So I learned recently that my current place of employment doesn't rely on references anymore when you apply for a job. Instead they hop on the net and check google, facebook, and myspace so get all the dirt on you they can find. So now I have to worry that my online identity doesn't reveal anything I might be embarrassed about? Sure you can block your facebook and myspace profiles but what can you do about google? I've read that there are some companies that charge you to clean up your identity but if you seriously have something floating out there that you have to pay to remove then maybe you should re-evaluate some of your life choices.
Knowing that my myspace and facebook profiles are pretty secure and have no pictures of me celebrating drunken nights of sin (really, who posts that shit?) I decided to type my name into google. I apparently have nothing to worry about. Googling my name brings up 4 results, one of which is a digg profile, 2 letters I wrote to a gaming website and my 1up profile. Not exactly scandal worthy.
But what if it were, what if my name yielded some dark secret I longed to hide? Can I ask for the freedom the internet provides but also ask for it to respect my privacy. I can find images of celebrities in...less than holy positions so why should I ask to be out of the public eye. Everything that is posted on the internet regarding me is a consequence of a choice I made, and like in the real world you have to live with those choices. The internet used to be about being anonymous and now it is all about being known. Google doesn't tarnish your reputation, you do that on your own.
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3 comments:
I come up 8 times on google!
But not for anything crazy. Just water polo and the presidents scholarship I got in high school, goodreads and digg profiles as well.
Guess they won't be finding any dirt on me the next time I apply! If anything the internet makes me look better than i am!
Google reveils my illicit connection with GLSEN
At least you don't get a result of a STUPID MORONIC article that a very inept ISU reporter did on PROTECT for your name. Oh and a one line snippet I gave the Vidette about PROTECT once. Ugh. This will kill my job prospects someday, I know it.
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