Social media and Numismatics.
keets
Posts: 25,351 ✭✭✭✭✭
Time marches on and it can be difficult to avoid some inevitable changes. There seem, from my perspective, to be three things which have infiltrated and influenced every facet of Modern American culture: the internet, cell phones and varying types of social media. The three seem interconnected and inseparable. For the record, I don't think I could live as contentedly as I do without an internet connection and PC, but I have never owned a cell phone or been involved with any type of social media save for this forum.
My question(s) is this --- Do you feel social media, namely Twitter and Facebook, are wise and safe to be using daily if you are an active collector who probably has valuables at home?? It seems that it would be unwise for the general public to be aware of your daily/nightly affairs, when you might be gone and for how long. I don't consider myself paranoid or suspicious but that thought occurred to me this morning so I thought I'd ask.
Al H.
Comments
I think you have to tread lightly. On Facebook at least, you can specify if you want your images to be globally seen or seen just by your network of friends.
However, there is money to be made participating in social networking if that's your intent. Ultimately: it's a tool. You can use it well to your benefit, or you can use it poorly to your detriment.
FWIW: This forum has similar advantages...and disadvantages.
--Severian the Lame
I would not even consider using Twitter or Facebook for any numismatic posts
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
I keep wanting to start a social media campaign for both of my businesses but I just can't get into it.
I keep trying to hire my 20 year old daughter to help me with it, but she is busy with school and life.
As to safety, Because I am a dealer, I want to promote my business and have people know who I am. Maybe not so much for the casual collector.
I learn more about what I don't want to know, on other sites. What I want to know is on, and in this one.
I am active on FB, Instagram, and several physician-oriented sites, but the topic of coins rarely comes up on any of them. I have lots of "coin friends" on FB, and some, especially the professionals, use FB for promoting their business, John Kraljevich, for example, has been running a wonderful numismatic-themed daily Black History month series of daily history essays on FB these last few weeks, well worth the price of admission!
OK, I'm not really talking about using the various forms of social media to talk about coins.
let's assume that a potential thief(who might be anyone, might be someone you know only through a friend) knows that you collect. if you post on Facebook that you're going to visit your parents in L.A. for a week next Thursday, is that wise?? it seems that everyone is far too open about themselves and it is really out there in public for anyone to know.
maybe I just tend to be a little more private and eschew the use of such communication forms.
Instagram has quite a few members who post coins. NGC even posts some of their nice coins on instagram...
Other than reddit, I stay far away from posting coin related stuff on social media.
I'm on FB regularly and I once mentioned a change find ONCE, but I shy away from
really letting anyone know about my interest's in the hobby as well as a few others.
I feel it's just a prudent precaution that I practice. I do visit a few FB coin related sites
but you can't even put a like or join the page without everybody on you're friends list
knowing about it.
Steve
I have a numismatic Youtube and Instagram, and I am very careful to make sure there is no way to trace where I am.
Fan of the Oxford Comma
CCAC Representative of the General Public
2021 Young Numismatist of the Year
Kellen, tracking is another interesting aspect of the Modern age.
It is a double-edged sword for sure and risky for those who don't know what they're doing ... which is why I maintain a safe distance.
ANA LM
USAF Retired — 34 years of active military service! 🇺🇸
Security systems are relatively inexpensive now and you can literally monitor every space of your home remotely from a cell phone.
Your point is very valid keets. It's something that I've thought about considering my own family. I've suggested to my four daughters-in-law and my wife that it may not be such a good idea to advertise to the world via facebook what a fabulous time they are having while on vacation. Why tell everyone with internet access you're not home? They don't get it.
you can literally monitor every space of your home remotely from a cell phone.
perhaps that's what that guy on the interstate was doing this morning on my way to work!!
Only my friends can see what I post, not their friends. Not a problem, unless you think that Kraljevich might be a thief?!
That said, I rarely post from vacation, that I am on vacation. No need to make people who are not on vacation feel bad.
The other issue about posting while on vacation is that some people have been robbed while on vacation after posting. Of course, limiting posts to your friends helps a lot.
thanks for the clarification, Robert, but certainly you understand I'm talking in a general sense about everyone and not you specifically, right?? your answer is a smart approach but I don't think it represents the millions of users who tend to be much "looser" about how they use these forms of communication.
also, do cell phones give the physical location of a picture that's taken and posted like cameras did/do??
First off facebook is notorious for changing privacy settings in ways that do not benefit YOUR privacy settings. Just because you had everything set properly LAST WEEK, well...
Second - are you sure you have remembered to remove geo-location data from every single photograph you have ever posted? That your name isn't distinctive enough to find you? That you haven't left enough personal data from other activities (if you have a website, your name and address are [or were] in the whois data) to figure out who you are??
Yes, cell phone cameras record geo data by default.
ANA 50 year/Life Member (now "Emeritus")
yeap, take a picture of your coin with a cell phone at YOUR house, post it on the net, and the GPS location of that coin can be viewed unless turn off the function or take out the info in photoshop.
I actually tried to find my friends Lobster location from a photo he sent me, but learned later he wiped the GPS information, LOL!
