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30.06.06
Are blogs dangerous?

As I have mentioned before next to working here at Stagis I'm currently writing my thesis on corporate blogging. I was reading a few articles when I came across one about how blogs could come back to haunt you later in life. It might sound scary but the issue was regarding students who love sharing personal details about what they do on Friday night on one of the many blogs out there. In making private information public they could face problems (besides the obvious of having embarrassing pictures or video of you being circulated on the Internet). Some believe that the blogs ability to store and copy everything joyning a virtual community could be more dangerous than you think. The worry is about employers having a perfect opportunity to give you a back ground check when you look for a job. If your blog is full of good stories and pictures, there is a good chance it will only take seconds for the HR Director of Whatever Inc. to find it on Google. I don't know if it's an American worry or paranoia? What do you think? Isn't it just the consequences of living in this century? The conclusion in the article is "these virtual communities are part of today's student culture and are how they communicate. Student's shouldn't necessarily avoid being part of it altogether. They just need to make smart decisions about what they post online". I will sacrifice myself for the sake of a social experiment and leave a few drunken pictures and see what happens!!! P3090126_3 P3300145_1 P4010187_1

COMMENT 1
Well, I think that it obvious that you should think twice about what you write. That should be basic Internet Culture 101 knowledge. Not only in blogs, but on forums and just about any other CMC.

Anything you write on the internet could potentially come back to haunt you later or even get you in trouble tomorrow. Don't write "well, I'm off to N.Y" if anyone can find your address using your last name or by checking what name is registered to your domain, and so on.

Google, off course is one whay to do a background check, obviously an employer/competitor/envious colleague could do a background check and "google" you and dig up old dirt or even misunderstand an in-side joke you posted on a blog back in 2006. But I think that Google will be surpased by even more powerful tools. Software that could not only trace all your blog or bulletin entries but trace your internet tracks retrospectively. Just think about what measures companies already are taking to check up on their employees' where-abouts on company computers. If they could check your where-abouts and internet ethics even before they hire you, that could potentially save them the trobule of hiring you.

So think about what your write, what name you use and basically think "Will this entry destroy my future chances of becomming the President one day?" ;-) It's easy to make blogs or forums accesible for a chosen few only. Ask yourself if you want hits or if you want be sure only the right people see your drunken pictures and read about last weekends non-academic achievements.;-)

We are off course talking private stuff here. Use blogs and other social software to share your professional and academic thoughts and so on. I already talked with Nikolaj about this - using such tools are the perfect way for us all to evolve as Internet communicators and get results on a professional level, bouncing ideas off eachother with people who share the same interests and can give you the input you didn't know you needed.
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