Beyond fear is freedom
One of my best friends has used this as a motto for a long time. It’s a good one. One of the reasons I have been reluctant to blog much is the fear of saying something that with the benefit of hindsight will look stupid or offend some potential future client.
Stuff you say in a bar with friends is gossip. Stuff you post on the internet is forever.
Bah! I can’t live that way.
Another one of my best friends is of the generation that has long since stopped worrying about that sort of thing even if they have yet to really feel the repercussions. As he says, it will be interesting when this generation really tries to get a proper job and even more interesting when they find themselves hiring people.
Today we fear that our online life will come back to haunt us but imagine a future where the lack of the “normal” online activity, including the odd error in judgement, is seen as either an attempt to hide something or worse, that you’re not really human.
Dear “sir”
We regret to inform you that your application for a position at Typical Company has been rejected. Our semi-automated reverse CAPTCHA test has examined your online life and found it to be lacking in personal details and/or too perfect.
If you are in fact a delightfully imperfect human being and wish to prove it to us, please send us links to at least 3 social networks showing the usual lapses of judgement in which you have posted evidence of drunkenness, stupidity and or nudity.
Sincerely,
Some Person
<link to personally embarrassing proof of being human>
So with that in mind, I’ll try to post more often and not worry about it.
April 6th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
Shakespeare’s version of “think before you post stupid stuff on the internet, because it mightcome back and bite you in the ass. ” :
“But in these cases
We still have judgment here; that we but teach
Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return
To plague the inventor:” (Macbeth)