The US Department of Homeland Security has released a list of the keywords and phrases the agency monitors online to find potential threats. Obviously posting "Al Queda" and "dirty bomb" online will get the government to start looking at you real closely, but "pork" and other oddly normal words are also on the list.
In response to a freedom of information request, the department posted its Analyst's Desktop Binder (a manual for the agency's security analysts) containing this hotlist. The keywords cover domestic security, HAZMAT and nuclear, health concern, infrastructure security and other threats.
According to the Daily Mail, the Department of Homeland Security says it only uses this keyword list to look for genuine security threats, not signs of general dissent. Nobody wants Big Brother looking over her shoulder—and you shouldn't have to feel like you need to censor yourself in this way—but if you're particularly paranoid about the government spying on you, you might reconsider using too many of these keywords together when you post something online. Here's the full list.
Analyst's Desktop Binder | Scribd via Daily Mail via @Alyssa_Milano
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There are plenty of stupid things you do on Facebook, but you probably wouldn't expect that being too private is one of them. There are actually real downsides to locking down your Facebook profile. It can hurt you in a job search or the quality of the search results for your name. Here's why. 
You don't have control over what other people post about you. If you get drunk at a party and someone snaps a photo, it may end up online. Sure, you can untag yourself and try to control the possible damage from embarrassing stuff popping up, but there's really no way to stop it all. You may not have active tags on Facebook, but that doesn't mean that photo won't still exist and won't show up elsewhere. When people are constantly contributing information to Facebook, as well as other parts of the web, you're always stuck playing catch up if you're trying to control how others talk about you.
It's fine to keep most of what you post on Facebook pretty private and only visible to the friends you want to see it. That said, if you want to look good in public you should be posting a few things that make you appear like the upstanding citizen you believe yourself to be. Share photos from fun family events, opinions about a gadget you really love or hate, and tame messages like regular birthday wishes. There are plenty of things you can share in public that don't reveal anything private but show that you're a good person. When a prospective employer "stumbles" upon your Facebook page, they'll see the good stuff you want to share and be more likely to miss out on the embarrassing stuff your friends (or enemies) may have lurking elsewhere online.
