Think about this for a second
One of the things that really mystifies me about the internet is how many people don’t seem to understand what they give up, and can’t get back, when they blog about really personal stuff to a vast audience of anonymous strangers. The internet is not a hippie commune where we’re all in this together, and you know everybody. You can bet for every nice comment on my blog (or yours), there’s a couple people out there who think I’m (or you are) a total nutcase. And aside from the Too Much Information issue, and my personal inability to understand why anyone would be interested in reading about home made sanitary protection (human or canine), it just floors me that so few people ever seem to realize that the internet is the most public of public spaces and what you blog about today, or post on a message board, could haunt you for decades.
Here’s an example of why I really try to maintain privacy on the internet when it comes to my personal life and my family: I just got a new job, a great one, with a fabulous salary, great benefits and perks, and lots of income potential. I also knew that my prospective employer, like most employers these days, would do a background check on me, and how hard would it be for them to Google my name? Not hard at all. And how good is the background checking software that companies use to screen candidates? Very good. The last thing I wanted was for that employer to find anything, anything at all, that could hurt my chance for a job. A few years ago a woman who worked for Harvard University made the mistake of bashing the University on her blog and she was fired for it and the taint of that mistake followed her for years – so my mantra is, just because you can say it on the internet, doesn’t mean you should.
To paraphrase an old carpentry motto: Think twice and post once.
lorna said,
August 5, 2007 at 7:25 pm
So true …
LauraM said,
August 5, 2007 at 7:58 pm
So true! I have tried to tell people this for years, that it is not anonymous as everyone seems to think. Some people seem to think that they can say or do anything because they are behind a hidden name, but believe me it all ties back around. I’ve proven to family & friends just how easy it is to find them, their posts, etc! And I already knew about the companies that do searches as to who you are, and how you conduct yourself, even on the internet.
Gorgeous Things said,
August 5, 2007 at 9:27 pm
Amen sister. When I tried to bring the TMI issue up, I got slammed on my own blog, always by ‘anonymous’. And Anonymous didn’t even get it right. They made a mistaken assumption and blamed me for it. It’s like I said, the Internet is a dangerous place.
Nancy (nanflan) said,
August 5, 2007 at 9:57 pm
Uh huh, sister.
TMI, even with the nice little feminist rant. I. Do. Not. Want. To. Know.
Vivienne said,
August 6, 2007 at 2:53 pm
I agree, and frankly, I’m glad I DON’T know exactly what some parts of the post refer to!
Summerset said,
August 6, 2007 at 4:36 pm
Exactly.
Ruby said,
August 6, 2007 at 6:27 pm
oh… your so right!! People really are sometimes so unaware of the problems they will cause for themselves. Or even sometimes for their family!
Tany said,
August 8, 2007 at 4:03 pm
I must agree when you say one must be very careful when blogging, personal stuff or not. I also agree that for every nice comment we get there may be a buch of other people thinking the other way around. Sometimes this makes me really sad because I fail to understand what moves someone into disliking another person just “because”, not knowing the other person at all. All this doesn’t go against my notion of freedom of speach though. But freedom of speach only goes as far as the freedom of your neighbour begins… And, of course, there are consequences to everything.
busy said,
August 10, 2007 at 5:22 pm
Everything you say here is so true. I know when googling my name, a lot of sites and forums I belong to show up. You never know. Especially on blogger. LJ is a little better b’cause you can make that friends only. Thanks for the reminder.
Towanda said,
August 11, 2007 at 4:42 pm
I so much agree with what you say. It never cease to amaze me the depth of details that people will post about their private lives. People can be so cruel and it leads me to avoid posting reviews because I don’t need that level of negativity in my life. Work has taught me to re-read and re-read anything that I post because it can’t be erased once you hit send, post or submit.
Marji said,
August 26, 2007 at 1:43 pm
Amen!
and I’d like to add,
1. “Congratulations” on your new job.
2. Interestingly enough, at orientation for college last month the Pres of the college got up and addressed the incoming student body and cautioned them in strong language to be very wary of everything they post on the MySpace pages, thier FaceBook pages, and everything else they put out there. Once posted, it becomes the property of MySpace etc and although an individual can try to remove items, they remain archived. He told the students that he’s seeing the trend among prospective employers who come to the U to recruit to do the first screening by hiring a firm to do an internet background check of the prospective hirees. They don’t even get the interview if there is questionable stuff out there - pictures, rants, anything. Interesting.
Marji said,
August 26, 2007 at 1:52 pm
I also wanted to thank you (and I don’t have an email addy to do so privately) for the very nice things you’ve left in comments about my sewing on PR. I consider it high praise indeed, coming from you. Thank you.
Carolyn said,
August 26, 2007 at 4:55 pm
I am late to this party but I want to add an amen to that! When I changed jobs last year, my new boss on my first day mentioned my sewing blog! Now no where on my application did I put it and for the longest time I didn’t even have a photo up on the blog so it goes to show how much actual investigation is done when you apply for a job! And soon I am sure that this information will no longer last for decades but into perpetuity…people be careful out there!
Gigi said,
August 27, 2007 at 4:45 pm
Amen, Phyllis! Some things are just better kept to oneself.
Sarah B said,
September 10, 2007 at 6:00 am
I’m glad I’m not the only one bugged by the home-made sanitary products issue…
Also, I have the advantage of having a very common name, so I have less googleability than some, but it still concerns me. :/
Sewshy said,
September 10, 2007 at 7:47 pm
Thank you so much for bringing this up. I actually am “blog-blocked” most of the time because I’m paranoid about what I post. You never know who is reading what you write and how it will come back to you. Some of the smallest things can have HUGE consequences…