Immediacy and the lasting impact of what we say online could be positive or negative.  In this case it could have cost Israel the lives of its soldiers on a mission to apprehend suspected terrorists.

On March 4, ABC News reported that the IDF had to cancel an operation to arrest militants in the West Bank several weeks ago after a soldier posted details of the mission.

 Here is the message that the unnamed soldier posted his Facebook page:

 “On Wednesday we are cleaning out the village of Katana (nr Ramallah) – today an arrest operation, tomorrow an arrest operation and then please God, home by Thursday.”

Comrades in his elite unit saw the post and reported it to their commanding officer. The Commander aborted the mission for fears that operational security had been breached.

The result: The soldier was arrested and placed in custody for 10 days before being forced to leave his unit.

This is serious lack of judgment, but at the time the soldier was merely updating his friends using Facebook and making plans for his return home.  He didn’t consider how this information would impact his colleagues, the IDF, and Israel’s security. 

“Friendly fire” in this case came from the post and not the bullet but its impact could have been just as severe.

This phenomenon of “post now and think later” is rampant.  Whether it is inappropriate pictures that follow you for life, negative comments that could cost you a future business opportunity, or being overly critical in a comment section, these very acts can affect your personal brand.

Using social media has become the vehicle for sharing information in an effective, quick, and inexpensive way.  Everyday more and more people seem to be gravitating to it for good reason.

In the frenzied rush to be the first one to report news, we sometimes ignore the bigger picture: the consequences.  Perhaps we should slow down, be mindful, be considerate and put ourselves in the other person’s place when participating on social media. 

Social media is just that – building relationships to a positive end.