FACEBOOK / MYSPACE IMPLICATIONS DURING DIVORCE

We want to make sure you and the rest of the midlife bachelors see this short clip about how Facebook and other social internet sites can affect the outcome of a divorce.

This video contains exceptionally good advice. People going through a divorce or court case of ANY KIND need to be aware that anything they post online can certainly become fair game for any opposing attorney. And don’t think that by deleting something that is already posted means that it is “gone” – because it is not! The best rule of thumb is – if you don’t want anyone to know about something,  DO NOT POST IT ON THE INTERNET!

You have to carefully think through everything that you are posting on the internet BEFORE you actually post it – and ask yourself if there are any possible nega-

tive implications. If you are going through a divorce, you don’t want to post anything (photos, stories, etc.) that could affect the perception of your ability to be a good parent. If you are in the midst of a financial negotiation, you probably do not want to post anything that implies you have a lot of money to spend. And (especially if you are Mel Gibson), you might consider pretending that anything you say is being recorded, so you should take extra care to drink less and to keep your conversations with your ex pleasant!

The attorney in the video clip is Vikki Ziegler – who is coincidentally midlifebachelor.com’s April 2008 Woman of the Month. If you are going through a divorce, and are interested in hearing her approach to what she calls “divorce management”, then definitely visit her website www.vikkiziegler.com. I am a huge fan of Vikki Ziegler, by the way.

Several years ago, a girlfriend of one of my friends was suing her employer for sexual harassment – where she claimed that the owner of the small company she worked at suddenly attacked her, by grabbing her and attempting to force himself on her. She portrayed herself in the case as somewhat of a “delicate flower” (which was completely untrue – as those of us who knew her were aware). Anyway – to make a long story short, she apparently had previously posted a series of nude and semi-nude photos of herself on either myspace or facebook (don’t remember which). Sure enough the opposing attorney saw the myspace/facebook photos, and she wound up having to settle the case for a fraction of what she was hoping for.

So do definitely be careful what you post on the internet – pretend EVERYONE is reading it. If there is any doubt about whether you should post it, then don’t!