Imagine every conversation you had in a single day was recorded. The missteps you may make in that time could be astounding. Online communication is very much the same way but with a little know-how, you can better handle yourself regardless of which social platform you use.

For example, did you know some apps allow you to edit your posts, but still keep a visible history of those changes available to the public? This means a rash decision to comment something inappropriate will be seen by others even if you edit out the negative things just moments later. That’s why you always need to think before you post, so that any edits you make are benign in nature; otherwise, it is best to delete the entire post. Deletion, however, does not guarantee someone did not take a screen shot of it before you took it down.

To help you along, here are some other tips to using a few of the more popular platforms.

Facebook: Separate Fans from Friends

When using Facebook, separate your Facebook accounts for different audiences. This will offer you better control of the content you share. To do this, create a Fan Page (not a Profile Page) for the general public – the people you don’t actually know first hand. Keeping your Profile Page only for friends and family, on the other hand, will provide you a bit more latitude for more personal content. As always, keep your accounts private and secure no matter what.

Twitter: Understand Public vs. Private

If your Twitter account is public, do not use it as email. Do not post your phone number or anything of a personal nature. If your Twitter account is private, remember that your followers can easily copy and paste your posts to any public site. Only use Twitter with the idea that someone will make your content public, if not now, then sometime in the future.

Instagram/Vine/YouTube: Know Your Surroundings.

When taking/ posting photos or videos, understand what’s in your surroundings. This means everything that can be seen in the video or photo. Most issues come from things seen in the background. You may find the main focus of the content interesting, but your audience will be looking at the entire video, and more than happy call you out on anything inappropriate.

Snapchat: Don’t Believe the Hype

The idea behind Snapchat was that you could share things without any kind of a footprint because Snapchats had a shelf life and would delete themselves after a small period of time. This made it highly attractive to users around the globe. Unfortunately, many discovered there was a very big loophole to their promise. Not only aren't the images actually deleted, but in the few moments a user has to review a Snapchat message, he or she can simply take a screenshot of the message and post it online. And now, your private message becomes archived by the internet for everyone to see. Do not send a Snapchat expecting it to be deleted. If you are unwilling to share the content publicly, then Snapchat is the wrong app for you.