People Don't Read This Do They?

One common misconception regarding the internet is the idea that no one will be able to find some of the stuff that we post out there unless they are looking really really hard. One of the other misconceptions is that it is so very easy to find information about people on the internet these days that almost anything and everything you post out there will come back to haunt you in one way or another. That can be a good thing or a bad thing. In the case of public servants such as teachers, this is becoming a bad thing.

I think most everyone who is on the internet these days is familiar with the site Facebook. In case you aren't, it's basically a social networking website that was set up by a not-yet-thirty-year-old who is now a millionaire (several times over at the very least). People can personalize their pages much the way a person would decorate their room and because of this, you can find friends with common interests or reconnect with old friends via the web. It's an interesting phenomena that is occurring more frequently in recent years with growing numbers of people signing on to make friends virtually. In some cases there's not even the possibility of meeting these people (I mean really.... if you're in Iowa... do you think you'll actually meet your 'best friend forever' from Malaysia? I don't think so). Still, people do seem to think that since connections or messages sent via the web won't be of interest to anyone else besides their list of contacts, some people tend to say anything they want.

The reality is that more and more companies are starting to look at the web to find out more about candidates before or after they are hired. Do you claim to be a Harvard graduate on your resume? Well it's probably not a good idea to post on your Facebook page (publicly or privately) that you are actually a graduate of Harvard County Community College because once the truth comes out on that score then the house of cards will come tumbling down. It isn't that we should be maintaining a completely squeaky clean facade on the internet but still, it's very naive to think that no one is going to find what you post up there.

I remember the case of an intern in New York who had a habit of calling in sick. One Halloween he called in sick saying he wasn't feeling so well and the next day there were pictures he posted himself of the time he spent at a Halloween party, supposedly when he was home dying in bed. His astute manager managed to find the Facebook page and posted it along with the employees original e-mail in which he claimed to be sick. I guess the moral of this is that if you don't want something posted as public knowledge, don't post it on the internet. No matter how secure or how private you make things on the internet, there is always some way for the information to leak out. Sometimes we aren't even aware of it.

I am often amazed at seeing the way people find my page. It may be the most innocuous thing but the end up here and some read for a few seconds while others tend to linger and read. I'm not so egotistical to think that my page will draw the kinds of readers that will make this page a noteworthy one but I am also not stupid enough to think that no one besides my close family and friends reads this page. Sure there are somethings on this page that are fairly evident of my interests and likes but its all things I want people to know. If it's something I want to keep low key then I won't make mention of it. Like for example if I don't want people to know that I've collected nearly all of the quarters depicting the 50 states then I won't make mention of it here. Oops. I messed that up didn't I?