David Canton – For the London Free Press – February 18, 2006
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Whether you are applying for a job, running for office or just meeting new people, others are increasingly using the Internet to check you out.
While that can be a valuable tool for potential employers, for example, it can have negative consequences on your success if those searches reveal unflattering or contrary information.
In addition to Googling a person, sites have been created for the purpose of profiling individuals and businesses. Try putting your own name or the name of someone you know in zoominfo.com and see what comes up.
At the same time, more people are using sites such as Flickr.com to post personal photos and del.icio.us to post personal web links.
The explosion of digital photography has resulted in a rapidly increasing number of photographs online. People typically expect pictures to be viewed by friends and family, but they are often available for anyone to see.
Social networking sites such as Facebook.com and MySpace.com or one’s own blog or comments left on other blogs leave trails of personal information.
So, the tools to find information are becoming more sophisticated and we are putting more information about ourselves on the web, not to mention information others might post about us.
We often forget this information is there for anyone to find at any time. That snarky remark or embarrassing photo that seems amusing at the time may become a real problem when future employers check you out.
Online tools and sites also mean anyone can search the Internet to verify information provided by job-seekers, people applying for credit or running for office.
This makes it easier to find discrepancies or experiences that were intentionally omitted.
It will become interesting during the next few years when those who routinely use these kinds of sites start running for public office. All kinds of potentially embarrassing information will be readily available to opponents.
While these various ways to interact with others may seem innocuous at the time, they can come back to haunt later. People often treat these kinds of sites like a personal conversation with a few close friends, but the reality is they are having that conversation with the world and it is preserved forever.
Even if the information is restricted so only a chosen few can access it — any of those chosen few can make it public.
So, what can we do about this?
To a great extent, we lose control of information we post online. We need to think before we put anything online. Assume the entire world will be able to view that information forever.
Ask yourself if you would care if others could find that when you apply for a job, run for office or volunteer at your favourite charity.
