I am by nature an online privacy advocate. I believe it is a fundamental right to keep whatever information you want about yourself, to yourself. Unfortunately, the average user doesn't understand what they give up when they enter the realm of social media. They believe that because they write their personal opinions, they can't be used against them.
They have in their heads that social media is like a private diary that no one dares open. What they fail to realize is that they themselves have opened their diary and printed out the contents for all to see.
It amazes me to my core, how much exposure people willingly and seemingly without a second thought, grant to outsiders. Now, this may be a generational or cultural shift in mores, but I grew up with the notion that no one is to know your business. Dirty laundry was kept well inside, never to see the light of day.
I had an interesting conversation with a graduating college student the other day, who I knew was a big social media hound. I mentioned that employers are really getting into using social media as a screening tool and that she should really 'scrub' anything that seems inappropriate because you never know what metrics an HR person is going to use. However being on the conservative side is never a bad move. "Don't worry," she says, "I already did months ago...I read the news, too."
Really? Let's take a look, shall we....
We go to her Facebook page and she's right, it looks normal enough. She's very pleased with herself...until I start clicking on her friends. "Why are you doing that?", she asks. I tell her, "You know, we're all judged by the company we keep, so let's see who you keep company with."
I could tell by the look in her eye, she hadn't thought about her connections to other people. However that's what social media is designed to do; create, maintain and most importantly display connections.
When you start friending, liking, tweeting et. al, you connect a link from you to the other person, creating a pattern; a trail of behavior that can be followed. That connection while virtual can still have tangible effects on you in the real world.
Your virtual life should reflect your physical one; the same rules should apply for the most part. As in the real world, you should only grant intimacy to people you have a real relationship with.
"Well, I don't know most of those people..", she says. Then why are you friends with them?
She had so many 'friends', that she had no idea what content anyone had, who they were sharing it with and more importantly, what content they had on their pages.
So I start clicking and it wasn't long before I started finding content, that while certainly wasn't illegal and didn't belong to her directly, would give an HR person pause.
It was, of course, the usual stuff, people drinking and 'smoking' too much. People showing their tats, piercings, way too little clothing and unfortunately making inappropriate postings about race, gender, sexual orientation and the like.
Now you can say its PC, but HR doesn't want to have to deal with a person who is going to go all 'klan' on them at the workplace. So if they see you are 'friends' with people who display this behavior, they are going to pass you by. They don't want to deal with functioning alcoholics or dopers and they certainly don't want to deal with sexual harassment issues.
We all have friends and family that behave in a manner that we don't agree with, but we maintain a relationship with them anyway due to a variety of reasons. That's normal. The difference is, in the real world we don't expose those relationships to the public domain (unless you're a celeb).
If Uncle Charlie says 'things' at Christmas, that's between you, Uncle Charlie and the Ghost of Christmas past. However if Uncle Charlie posts things on your wall, then it becomes part of the public discourse. Unfairly or not, your response or lack of one reflects upon you and sometimes your employer.
Yes, I agree, your personal life should be private, but once you post it, it no longer is. You have willingly given up your right to privacy and you no longer have control over it. It belongs to the public and you can and will be judged by it.
Control the message, control the brand; especially if the brand is you. This is a theme I'm going to hit on over and over when it comes to social media. You have to control your brand and you have to control how you present yourself to the world if you want the world to take you seriously.
When I was a kid, my grandfather always told me, "dress like a prospect, not a suspect". What he meant was despite people's best intentions, we often judge people by their outward appearance. The image you present, will be the one that is used to judge you.
This is even more valid in social media. Your history allows people to have an imitate look into your life. Not just by your words and deeds, but by the words and deeds of others you associate with and how you interact with them.
One more thing, this isn't a freedom of speech issue. Freedom of speech protects you from the government interfering with your right to speech. The government, not Facebook, your boss or anyone else. Your wall, tweets, flickr and everything else is free game to them to use for or against you as they please.
There is an increasing number of people who have lost their jobs because they believed they could post whatever they wanted and use the "it's my private thoughts..." excuse.
You have the right to post whatever you wish, but understand, public speech often has personal consequences. Consequences that can be avoided if we followed the rule we tell school kids these days...."Don't post anything, you wouldn't tell, show or give anyone in person".
If that advice is good enough for a third grader, it should be good enough for the rest of us.
