal battle.

We all have those annoying Facebook friends that post too often, divulge TMI, or fudge the truth to seem happier than they really are, but is it just as annoying to have to constantly edit your own status updates, true thoughts, or beliefs in order to keep everyone else happy? If you're constantly second-guessing whether or not you should click "Update" or "Tweet," and wondering what people will think about you, does that mean that Facebook eventually makes everyone insecure, and question how they think or feel? Vote, then chat it out in the comments!

NASA

Social Extremes: Wild Locations to Check In to and Tweet From

There are a few locations you probably shouldn't check in to on Foursquare, and then there are the places you probably won't get to check in to in your lifetime.
Extreme Places to Check In to on Foursquare, Tweet

There are a few locations you probably shouldn't check in to on Foursquare, and then there are the places you probably won't get to check in to in your lifetime. These locations are saved for the extreme sports enthusiasts and those who travel beyond our planet. Take a look at a few extreme places some twitterers and Foursquare addicts have sent updates from, and add the coordinates to your bucket list!

Facebook

Tech Dating 101: The Facebook Value of Your Relationship

I've already touched on figuring out the appropriate time to change your relationship status, but here's another reason why announcing your romantic situation online is never simple.

I've already touched on figuring out the appropriate time to change your relationship status, but here's another reason why announcing your romantic situation online is never simple. While I was hanging out with some friends over the weekend, one of the couples told me a story about the perils of joking about their relationship on Facebook. Once they moved in together, the boyfriend, in the midst of his new cohabitation routine, thought it'd be funny to change his status to "married." This led to a flurry of puzzled comments and congratulations from their friends, who took the status update at face value.

Find out the rest of the story, and chime in with your thoughts after the break.

social networks

Can't Think of a Status Update? Let Generatus Create One

Filed under "completely useless but pretty funny," Generatus is a site dedicated to providing you a Facebook, Twitter, or other social networking status message when you just can't manage to think of one on your own.

Filed under "completely useless but pretty funny," Generatus is a site dedicated to providing you a Facebook, Twitter, or other social networking status message when you just can't manage to think of one on your own. It bills itself as, "Ideal for the imaginatively challenged," the site pulls funny updates from a variety of tags and trendy items, from popular movie to popular news items.

To use the site, just type in your name, select your gender, add any tags or keywords (you know, if you have a general idea of what you'd like your update to say), and click, "Generate." The site will then spit out a sometimes hilarious, sometimes nonsensical status update. My personal favorite so far: Geeksugar is making one simple request. And that is to have sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads! (Doesn't hurt that that is also one of my favorite movie quotes of all time.)

You can also choose an update based on a theme from the site's tag cloud, including popular terms like, "movies" and, "work." While I can't guarantee I'd ever actually use one of these as my actual status messages, playing around with the site is pretty funny. Give it a try, and post your funny updates below!