In filling out the necessary application paperwork for a media relations internship with a major corporation, I read that the company reviews any social networking material that a candidate has online as part of the background check. As much as sites like Facebook and Twitter are growing in the social world, they are simultaneously becoming more prevalent in the business world. Newspapers now tweet story lines instead of writing full articles because it’s faster. Public relations teams use both Facebook and Twitter as marketing tools. Many businesses advertise on Facebook.
While companies want to tweet the world, they don’t want to see they’re employees’ tweets on the internet. Although many of us use Facebook to stay in touch with our friends and share photos, things we post or photos of us that we think will amuse our friends may give the wrong idea to employers. When we post anything on the internet, we only see it as it appears on our computer. We do not know who else can see our information and who might be blogging about our information in public spaces regardless of our own privacy settings. A picture is worth a thousand words, but what if it tells the wrong story? We cannot control how someone will interpret what they read on the internet. However, we can control what we put out there about ourselves.
When anything is posted on the internet, it is traceable forever. Even when we delete posts or photos from our Facebook accounts, they still remain in bulk storage somewhere in cyber space. When you print something in a newspaper, even if it is damaging, it is only out there until the papers get thrown out. But with the internet, once you post something, it is there for eternity. So, before you post anything on Facebook, or anywhere, be very mindful of what you’re saying and how it can be interpreted.
I see some of my Facebook friends’ posting photos and comments without caring who looks at them. There are drunken photos, promiscuous photos, messages ridden with profanity and shady comments, and statuses about every argument they have or about how they are mad at the world. These are not all from one person, but I have seen them. And I have seen similar content on friends’ of friends’ accounts whenever they tag one of my friends in a photo. Even when you untag yourself from a photo, you still remain in the photographer’s album.
I have my privacy set so that only I can see my albums, however, whenever I tag friends in the photo, they can see my albums too and their friends can sometimes access them, as well. I don’t have anything to hide, but I still make a point of censoring my photos and am conscious of the fact that anyone may be able to see them. When you’re posting things on your Facebook wall, only post the things that you are comfortable that your parents and your relatives will see. If there’s a photo or a message you don’t want them to see, chances are that you don’t want employers to see them either. You just never know. You could be holding a cup of juice in your hand in a photo, but an employer can make the assumption that it’s alcohol, and if you’re underage or they see a lot of photos like this, they could assume you’re a partier and irresponsible. Save them that trouble and don’t post anything that you wouldn’t want an employer to see.
Whatever privacy settings you have on your online content, you have to be aware of loopholes. Facebook recently printed Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg’s apology about people’s discontent with site privacy settings. Zuckerberg claims that Facebook does not give any information to advertisers or access people’s information for marketing purposes. However, this is suspicious and there have been studies that Facebook, as well as Google and Yahoo, monitors emails and site activity so that any ads on the site can cater to your interests. When Zuckerberg acknowledged the flaws in the privacy settings, he vowed to tighten security and take feedback. For a 25-year-old, I thought he handled the concerns very professionally and eloquently.
I was willing to forgive him until my friend tagged me in a screen shot of the Washington Post website. I read the articles wondering what he was trying to draw my attention to: Jack from Lost in the feature photo or Obama employing more troops on the Mexico border. Then I saw my name in the top right corner. There is a box that has a tab for “Friends’ Activity” and it noted that “Jessie Sawyer shared Mark Zuckerberg from Facebook, answering privacy concerns with new settings….23 hours ago.” Not only can you click on a link to the story, but you can also click on a link to my Facebook page. Even if I hide my name in the Facebook search engine, people can find me by doing so. The actual comment does not in any way incriminate me, however, it is a little disconcerting. It violates Mark Zuckerberg’s statement that they do not release our activities to companies like The Post (how else would they know this?).
And, I’m lucky that they only noted that I posted an innocent article. What if I had posted a crude article on someone’s wall (which I never would do)? Theoretically, they could pull that information too. So, not only did I post it for my friend, but the entire audience of The Post could now know what I posted. Regardless of what I post, that’s between me and the person to which I send a link or tag in a photo.
That is a nice sentiment, but it is simply not true. Even messages you write in an email can trace back to you. You never know who could read your email if the computer is left open or who your friend might show. The written word is powerful, so choose your words carefully and don’t let the only thing remembered about you be the F-bomb. Your employers won’t like this, and honestly, it probably annoys your friends too if your messages are like a scene out of Phone Booth. You can never be sure about what people can dig up about you on the internet, so be careful about what you post so that when they meet you, they can judge you for you, not a virtual misrepresentation of your virtues and personality.
You can complain about the incorporation of social networking into employers’ recruitment, however, that doesn’t change the fact that it happens. So choose your “Likes”, wall posts, and tweets wisely.
