Sunday, March 30, 2008

Blog On/ Blog Off: To What Degree Can My Blog Be Used Against Me?

http://boisee.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/blogging.jpg

So I am beginning to learn that this is an ongoing pattern. First it was Myspace, then Facebook, etc., and now my blog can be looked at and be used against me. Where is all the privacy? I am now learning that the Blog I am using for my class can be used against me in the future by employers, while I am only expressing my thoughts and opinions freely. I understand that I may say things others won't agree with but this is my blog and I should be allowed to speak my mind.

Employers can now even further invade your private life. After reading Joshua Porters post on "The Blog is the New Resume," many things came to mind. A blog can benefit an individual if the potential employer likes what the blogger is talking about; however if your the guy who brings up many controversial issues and say things other wont agree with, your less likely to be hired. Below are the main points he brought up from the original post by Bokardoan Adam Darowski.

1. Your blog represents you.

2. Your blog is serious business.

3. You blog is an archive.

4. Your blog isn’t the only mirror of your life.

5. Your blog is your unedited version of yourself.

He basically highlights the main points that a person should start a blog, but at their own risk. When ever you write something, you are giving your right away for others to read it and even though I don't agree with this, thats the way it is. We all just need to watch what we write and post on social networking sites and the internet in general because with the current technology available to employers, they can basically find anything. Be safe and be careful! Apparently your blog can be used as your resume'. Thats great if you are an active blogger and are blogging for a cause. As for me, I am doing this for a class and for fun. My blog is not intended for professional use, but for private use.


Below is a video with instructions on how to adjust your blogger privacy settings. It features Eric Case and he gives you a video tutorial on how to do so. This video is short and easy to follow. Enjoy!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I share your sentiments. We really shouldn't be writing blogs for "future employers" because let's face it, that would really suck. However, I do believe in exercising prudence and good judgment as we pore more of ourselves online. I agree, self censorship is a pain and that the better strategy is to be selective about your audience. This is why we need to have deeply granular privacy settings like what I have in my i.ph blog. It allows me to set the privacy for each and every single post and give access to only people that I choose, whether or not they have i.ph accounts. By being able to select my audience, I don't have to worry much about what I can and cannot say on my blog, only who I say what to.