A wannabe social networking site releases some research (from the UK’s yougov, who ran some panels), and before you know it the WSJ, NET, and SMH are commenting on the perils of releasing too much information on the net. Apparently job seekers get Googled, and if you have a criminal record or drank too much at university then evidence may appear online.
No really?
It marks an interesting change of culture though, with the WSJ believing that norms will change, and drunken party photos will be ok for HR folk and voters.
I disagree.
While we can still have wild times at university, a little discretion will pay dividends later in life. That means that photos of you drunk and having fun are ok, but photos of you drunk and having fun with sheep (or illegal substances) are not.
Indeed we all should be actively managing our profiles on the internet, right from the start. This means thinking before putting our name to something, whether it is a Myspace friend list of someone unsavory, or a rant about the politics of the day. Think – how will it look 10 or 30 years down the line?