That is why I like IMGUR. When you upload a picture to that site, it wipes ALL meta-data it may contain.
As for having a home security system with cameras and phone apps, yes, those are good to monitor when the delivery man leaves a package or throws your new TV into the bushes. It doesn't help when I work 30+ minutes away and I live in a farm town with very little law enforcement presence. I'd rather not watch a thief stealing my collection in real time
I am a strong believer that the fewer people who know you have coins/bullion/guns other valuables in your home, the better. "Loose lips can sink ships". Friends can unknowingly let slip to others "my friend Bstrauss collects coins too. He picked up a stunner the other day..."
That makes it hard to promote the hobby for me outside of my online presence, but I feel safe with my current layers of home security and other methods of protection.
I didn't know that about Imgur. The gathering of data regarding our whereabouts and activities is silently becoming rather intrusive.
If you post that you're on vacation while traveling, you should read articles like the following:
Here are some tips from the FBI in the first linked article:
People have told me exactly this. In one incident, they were able to watch their house being robbed while at dinner but not able to do anything about it.
You can connect via Tor.
You can strip your images of EXIF data. Some sites do this by default. I'm surprised this one doesn't.
Good to know about EXIF here.
Keets, I had to sign up for Facebook because too many people I know wanted to 'friend' me and I didn't want to pi** them off. So I gave an incorrect birthdate and birth year, and told them I was born in Oatmeal, Texas (yes there is such a place and I have paid it a visit). Haven't been on the site in years. Haven't been on Twitter.
I get e-mails all of the time, saying "today is so and so's birthday." If you know the birthdate, if you know much else about the person, you can probably figure out the year of birth. They often post clues as to where they are from.
All you need is an SS#, and you can become an identity thief. If you can get a copy of something with a redacted SS#, you have the last four digits. If you know where they are from and can run some algorithms, you can probably figure out the rest of it.
If you own property, this is public record, so people can associate you with your address. You post of Facebook that you will be out of town, it's an advertisement to thieves to "come on down." It's a scary world out there.
"Seu cabra da peste,
"Sou Mangueira......."
I'm a FB user. I keep my privacy settings pretty tight. I don't post where I am or where I'm going, and only rarely post where I've been. Nobody in my "real life" outside of immediate family knows I collect, so unless somebody who's done a BST deal with me or a past ebay buyer or seller is stalking me, it's fairly unlikely I'm being targeted for my coins.
That said, most anything of value is in a safe deposit box. I monitor my home from anywhere in the world with my cell phone. Anybody who shows up here intending harm while we are home will leave in an ambulance. I'm sure a determined thief could work something out, but there is plenty of fruit hanging lower.
Anyone who has watched the CBS show "Hunted" is going to think twice about using the internet, cell phones or social media. Even if you don't use any of them the drones may find you and your hoard of gold!
Interesting thread. I am 36 and I personally don't use social media like face book MySpace twitter or whatever. This forum and an Aspie forum are all mynsocial media.
I'm not that tech savvy but I can use google and an iPhone. A guy once threatened me through a Craigslist message. I googled his email address and found his name. Google name found address. Responded to his email threat with his address and copied my reply to local PD same time. Choose your email and words wisely. Text messages and emails are written documents/ evidence, and can at times be binding, so I have been told.
You or anyone using an iPhone or smart phone these pics show how to disable location on photos and anything else.
http://www.pcgs.com/SetRegistry/publishedset.aspx?s=142753
https://www.autismforums.com/media/albums/acrylic-colors-by-rocco.291/
I am in agreement with you here. FB, etc. does more damage than good. Aside from the millions of daily FB feuds within the user community, along with the fact that you're advertising what collectibles you may have within your home, social media is socially retarding the kids. Kids no longer know how to interact socially with each other. Everything is from behind a keyboard.
Just my eversohumble opinion.
Cheers
Bob
I do have a FB account and use it. However, security is paramount... I never post pictures, plans or personal data...It is useful for me to keep in touch with distant kids, relatives and friends (I have lived all over the country and in other countries). I constantly see others who flagrantly post plans etc. all the time. Cheers, RickO
I collect Mexican coinage from the early 19th century and there are a lot of local dealers with Facebook pages with pictures of inventory and even weekly / monthly auctions conducted with bids placed in comments. But then again, it all depends if your collector base is on it, which seems to be largely the case in Mexico, but not really in US.
8 Reales Madness Collection
I understand and appreciate the privacy and security concerns expressed by most here in this thread with respect to posting about coins on social media. From my perspective though, as a dealer, social media has too many benefits to disregard. And it seems that some basic security precautions and adequate insurance can help to mitigate many of the risks others here have mentioned about sharing such information.
I started a Facebook page for my coin business last summer and in less than a year it has grown quite a bit, much more than I expected it would. By posting good content about coins and our hobby a few times a week, I now have over 5000 followers on my page and more sign up every week. Without Facebook and that page, I would not have access (and very easy access) to many/most of those collectors. Most of the followers are just lurkers and many are probably non-collectors with an interest in coins/history and I really like that I am helping to spread knowledge about numismatics to so many and am hopeful that maybe I'll help a few new collectors will come into the hobby. I have also sold several coins by posting them on Facebook, so it has certainly paid off in that way as well.
