Blog for your future boss / client / relationship
Blogging is deceptively easy with Blogger telling the truth that within 3 easy steps you too can have a blog. Twitter is even easier - sign-up and start typing.
Adding yourself to the Web is, in my opinion, a good thing because you take control of your persona before someone else does for nefarious reasons. These are, of course, early days and not uppermost in the minds of the great unwashed but believe me the days of "not being on the Web" are fast disappearing for those living in connected countries.
However ... being on the Web does NOT mean splurging every stream of conscious on to it. It does not mean letting everyone know your drug problems. And for those seeking employment it probably means not disclosing how you edited a production database to remove your own details. You need to be your own editor, copyright lawyer and legal counsel!
A piece of fiction to ellucidate
You're at a party where you know a handful of people out of the hunderd or so attendees. The rest of the people seem cool and some of your mates even know a few others which they happily introduce you to. Everyone is having a good time ... except for a dodgy guy in the shadows by the iPod player, you decide to stay clear of him.
You're chatting to your best mate, Chantelle, about another party you went to last weekend. You tell her how you scored the host and illuminate the story with some graphic descriptions of the escapades. You also tell her that because he hasn't called back meant you've been a bit down and threw a sicky on Thursday and Friday, "Just like last time!".
Chantelle's a mate and gives you some advice and even a number of a counselling services plus some over the counter drugs that might help.
You then get a tap on the shoulder from another close friend, Shayne, who introduces you to his buddy that just happens to be the boss of that amazing workplace just down the road. Shayne tells you that his mate is looking for someone with your skills and knows you're looking to move jobs. Whilst Shayne is giving you the low down on the job and telling you how much of a fool you'd have to be to blow this opportunity you hear raucous laughter from Chantelle and turn to see her talking with Shaynes mate.
You go to introduce yourself to the prospective new boss but he refuses to shake your hand, "Hmm, not sure you're the sort of person we want at our place. Sorry"
You turn on Chantelle, "What the [expletive] did you say to him?" you demand to know.
"Just sharing the 'shagging/depression story' ... *sheesh*"
You are stunned! That's not fair, that was between mates, that wasn't for everyone to hear!
You then realise that everyone is sharing everything at the party ... people are letting you know what Chantelle just said about your reaction, you can hear Wayne hooking the boss with other people and you can even see pictures of last weeks party being shown on the wall. Heck, there's even a guy called Ken that's recording almost everything people are saying in a big book and letting people reference it whenever they want!
Why-oh-why did you not realise?!?!
If only you'd known, then you wouldn't have told Chantelle that story. Well, not here at least ...
Cast of characters:
The party : the World Wide Web
Chantelle : your blog
Shayne : LinkedIn
Chantelle's sharing: a Google search of your name
Ken: Google or any other search engine
The boss : your (ex)future boss
More posts about "being safe online":
Adding yourself to the Web is, in my opinion, a good thing because you take control of your persona before someone else does for nefarious reasons. These are, of course, early days and not uppermost in the minds of the great unwashed but believe me the days of "not being on the Web" are fast disappearing for those living in connected countries.
However ... being on the Web does NOT mean splurging every stream of conscious on to it. It does not mean letting everyone know your drug problems. And for those seeking employment it probably means not disclosing how you edited a production database to remove your own details. You need to be your own editor, copyright lawyer and legal counsel!
A piece of fiction to ellucidateYou're at a party where you know a handful of people out of the hunderd or so attendees. The rest of the people seem cool and some of your mates even know a few others which they happily introduce you to. Everyone is having a good time ... except for a dodgy guy in the shadows by the iPod player, you decide to stay clear of him.
You're chatting to your best mate, Chantelle, about another party you went to last weekend. You tell her how you scored the host and illuminate the story with some graphic descriptions of the escapades. You also tell her that because he hasn't called back meant you've been a bit down and threw a sicky on Thursday and Friday, "Just like last time!".
Chantelle's a mate and gives you some advice and even a number of a counselling services plus some over the counter drugs that might help.
You then get a tap on the shoulder from another close friend, Shayne, who introduces you to his buddy that just happens to be the boss of that amazing workplace just down the road. Shayne tells you that his mate is looking for someone with your skills and knows you're looking to move jobs. Whilst Shayne is giving you the low down on the job and telling you how much of a fool you'd have to be to blow this opportunity you hear raucous laughter from Chantelle and turn to see her talking with Shaynes mate.
You go to introduce yourself to the prospective new boss but he refuses to shake your hand, "Hmm, not sure you're the sort of person we want at our place. Sorry"
You turn on Chantelle, "What the [expletive] did you say to him?" you demand to know.
"Just sharing the 'shagging/depression story' ... *sheesh*"
You are stunned! That's not fair, that was between mates, that wasn't for everyone to hear!
You then realise that everyone is sharing everything at the party ... people are letting you know what Chantelle just said about your reaction, you can hear Wayne hooking the boss with other people and you can even see pictures of last weeks party being shown on the wall. Heck, there's even a guy called Ken that's recording almost everything people are saying in a big book and letting people reference it whenever they want!
Why-oh-why did you not realise?!?!
If only you'd known, then you wouldn't have told Chantelle that story. Well, not here at least ...
Cast of characters:
The party : the World Wide Web
Chantelle : your blog
Shayne : LinkedIn
Chantelle's sharing: a Google search of your name
Ken: Google or any other search engine
The boss : your (ex)future boss
More posts about "being safe online":
- Whoever pays for your information, owns it
- 5 easy ways to protect your online presence with Dr Miramar Mike
- 5 articles about keeping your identity ("persona") safe
Think of the reader!
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