The other day there were new revelations about Tiger Woods and his extra marital affairs. . .and then there was a report on how there have been people getting fired for posting controversial pictures on Facebook from locations where they work (there was a flight attendant that, I believe, was fired. . . her pictures were slightly "pin up" (anyone other than me know what that means??) poses taken of her inside a plane. . . nothing revealing, fully clothed, but it caused her problems -- I can't remember if she had identified the airline she worked for or not.
There were several other situations mentioned but I don't remember enough of the details to put them here. I was watching Good Morning America so perhaps there are others of you that have seen the same news segment. . . and it was probably reported on other news shows also.
Yesterday I was bouncing around blog land, checking out blogs that are on the side bars of other blogs to see what is going on. . . .it makes for interesting reading but also causes me to forget about time & where I was so I don't often have the ability to give specific blog names. . . . .
Anyway, on one of the blogs that I bounced to there was an entry from a woman that couldn't imagine that information that she posted on her blog would be something that could cause her problems. . . . .
and it all got me to thinking. . . . . . . .
What do you know about the internet? Can you keep anything completely "secret" when you put it on-line? Just how much information can someone get on you just by "playing around" on the computer? Do you need to have massive computer skills to get information on someone? Where does all the information in cyberspace come from?
Well, I don't have alot of computer skills. . . . . and I don't know how to "hack" into anything. . . .I'm basically self-taught (since I'm willing to try stuff and don't always read the instruction manual until I get myself in trouble!! he he he)
But, I can tell you this. . . . . .if you put the information out there. . . . . it can be found. And some of it cannot be deleted without providing even MORE information (which doesn't make it worth trying to get some of this stuff off --- because you will have compromised your privacy even more!)
So, why is it important to think before you hit the "publish" or "send" button? Well, even though we live in a country that provides us freedom of expression. . . . if you are too "radical" for the job you are applying to, and they can locate your postings on-line, no amount of qualification, experience or training is going to get you that job.
People from your past might be able to track you down. . . . .and some of the sites that show addresses actually provide satellite pictures of your neighborhoods (YES, even YOUR home)!!
Blogs are not on-line diaries that only you can see. . . . .which is why many of us have blogs, so that we can reach out to like-minded people in places that we may never travel to. And for those in more rural areas the internet, in my opinion, allows them to access information and/or products that they may not be willing or able to travel to obtain. (My thinking here is that if it takes 3 hours one way to get to a quilt store because there are none near you --- having access to thousands of stores on-line would be a much easier experience.)
So far there doesn't seem to be anything on myself that I have not been able to access. . . .and the search did not take me very long and it wasn't very complicated.
You just might want to "Google" and "Yahoo" yourself to see what you've put out there for all to see. . . . plus there are at least 10 other search engines (that I have been able to find) that might have you in their "radar" also.
Just thought you all might want to know. . . . . . .
In peace and pieces,
5 comments:
it really is something to think about, isn't it? I have a horrible feeling that the teenagers now using Facebook may be in for a shock in 10 years or so when looking for real jobs.
My husband was telling me a story the other day about this very topic. He was friends with a man who was looking for a secretary. He had it down to three candidates. He decided to do a google search on each of them. Imagine his surprise when pictures of a night of drinking came up for one of the women. She had posted the pictures on her facebook so they were out in cyber space for all to see. He said the pics were pretty explicit and no, she didn't get the job. People can yell and scream all they want about private lives being private and work lives being work but if you post pics of yourself on line....anywhere...be prepared for someone to see them that you maybe don't want.
Great post and good food for thought!
dawn
That is so true, and we all should be thinking about our friends/neighbours or colleagues could be reading our blogs!
Its all about respect. Simply dont post anything about yourself or others that you wouldn't say outloud or to their face.
I became aware of this last winter shortly after I started blogging and twittering to promote my Etsy shop. It was so disconcerting, I just stopped.
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