I already have the link in my signature line if those of you who use Facebook ever want to check out my page, but I know those signature lines don't show up on mobile devices on this forum:
https://facebook.com/kittlecoins/
Michael Kittle Rare Coins --- 1908-S Indian Head Cent Grading Set --- No. 1 1909 Mint Set --- Kittlecoins on Facebook --- Long Beach Table 448
I've never witnessed more exploitation of children anywhere. I tell my children all the time that the world sees my grandchildren more than I do.
Facebook is a billion dollar company yet it appears they have no product.
That's because their PRODUCT IS YOU. It's like Soylent Green - It's people.
FB is better at spying on you then the NSA. Every web page you visit that has the little blue f on it, is reported to FB along with your IP address. They know who you are and what you do on the Internet. And they sell that information to anyone who will pay for it.
That's how FB became the billion dollar company it is today - by watching you more than Big Brother could have imagined.
My physical address has no visibility online. It could be a problem if you had a lot of big gold coins with a physical address searchable. There is much greater risk setting up at coin shows, I have heard numerous cases of people being followed leaving small and big shows.
I have a toned coin fan who does a lot of networking on Facebook and claims that a lot of PQ material sells quickly in his group.
It's probably not safe for the savvy coin collector to leave his or her house anyway, so no need to worry about posts on FB. Armed robbers can visit your house when you are not there, so it's better to always be home, locked and loaded, with your gun aimed at the door. Other reasons to stay home include that you could get mugged, hit by a car, or a bird can crap on your head. Better to not have a traditional job, either. Burglars know that some people go to work during the day and are soft targets. On the rare occasion when you have to leave the house, say to buy more ammo, butter, or gold, you should booby trap the doors and windows. One cannot be too careful!
I stay in my bedroom all day wrapped in gauze wearing a hard hat.
You can never be too careful.
Robert's back, what a breath of stale air.
I am going to post daily FB selfies of me with an AK-47 pointed at the mailman. That should discourage any would be robbers!
I'm getting my pictures from my Advanced Surveillance and Booby Trapping class ready to post. I still have to blur some faces and alter some of the shadows and plant species, though.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
How many guns (or firearms) do you have? Can you ever have enough. As GW said "the teeth of liberty". But you have to be ready...someone could suddenly put the drop on you.
I will echo the comments of others who have posted with respect to social media being a tool that can either help or hurt you. It is what you make of it, like anything else.
I once had someone email me pictures of coins he wanted to sell. Inadvertently (I assume) the pictures were tagged with the exact coordinates of his house! I was able to trace the precise location of his coins without him knowing. Only time it has happened so far, but it was enlightening to say the least. Be very careful about the the pictures you take and keeping your location services on.
Dealing in Canadian and American coins and historical medals.
Some digital cameras have built in location devices, computers are generally not. Thieves take big risks, but usually people aren't prepared for them because they don't think like criminals.
I too, resist the cell phone part. I do Facebook and have a limited number of family/friends that I enjoy sharing with there. My facebook is private and not available for the public to peruse.
My internet is my bane, love it!
I've thought many times of acquiring a cell phone but so far, no.
bob:)
I worked for over a decade at a company that did data mining for other companies for marketing purposes. It is amazing what can be gleaned from seemingly everyday actions and tied back to a specific person / address if needed. Social media has just added velocity to the process as more of your data ends up in a database. Everyone sells data, even your friendly government. So you could try and crawl under a rock (just make sure you cancel all of your magazine subscriptions and library card, don't enter any contests, don't register your car...better yet don't own one!!) but honestly I don't think that is the way the vast majority want to live. With the social media such as Facebook etc, you do need to be aware of what goes on...use a fake birth place, date, etc. But...note that they can figure it out when all your friends post 'Happy B-Day' on August 17 and you are in the High School Class of 82 group....and they do. Social media is one thing you cannot fight as it is here to stay. Teach your kids the pitfalls!
Keets...congrats on not having a cell phone! I went for years without one but finally gave in so my kids could call me if they need a pickup etc. I do like having though.
K
Not surprised by some of the responses on this thread, it almost feels like going to a coin show where you here quite a bit of the same banter about anything resembling technology. It's good to be responsible but not to the point of being paranoid over every little thing.
It kind of reminds of people reading about an isolated incident in (insert country here) and then writing off the entire country for any future travel plans.
10-4,
My Instagram picturesErik
My registry sets
Get a smart phone as they are amazing. If you love the internet, you will love a smart phone once you get use to it. Amazing technology in your hand.
It took me a while as well, never understood texting, until I did it. Now that is most of and much more communication that I had done in the past.
If I got a smart phone it would dumb me down. Would never put it down for sure.
With the social media such as Facebook etc, you do need to be aware of what goes on
this should be at least part of the takeaway from the thread and judging from the many varied responses not everyone is/was aware of at least some aspects of it. common sense should rule, but even with that there are pitfalls that get exploited.