Just a few quick notes on social media, personal privacy and professional branding, inspired by current most e-mailed article at NYTimes.com.
I started the day talking about branding in my Internet Applications class (you can follow what we’re doing on Twitter), which raises important questions about the use of social networks as professional tools. Most of the 20-somethings in the class have come of age on Facebook, and not everyone was thinking about their future career when they first built their profiles. As more and more people join social networks, and as social networks become increasingly interconnected, that presents a large problem for recent graduates who first used Facebook to organize their circle of new college friends. Most of the students in my class are searching for jobs, and while they may have already untagged themselves in the least professional and most unflattering photos when their mom or grandma or aunt friended them, it may take additional scrutiny before a profile is ready for a potential employer’s eyes.
Even before all the recent confusion over Facebook’s ever-changing privacy settings, I disagreed with how the social network handled photos uploaded of other people. I’ve always been careful about what images are associated with my name, with means untagging everything from embarrassing photos from middle school to potentially injurious photos from parties my freshman year of college. But I never liked that photos of me lived on even after I disassociated them from the “Elle Moxley” name. I untagged myself in pictures from my eighth grade winter dance. But if you know one of the other eight people in the photo and recognize me, untagging myself did little good. People could still laugh at my big hair, purple dress and questionable dating decisions.
After I turned 21, I relaxed a little bit. No longer could any photo with me holding a cup, hanging out with friends or making a stupid face be misconstrued as underage drinking. I laughed at my friends who worried so much about cultivating their online identity, gasping and groaning about every amendment to the Facebook privacy policy (“It’s called Facebook for a reason, people!” I’d say). As someone who’s been making websites and participating in online communities since I was 11, I’ve sort of accepted that you give up with a little bit of privacy every time you sign up with another social network. For the people who disagree, there’s always the opt-out button. Face it. If you’re logging into Facebook to share your interests or posting status updates to Twitter, you’re voluntarily releasing little bits of information about yourself into the ether. “But I don’t want my grandma to know the cute boy in my lab section asked me out!” you wail. Good rule of thumb. Send your friend a message instead (though if you have as many dirty mistresses as Tiger Woods, then you might want to rethink anything that leaves a paper trail).
That being said, it’s still a good idea to know what you’re signing up for. Read the Terms of Service. If there’s language in it that makes you squirm, do a quick search. Send an e-mail to the support staff. If you care about how your name is being used, then it’s worth that 24-hour delay in signing up for a social network. I’ve already placed my professional aspirations on the internet. When I launch my food blog next month, I’ll be inviting the world into my kitchen. Important moral and philosophical questions regarding privacy and social networks remain, but at the moment, I’m not worried about it. A little common sense goes a long way.