First, American Idol finalist Antonella Barba had racy photos of herself (which she claimed she’d made as a private gift for a former boyfriend) leaked on the internet. A few weeks ago, the New York Times’ “The Ethicist” column dealt with a guidance counselor who wasn’t sure if he should let a college know about the blog of a prospective student. This MSN article covers similar territory. To sum up, STA style:
- Don’t use your real name on your MySpace or any other public internet site, because
- Prospective employers will Google you
- And that website is on the internet, which everyone can see, including your mom;
- So don’t put naked photos of yourself on it
- Or photos of you drinking, especially if you’re underage
- And don’t list “orgies” as one of your hobbies, even if you say you’re kidding
Take this advice sagely, assistants. If you really want to post those naked photos of you murdering a prostitute while simultaneously smoking crack and littering, at least make your page friends-only. Geez.
Haha, legendary. It amazes me that people can still be so stupid. I’m quite proud of the fact that my full name only appears on Google in a professional context, but even STILL I was asked something completely inappropriate relating to content on my myspace at my interview for this job. Should have been the hint I needed to run, really.
Last summer I took a technical writing class (to boost the resume) and our main focus wound up being about privacy. My topics were phishing, internet pics and social networks. It’s weird how people don’t realize this. I have friends who want to be teachers and accountants with pictures on myspace getting lit on a friday night. It’s not exactly what you want a prospective boss to see. (The boss is back tomorrow!)