Not only are social networks, such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter becoming part of our everyday culture, but now blog posts, pictures and tweets are beginning to seep into our courtrooms.  They are even becoming a norm when it comes to evidence in a lawsuit. In general, social networks in general have brought about a whole new way of keeping in touch and expressing ourselves. With the ability to post comments, pictures and status updates, you can virtually get a minute-by-minute play of what your friends are doing at any given moment. But with the ability to share so much information there comes a catch – the information you just  posted is now out there in cyberspace for anyone to see.

It is becoming increasingly common for attorneys to search these social networks and use the content and information posted on these sites when legal issues arise. Even with privacy settings, you are still traceable online. A good example of this is a federal case in which two Yale students pressed charges against Matthew Ryan, a resident of Texas, who posted derogatory comments and pictures of the two girls on an Internet discuss board. Even though Ryan lived in Texas and all his comments were made in an online public forum, he was still tried for harassment in Connecticut and found guilty.

There are also plenty of examples of Michigan cases where social networks have played a large role as well. For example, this article describes police efforts to prosecute the creator of a Facebook group that led to a 2008 riot on the campus of Michigan State University. Also, another article describes a libel lawsuit against two MSU students for making edits to a County Commissioner’s public Wikipedia profile.

So the next time you make a comment online or post pictures, remember that it can be found and will be found. It’s easy to be careless when sitting alone in front of your computer, but try to consider how that bulletin or link you posted portrays you to your family and friends.